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Do you ever make plans for a date night with no idea exactly you’re going to do, just have a general idea?  Well, that seems to happen to Jason and I, A LOT.

But you know what? I LOVE IT!

We always end up doing the most random, FUN things because we don’t really set out with a plan. This is just one example of one of those glorious dates:

Jason Matthew Murphy | Cleveland | iCarabout

Recently, Jason and I decided that we wanted to see a movie after work. Typical to our “go with the flow” nature, neither of us looked up show times, we just knew that a movie was the “goal”.  Once we actually looked, the movie we wanted to see wasn’t showing anymore and the times of the other shows were a little later. This left us trying to figure out what to do with all this time we had.

Jason suddenly had the idea to stop at this local aquarium/pet store in the Brook Park area, RMS Aquaculture, since we were driving right past it. He used to go there when he was younger, and although I work right up the street, I’ve never been inside.  Wow. Maybe it’s just because we’re both weird/perfect for each other and therefore could do just about anything together while still having so much fun. Who knows. All I DO know is that it ended up being so cute. We go to pet and hold puppies, bunnies, etc.  There were tropical fish everywhere, frogs, reptiles, pretty much everything.  It was just a blast!

While that little trip killed some time, we still had to figure out something to do for a couple of hours.

Jason Murphy | Cleveland | iCarabout

Well, Hello! It was still happy hour! We picked Roadhouse to park our tushies, have some “civilizers” (as Jason calls them), snack a little, and chat.  I wasn’t expecting much, but I was surprised, that’s for sure. The happy hour menu was small, but typical. The beers were cheap…AND HUGE! I literally got an arm workout trying to lift this enormous beverage. We were laughing so hard that I had to take a picture of Jason with them.

After all this time-killing we’d done, it was finally time to go see the flick. I’d like to keep the movie we saw a secret…only because I’m a little embarrassed that we BOTH (secretly) wanted to see it.

Although we can be pretty great at planning a weekend date away, it’s just as much fun to us to just “wing-it” and figure it out as we go. It always brings a unique adventure for us. We like it that way.

Last weekend Jason and I had the glorious idea to have a date weekend together that was in town, but felt like it was out of town. If you’ve never done this, it’s a great and super fun idea to try! Plus it adds just a little bit of excitement!  We planned our weekend starting Friday after work and figured we’d stay one night at a hotel, then work our way back towards Cleveland on Saturday, doing fun “date” things a long the way.

Anyways, Friday evening  we decided that we wanted to try the new Michael Symon place out in Avon Lake, Bar Symon.  I made reservations at the Courtyard Marriott in Westlake, which is like a good 10-15 minutes away…but  it had an indoor pool/whirlpool (WORTH IT!).  So, we checked in, had some champagne and then we were on our way!!

After a few wrong turns, which is COMPLETELY normal for us (we get lost almost every time we’re together), we finally made it. The inside was very spacious, sleek and clean with lots of neutral tones, creams and stainless steel. It kind of reminded theboth of us of  The Greenhouse Tavern, on E4th in Cleveland (One of my favorite restaurants in C-town, BTW), but muchbigger with a more contemporary touch. The seating was typical to most Symon restaurants, tables very snug to one another. Luckily it wasn’t very packed, so we didn’t have to share our conversation with the table next to us, which I’ve often had to do at Lola. Besides all the obvious things I could see up front, I think our favorite little touch was the awesome toilet flushers..LOL!  Once I got over this, we ordered Ketel One dirty martinis and a yummy shrimp appetizer. It was citrus-y, light and refreshing. We decided to order two dishes to share, the fried chicken (tweeps recommended it) and the swordfish sandwich.  I also ordered some Lola fries…but come on, how could I resist? Both dishes were extremely tasty, and although we were stuffed, we decided to order dessert as well.  This lovely creation was house-made vanilla ice cream, sandwiched between banana bread with a peanut butter sauce. WOW. So simple, but oh-so-good.  (And I’m not even a dessert person!)

My whole point in sharing everything we ate with you guys is because I was really expecting the bill to be ginormous! I mean, usually top shelf martinis are $10-12 a pop, which can really push your bill over the top. Jason and I were both very surprised to see that the check was well under $100!! Can you believe it?! Three courses of fabulous food and two top shelf martinis!! I would definitely recommend this Symon joint, not just for dinner, but I hear the Happy Hour is to die for. Honestly, I’m a sucker for a good HH. PS: The beer menu is HUUUUUUGGGGGGEEEEE!!! 

The next day, we decided to begin our journey back towards the Cleve, but we needed some lunch! The Westlake Panini’s was on the way to the freeway, so decided to stop there and grab some food and afternoon cocktails (Hey, it’s the weekend). I’m really glad that not all Panini’s are the same, because I wasn’t expecting the wonderful surprise of finding soft pretzels on the menu. It made my day .  

Right after our meal, we headed back towards downtown to hang at Map Room until it was time to see a movie later. Ahhhh, my go-to bar LOL.  We sat for a few hours just chatting it up with Swarna and her boyfriend, and had great conversation (obviously).

To finish off our weekend, we went to see Avatar at the Tower City Theaters. Although it was fun going to a movie, neither of us were really “jazzed” by this one. I think we were more excited about the 3-D glasses and having a slight buzz from the bar.  I also managed to sneak in a little 2o minute catnap, which worked in my favor. Besides that, I was pretty annoyed to wake up and find out that Swarna had left only the yellow Sour Patch Kids behind. Who even does that? Brat. 

Looking back, I think this kind of weekend was such a great idea. It felt like we were out of town, we spent fun, quality time together and we got to try new things and hang out with friends! We even ended the evening at my place, playing some wii Resort. I’m pretty sure we’ll be doing this again soon…either that or actually leaving the state. But really? Who needs to?! Cleveland Plus has everything you need to plan an amazing, romantic and fun weekend.

Hello and welcome to my life…in blog form. I’m here to share the well kept secrets of the fun, new and different things to do around the Cleveland area. Many of us don’t get to take advantage of the multicultural aspects and secret little hideaways of C-Town but I’m here to show you what you’re missing! So, if you’re interested in checking out some new things to do and being up to date on the nightlife, then stop by often. Leave comments, suggestions, tips, I want it all. The more I know the more I can share. You’ll even get a little insight to my crazy life here in Cleveland as a struggling, young college grad, looking for my break into the TV news industry. As much as I hate to admit it, my life tends to be quite entertaining.

For more information about me and all my little secrets (just kidding), go to the “little ‘ole me” tab.