2023-09-24 09:13:00
The author and her husband. Courtesy of the author I love romantic comedies, but my love life did not resemble any of them. After two months of meeting a guy he invited me on a date “full of adventures.” We’ve been together for nine years, are married, and have a 6-year-old son.
I have always been a fan of romantic comedies. In my early adult years, I wanted my life to resemble a Nora Ephron story, but sadly the only thing my 20s and early 30s brought me was a steady stream of “let’s meet up for drinks” and lots of flaky, emotionally unavailable man-children.
I was left wondering where were my grand gestures and epic swoon-worthy dates.
Enter Justin. After a meet-cute at a birthday party for some mutual friends at the beach, our first date was dinner, where we talked and laughed for so long we didn’t realize the restaurant was closing around us. And it was less than two months into our courtship when I got my epic rom-com adventure.
He took me on a scavenger hunt across Los Angeles
After a fun night at the movies, Justin handed me an invitation to “A day chock full of adventure, mysteries, and riddles!”
What followed was an all-day scavenger hunt across the whole of Los Angeles. It was too early in our relationship for him to have known that not only am I slightly obsessed with puzzles and riddles and love “The Amazing Race,” but that one of my favorite movies growing up was a small cult classic called “Midnight Madness,” regarding an all-night scavenger hunt spanning the city of Los Angeles. He just truly understood me in a way I’d never experienced before, and it completely took me by surprise.
The day started with a drive from my place in North Hollywood all the way down to Santa Monica. And my thoughtful dude had made a lovely mix CD to listen to along the journey. Once we got to Santa Monica, we fueled up for the day ahead at Bay Cities, a local sandwich shop where everything is fresh and homemade, and I had the best caprese sandwich of my life. After lunch, the first clue led the way to the Santa Monica Pier, where we took in the fresh ocean air and then played games in the arcade. My skeeball skills eventually earned me my next clue.
Next up, more snacks. The clue brought us to Diddy Riese, a Westwood favorite known for its build-your-own ice cream sandwiches made with a variety of freshly baked cookies. I had chocolate chip ice cream sandwiched between two incredible chocolate-chip cookies. He went for chocolate ice cream and snickerdoodles. Then Justin handed me the first part of my next clue, a gift-wrapped book: “101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die” by Ian Buxton. After reading his lovely inscription on the front of the book, I noticed a bookmark on the page for a Japanese whisky, and off we went to Far Bar in the Little Tokyo area of Downtown LA.
At Far Bar, we sampled a couple of Japanese whiskies, wrote our comments in the book, and of course, ate some more snacks. Then, following another sweet gift and clue, we walked to a local downtown spot for manicures and pedicures together and then headed to Justin’s place in Glendale.
But the adventure was far from over. After a lovely early dinner, there was one more clue. I was presented with a series of word puzzles that eventually led me to Dodger Stadium to see Paul McCartney live in concert.
The show was the perfect ending to a pretty perfect day. We danced and sang and ate Dodger Dogs while watching the fireworks, and we bought a poster for the place we knew we’d share someday.
Nine years later, Justin, now my husband, still finds ways to surprise me — and our 6-year-old son — all the time. And that Paul McCartney poster sits above the mantle in our living room.
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