Daypass Date

As Woody Allen so wisely put it, "Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons." Hear, hear!

I blogged a few days ago about Dating Without Money and how it is, in fact, possible, provided you don’t go anywhere or do anything. Kidding. I provided an example of how my boyfriend and I went on our first date for under twenty bucks and had the best date ever. It was memorable, creative, and allowed us to get to know each other, not each other’s net worth.

So, just to prove that our debt-free first date was not an anomaly, here’s another example of how to date without money, one that I like to call our Daypass Date. No, not daypass from a mental institution, daypass as in the metro. (“What? L.A. has a subway system?” A native Los Angelean actually said that to me. I kid you not.)

                                         

My boyfriend, whom I’ll call Larry (especially fitting since his name is Larry), and I walked four blocks to the Metro Office where we purchased five-dollar day passes, which allow you to ride all modes of public transportation as much as you want until midnight whereupon you turn back into a pumpkin. Before leaving we popped into the photo booth they had and took a series of silly shots. For documentation purposes, of course.

We got on the Purple Line at Western and Wilshire and were immediately treated to some artwork – a mural by a local artist. The great thing about the subway here is the unique art in every station. It was like going to several galleries that night, except no one ever stands in the corner and urinates on the art at LACMA.

At Union Station we switched to the Pasadena-bound Gold Line. Unlike the Purple and Red Lines which run underground, this one travels above ground, which allows you see neighborhoods you would not otherwise see. And lest this post read too much like a dry travelogue, I will let you in on a little secret: when the setting sun casts a golden light into the train and you can see palm trees and interesting houses flash by the windows, it’s the perfect romantic setting to kiss the person you’re with. Unless of course you’re sitting next to a guy with two sets of glasses talking to himself.

We spontaneously got off at Highland Park and wandered around the neighborhood, exploring the streets, little local stores, and the best places to kiss (hey, this was our second date; what did you expect, bible study?). The best part about adventures is being forced to go outside your familiar bubble, so by the time we were getting hungry (for your information, kissing burns up to 90 calories per hour), a cute little Mexican restaurant appeared before us. The food was great, the atmosphere cozy, and given all the new parts of L.A. we had seen, there was no shortage of conversation. They say that couples who have adventures together create a bond of trust which helps you get to know the other person much better.

Finally we rode the train back to Union Station and walked up to Olvera Street, the oldest part of downtown Los Angeles, a very colorful Mexican marketplace with historic buildings. It was closed by this time, but we walked down the deserted alleyway and soaked up the flavor anyway. After sharing a beso in El Pueblo, we walked through the empty moonlit streets of downtown, coming to rest on the steps of a building which turned out to be the police station. It was especially fitting since we were sharing stories of illicit substances and other dubious activities.

By the time we returned to my place, we were worn out but our wallets were not. Once again, we went on a date without having to visit a loan shark.