Date Idea in Raleigh # 2: Shelley Lake Picnic

How To Know If My Marriage Could Use Some Good Old “Dating” And What Marriage Counseling Raleigh NC Can Do For Your Relationship?

See other posts discussing cool date ideas that can revitalize your marriage here and here.

Do you know that spending quality time with your partner is a great way to strengthen your bond and spark passion (and maybe even avoid marriage counseling Raleigh NC down the line?) ? If you've been together for a significant amount of time, there's a good possibility that you've settled into a rut.

This means that your marriage doesn’t involve much more than chatting about work, dividing tasks, taking care of kids, and navigating many other aspects of daily life. But when was the last time you went on an actual date? Or did something fun together (and by this, I mean JUST the two of you)?

I've thought of a fantastic outdoor date idea that will keep you both healthy and bring you closer together. Curious, keep reading!

I absolutely love Wake Forest and Raleigh area and feel so lucky to live in a such a charming area with so many things to do! However, I’ve noticed that many of the “fun” things around here involve drinking. And some days I just want to have a little fun without the grogginess. And so do many of my counseling couples I work with who are trying to lead a healthier life style for various reasons.

Before we dive in into this cute date idea, allow me to tell you a story: A few weeks ago my husband and I had another couple over at our place for dinner. It would have been a typical dinner with typical (probably burgers and hot dogs), except our friends were following a very strict autoimmune diet and could not eat lots of things. Like most things, actually. As a result, we have all agreed on just grilling steaks and vegetables. Easy peasy. I also bought a pineapple to use on the vegetable skewers because it makes everything taste so much more delicious. Except I bought it kinda late, and it was still greenish by the time the dinner came about. I have decided to use the canned pineapple instead and let this one ripe. A few days later I looked at it, and this baby was ready to be eaten, yay! When my husband came home from work, I asked him to cut the pineapple. My husband said “Okay” and then never did it. Two or so days later I brought it up again, to which my husband responded:

Husband: “Awww why don’t you do it yourself? Do you not know how to?”

Me: "Excuse me?!! Neither do I know how to, nor do I want to do it! Cutting a pineapple is a man’s job:)

Husband: “Well, I don’t know how to as well, so I will have to watch Youtube again”

Me: “You need to do it now because its going bad”

Husband: “Okay”

Two more days go by. The green parts of the pineapple start turning yellow. Not good. I bring it up again, but this time I am feeling pissed and inpatient.

Me: “You need to cut this god damn pineapple right now.”

Husband “Okay, I will do it tomorrow”

By now we all know what his “okay” means, right?The next day I left to San Diego for a week long business retreat. By the time I came back-the pineapple was gone!

Morale of the story? There is none, just a silly story that represents our life. We argue, procrastinate, have gender based expectations of each other, and don’t know how to cut pineapple without watching a youtube video:) Anyway, back to the actual topic.

This month I have decided to focus on creating a 4-week mini series on different date ideas in Raleigh, NC. Let’s be honest-while the Triangle area offers so many awesome opportunities to spend great time with great friends (or significant others), it does revolve A LOT around breweries and drinking! And what if you don’t want to drink? Well, then you might be kinda out of luck, right?

Wrong!

Here is a cool idea for you to explore before you panic-go check out Shelley Lake Park in North Raleigh.

Dating Your Spouse in Raleigh NC: Shelly Lake

Shelly Lake Park is a beautiful 53 acre lake and park that provides 2 miles of paved, scenic greenway trails around the lake. There is also a basketball court, 2 different Playgrounds for different ages (2-5, and 5-12), and a cute Sertoma Arts Center located in the middle of the park (they offer classes on painting, drawing, photography, pottery etc as well as all kinds of exhibitions and group support classes).

Dating Your Spouse in Raleigh NC:What to do in Shelly Lake?

There are so many cool things that you can do in this relaxing and gorgeous park. Riding your bike, walking, running, hiking, fishing. My husband runs here almost every day with our dog Harper, and loves it. He does a much bigger loop which results in a 5.5 mile run, but you can make it as short or as long as you like. The park and Shelley Lake is connected to the bigger Greenway System, so you can walker run all the way to Crabtree Mall if you like. A few weeks ago we invited our friends to join us for a walk and picnic at the lake and we had a blast. We brought our dogs, kids, picnic foods, music, frisbee and board games, and had such a great time. We found a picnic table right by the lake and further away from the trail, which worked out really well because it was kinda private and away from people walking by.

Dating Your Spouse in Raleigh NC: What to bring?

Dogs or kids or both, music, picnic foods, frisbee, board games. If Shelley Lake is far from where you live in Wake Forest or Raleigh or you don’t feel like going there for some reason, you should check out many other beautiful nearby lakes located all throughout Raleigh area, like lake Jordan, Falls Lake, or Lake Johnson. They even have a real beach in Lake Jordan, did you know that?

Happy exploring! 

I hope this information helps you to plan some fun quality time with your significant other that does not necessarily include booze as the main attraction! If you have any questions or want to schedule your free 15-minute phone consultation with me, click here or check out the FAQs to learn more.

This is not your typical weekly kind of therapy. I am here to help couples and individuals in relationships do what is proven to work to help them heal their relationships. Through marriage counseling Raleigh NC, marriage retreat in North Carolina, online therapy North Carolina, and individual counseling, there is something for every couple who wants to heal their relationship.

Stop wasting years of your precious life trying to feel happy. Schedule your free 15-minute consultation with me today by clicking here. During the call, you will discover how having a place to heal your relationship with a guide can take you from the hurt to a healthier relationship than the one you grew up with.