Fairs and Festivals Can be Great Getaways for Date Nights!

Last Saturday night Chuck and I were looking for something different to do. He had seen in the paper that the local town of Niantic, Connecticut was having a street fair all day, and ending it with fireworks at 9:00 p.m. We decided to go check it out. Main Street was blocked off and we could see it was crowded with people as we tried to find a parking space. We finally did and as we walked toward the fair, we saw a cute little carnival area with rides, cotton candy and candy apples for sale just before the main area of the festival. This was a great place for kids and families. Once we got to Main Street, there was booth after booth of businesses, food, crafts and products for sale. Music played in the background from a variety of musicians as we walked down the street enjoying the festival. We hadn't eaten dinner yet, so we searched through a myriad of choices,including sausages,tacos, hot dogs, hamburgers, clam chowder, clam cakes, ice cream, shaved ice, fried dough, and any other food you can imagine being sold at a street fair. We settled on clam chowder and shared a plate of clam fritters at a booth run by the East Lyme Rotary Club. As we left with our food, our server thanked us for supporting the Rotary Club. That was a nice touch to go with our delicious food. We found seats on a set of stairs and watched people dancing to music from speakers set up nearby. A little before 9:00 p.m., we walked down toward the area where the fireworks could be viewed best. They were being shot off from a barge on the water on Long Island Sound. Promptly at 9, we were treated to an exceptional fireworks display for 19 minutes that ended with clapping and cheering from the whole crowd on Main Street, as well as people from boats on the water behind the fireworks barge. This is what home town America is all about...communities coming together and celebrating the businesses and residents that live there. This made a great date night for us, even though our kids are older, and aren't around us much. Although perfect for families with kids, this type of community activity should not be overlooked as a date day or night for couples who can find a relative, older sibling or babysitter to stay with the kids for a few hours. The bonding experience you will get as a couple is well worth the cost of a babysitter.