Hey, just because my husband Alex and I are married -- and parents of a toddler -- doesn't mean we don't like to spend romantic times together! Married people need to go on dates, too!

So, assuming his family is keeping our kid distracted for the day and early evening, here's my perfect template for what we'd do. Some of this isn't practical, due to where we live now, but I can dream, can't I?

We'd probably tour a few wineries, to start with. Wineries are a lot of fun, very romantic, and are often in a location that includes either a really pretty view, a quaint little town nearby, or both. And my spouse and I just happen to share a weakness for pretty views and quaint little towns. After tasting a few of the wines, we'd probably buy some. Some wineries offer picnic lunches for a modest fee, and we'd buy one and have a light lunch on the grounds somewhere, while admiring the view, of course!

After lunch, if we've "done" all the wineries in the area, we'd go shopping (really cluttered, "junky" antique stores are our personal favorites), or museum hopping, or just drive around and look at the nice old houses -- or all of the above -- at the quaint little town near the winery, marking, of course, a local restaurant (not a chain) for later for dinner. If there is a river near the town, I suspect we'd sit on the bank and watch it go by for a while, assuming the afternoon is not too hot to sit outside for long periods of time. If there is a park with a spring or creek running through it, we'd sit and soak our feet for a while, and listen to the water flow by.

Of course, during all the shopping, driving, and museum hopping, the conversation would be about nothing very much, nothing earth-shattering, maybe some reminiscing about when we first met or when we started dating (these dates are 10 years apart, you see), but good conversation all the same. While conversing, we would, of course, stop for ice cream!

Eventually we'd meander our way back to the restaurant we found. And of course the food is excellent and the ambience is...negotiable.

Afterwards, we'd mosey our way back to my mother-in-law's house where our daughter is already in bed, and spend quality time with some of Alex's family.

We used to spend days like this, before we were parents, before we left central Missouri, whenever we needed to "recharge." We used to call it "running away from home" and about four or five times a year, we'd take off and visit our favorite wineries and small towns in east central Missouri. We don't have much of a chance to spend days like this any more -- we now share our life with a toddler, and family members who could watch her all day are about 800 miles away. And, believe it or not, there are no quaint little historical towns anywhere near where we live in extreme east central New Mexico. Alas.

But it's nice to dream, and plan for the time when we can have this kind of romantic day together again!