SEATTLE — Eden Dawn and Ashod Simonian literally wrote the book on dating in the PNW - "The Seattle Book of Dates: Adventures, Escapes and Secret Spots."
For our date with them, they invited us to one of their favorite bars in Ballard.
"This is Hazlewood - it is such a good tiny secret spot, there's all these little nooks and dark corners and places to get romantic, the music's always good, the drinks are always good," Simonian said.
This couple knows the importance of a good date: "We just hit our 10 year anniversary, and the longer you're together, it's very, very easy to fall into a rut," Dawn said.
This book's for falling OUT of that rut.
"We say having a date is really about having an adventure," Dawn said.
Dates in this book have bright illustrations, done by Simonian, and clever names, like "Will You Be My Sweatheart," which starts at Banya 5, a Russian style spa where you can get a massage with oak leaves and twigs, called 'venick'.
"So good to get sweaty, get beaten by sticks," laughed Simonian.
"The health benefits are off the charts," Dawn added.
The date ends at the Georgian bakery Skalka for some post spa carbs: khachapuri, a bread boat filled with melted cheese and eggs.
"Tropical Punch" begins with a getaway to the Volunteer Park Conservatory, one of Dawn's favorite date spots:
"This beautiful greenhouse and they have this fern section and this palm section and its humid and your bones are warm and its gorgeous!" she said.
This date wraps at a speakeasy near the conservatory called Inside Passage, that has a secret entrance, over the top tropical drinks and a sea monster on the ceiling.
Some of these these dates will take you out of town. 'Two Tickets To Paradise' will have you bonding over buffalo - or bighorn sheep - at Northwest Trek in Eatonville, then sitting around a campfire sipping cider at Mill Haus Cider Co., all part of a romantic adventure on the way to Mount Rainier.
These two say romance isn't a requirement for a good date.
"Dates can be things to do with your best friends, things to do when your parent is in town," Dawn said.
The Seattle Book of Dates isn't just for couples - it's a guide to getting together that anyone can use.
"When you think about reaching for you phone to doom scroll and look at the news, reach for the book instead and find some joy," Simonian said.
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