Monique Koszty | Banner Todd Williams, 47, and Roselyn Murphey, 40, have been together for 16 years and come to the Coffee Bean to get away and have quiet time with one another.
Couples at California Baptist University have found local spots to spend time with each other off campus on a date and they have their personal favorite venues.
Riverside is filled with date spots for young couples such as downtown Riverside coffee shops and the historic state park, Citrus Park, close to downtown Riverside.
Ryan Ford, sophomore biology major, and his girlfriend Jessica Olson, sophomore graphic design major, both said they enjoy going on dates to coffee shops.
“Our first date was a coffee shop,” Ford said. “The coffee shop was totally an icebreaker. It was not awkward. We just got to know each other.”
Ford said he and Olson like to go to Back to the Grind and are planning to visit other coffee houses in the area on their weekly dates.
“We go to coffee shops because we are so busy and it’s a good thing to sit down and talk,” Olson said. “When we are going to Disneyland or something it’s not easy to sit down and talk or have personal time. (Going out to coffee) just allows us to catch up.”
Outdoor activities like California Citrus State Historic Park and Mount Rubidoux can get couples to enjoy outdoor activities.
Olson and Ford said they like to spend quality time together going outdoors, allowing them to have meaningful conversations.
“Something Jessica and I like to do is go on hikes on Mount Rubidoux,” Ford said.
Olson said it can also be a great place for exercise.
“We go to Rubidoux all the time,” Oslon said. “Rubidoux is an awesome place during the day or even at night.”
Ford said he likes how Riverside continues to grow and have new things for couples to do.
“Jessica and I are a young couple and like everyone else, we have our things we like to do and there are opportunities for all different things in Riverside,” Ford said.
Robyn Teruel, junior psychology major, and Seth Wijnhamer, junior mechanical engineering major, said they prefer outdoor activities.
“(Seth and I) like to go to the Citrus Park and Botanic Gardens at (the University of California, Riverside) because they are really fun and pretty places to explore and hammock,” Teruel said.
Ford said coffee shops and other activities like exploring outdoors are a nice way to get off campus together.
