Cheap/Free No Eating/Drinking Activities

These are some tough criteria! But I’ve been pondering this for awhile, ever since I trekked to SIX lounge for a cute guy I met who bartends there. “Going out” is easy. Everyone does it. So you can conceivably arrange to meet organically, with minimal effort, while you’re out. Or at a restaurant. It’s low-commitment, and you have friends with you for automatic back-up. No wonder everyone goes out! Add in some social lube (alcohol, that is), and making friends or dating becomes easier than ever before!

But what is there to do at night if you aren’t drinking or eating? (I don’t know, say you’re on a Master Cleanse) Do people want to come hang out and watch a movie? Is that lame?

The standards:

• Going to the movies
• Bowling
• Putt-putt
• Free concerts in parks — Blues on the Green, Unplugged at the Grove (food!), etc.
• Free movies in parks — Deep Eddy Dive-In, 101X Movies in the Park at Central Market (Central)
• Museums … not open at night though. (I still haven’t been to the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum here and REALLY want to go!)
• Hike-n-Bike — we have miles and miles of trails and water and free swimming holes, you just gotta find them on the Greenbelt! See Twin Falls and, thanks to a reader, Sculpture Falls. More of a daytime activity, but I thought I’d throw it on here.
• Live music, of course.

Any new ideas though?

• Gym … but how successful would this be? Can you take a group of friends to the gym and actually get a workout? Would you have to take a class or could you lift together? Probably depends on the number of people and dedication to the workout.
• Swimming/hot tubbing … food and drink need not be involved! And you can do either at night. I’m a fan of hot tubbing at apartment complexes you don’t live at, but I’m not sure how legal that is so I’m not advocating it or anything. 😉
• Hanging out on cliffs –before you laugh too hard, this isn’t hard to do in Austin. Mt. Bonnell is the easiest one, but there are scenic overlooks all along 360, especially right at the 360 bridge. People go there all the time, I went in high school. To make out. Maybe it’s not the best group activity, but some minor nighttime hiking could be fun!

I’m clearly stretching. Do you guys have any ideas?