‘Remember to live life’: Couple has social distance date night in Old Town Bluffton
For Walt Perkowski, it’s important in these anxiety-filled days to find time to laugh, have fun and spend time with loved ones.
He’s grown tired of wearing his pajama pants around the house and watching Netflix everyday.
So on Saturday night, Perkowski and his girlfriend, Dionna Bauer, had a romantic candlelit dinner in Old Town Bluffton. The table for two, was in the bed of Perkowski’s Nissan Titan, parked in front of Agave Side Bar and Captain Woody’s.
In the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, residents across Hilton Head Island and Bluffton are looking for ways to remain social and active while responsibly keeping a physical distance.
Perkowski’s and Bauer’s Lady and the Tramp-esque date night came equipped with a tablecloth, napkins, a red flower and, of course, a small bottle of hand sanitizer.
The couple ordered curbside pickup from Captain Woody’s and had grilled shrimp salad, fried scallops and coconut creme pie for desert, Perkowski said.
“We had fun. It was a blast,” he said. “I said ‘hey listen, we can’t wear our pajamas anymore. Let’s wear some real clothes.’”
Bauer saw an idea for a social-distance date night online, and they both agreed to go out and support a local restaurant.
While it’s vital to keep physically distant from each other, Perkowski, a real estate agent who’s lived in Bluffton for nine years, said there’s still opportunity to be social responsibly.
“If we want to see these places open eventually, we have to help them out now,” Perkowski said. “We’re also trying to be as responsible as we can. We brought Lysol wipes and wiped everything down. We’d rather be safe than sorry, but I think everyone’s getting tired of looking at their living room wall.”
Perkowski brought the table and chairs and laid a rug down in the bed of his truck while Bauer brought the plates, napkins and candle.
“It just turned into a really fun night,” he said.
As the date night went on, the couple caught the attention of onlookers who took photos — at a safe distance — and shared them online.
“For the past week or so, we’ve cooked at home, which I love, but you get to start feeling really cooped up,” Perkowski said. “The funnest part for us was just people coming up and asking to take a picture. We were just having a little fun. I hope people do things like that. Just remember to keep it fun and keep it as lighthearted as we can in some pretty heavy times.”
Perkowski said he hopes to see someone on a social distance date night wearing a tux.
“We still need to remember to live life a little bit,” he said. “We’re just trying to have a little fun and laugh a little bit in some trying times. I don’t care if you’re married 20 years or two months, you’ve got to do the little things to appreciate each other.”
