They call it America’s Finest City. It has beach, mountains, desert and lush parks. It has both a major league baseball and a major league football team. It has some of the nation’s finest theaters, two of which have produced Tony- and Pulitzer-winning theatrical pieces. And of course the city is home to Sea World, The Wild Animal Park and the world-famous San Diego Zoo.

With Labor Day Weekend just around the corner, we decided to go out in search of some fun dates that might not have come to mind when planning your holiday weekend time.

While likely the majority of first dates are “dinner and a movie,” here are a few twists.

Kevin McGowan is an avid theater-goer.

“I love to go see live theater,” says McGowan. “One of the great things about San Diego is that there is such diversity in terms of theater. From the small community theaters like the Sledgehammer and Diversionary, to the La Jolla Playhouse and The Old Globe, we have it all.”

In fact, McGowan, a Ph.D. student at the University of California, San Diego, just stood in line for two hours to get tickets to the upcoming musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, soon to play at the Old Globe.

“I guess my ideal date would be to go to dinner at Café on Park and then to some good theater,” says McGowan. “I know a lot of people go to Café on Park for breakfast, but their dinner is really great too.”

One thing McGowan insists on, though, is some time after the show to share thoughts.

“On the one hand, going to see a show, either a movie or the theater, is sort of strange in terms of two people sitting in the dark, not really getting to know each other,” says McGowan. “On the other hand, if you go out for drinks or dessert afterward, then you can talk about the show and get to know someone in a different way. Approximate total cost: $200

Kathy Schultz can’t resist a good independent film. But more than that, she says, she loves Kemo Sabe’s desserts. So why not make an evening of it?

“The Hillcrest Cinema inevitably has a film worth seeing,” says Schultz, a restaurant hostess in the Gaslamp Quarter. “They are usually the first to get the indie films in San Diego. My ideal evening is catching a flick at the Hillcrest Cinema and then going across the street to Kemo Sabe for dessert.”

Kemo Sabe offers a dessert platter for $12 that usually includes four to five desserts, including a warm potted brownie and a white chocolate cheesecake tower.

“I mean, how can you go wrong with that?” asks Schultz. “There is no way two people could finish that whole platter, but what a way to end an evening of fun, to sit and have a cup of coffee or hot chocolate and indulge in the divine desserts. Plus, it gives you a chance to see if the other person is good at sharing!”

For a different take on a movie and dinner date, Robert Henry suggests heading to Balboa Park to the I-MAX theatre. The I-MAX typically has several different shows running, all of a unique ilk.

“I can’t tell you how many cool movies I have seen at the [Rueben H. Fleet] Science Center,” says Henry. “Hollywood doesn’t even come close to the amazing technology of I-MAX.”

Henry, a member of a local tourist boating crew, says dinner depends entirely on how much his date enjoyed the I-MAX.

“I’m kind of a geek when it comes to I-MAX, so usually I am on super over-load afterward,” says Henry. “If the guy I take seems pretty excited about the experience—and we I-MAX junkies call them experiences, not movies — then I might go to The Prado. If not, then I can usually just get away with going over to [the San Diego Museum of Art’s] Waters Café for some barbeque chicken pizza.”

Don’t get Henry wrong, though. Even if his date didn’t get really excited about the movie, he’ll still pick up the tab for dinner.

“I mean, hey, if a guy says he’ll go to the I-MAX at all, then it’s worth some dinner,” says Henry. “But if the guy says, ‘Hey, want to go back and catch the 7 o’clock showing of such-and-such, then, bam, The Prado it is!”

After nearly 21 years, Joe Grey says it isn’t always easy coming up with creative dates for him and his partner, Alan Schmidt.

“One of the things we used to do all the time was go to the drive-in theaters,” says Grey, a real estate associate in business with his partner. Grey says it is most fun when you have a convertible or a truck – unless, of course, you want to make out.

“I remember going to the drive-in about 20 years ago with Alan, and it was really sort of weird, because all the couples were young straight couples, and here we were, two guys,” says Grey. “It was pretty weird, really. Now, I guess things would be better.”

Grey says now-a-days the best way to prepare for an old-fashioned drive-in date is to stop in at the Corvette Diner before-hand.

“What I love about the Corvette Diner is that it is so fun and free,” says Grey. “People are throwing things, it’s loud, but in a good way, and the food is good.”

Imperial Beach has a drive-in off of Coronado Avenue and Interstate 5. With three screens and two showings on each screen, you can mix and match to your liking.

John Del Propost, a corporate lawyer and avid rodeo participant, says one of his favorite ways to spend the day is horseback riding followed by an old-fashioned lunch at A&W Rootbeer.

“I love the abundance of historic trails that follow Sweetwater River,” says Del Propost. “You can hire a wrangler to take you along the trails and give you the history, like and old Well’s Fargo station, an Indian burial ground, and lots of other interesting landmarks.”

While Del Propost owns his own horse, he suggests renting some horses from the Bright Valley Farms (www.brightvalleyfarms.com), offering Western, Hunt and English riding. Located in Spring Valley, Bright Valley Farms has more than 800 acres of land to explore.

After a couple of hours in the sun, Del Propost likes to stop in at the A&W restaurant on Jamacha Road for a Coney Dog and old-fashioned root beer float.

San Diego has literally hundreds of hiking trails. Many communities are being very assertive in maintaining the wildlife in our canyons and communities. But Debbie Jenkins prefers a slightly out-of-the-way challenge: The Dipping Springs Trail.

“Dipping Springs is an amazing place to see the true diversity of San Diego County,” says Jenkins, an avid cycler and runner. The Dipping Trails offers views of Santiago Peak, Mt. Baldy, San Gorgonio and San Jacinto, as well as High Point.

“On clear days, you can see every aspect of San Diego’s ecosystem: the ocean, the mountains, the desert and the valleys,” says Jenkins, referring to views of the mountains, the Pacific Ocean, the Desert Divide and the Temecula Valley.

And if the date goes really well, you can always stop at one of the many Temecula wineries to pick up a bottle to take home.

“The reason I like hiking as a date is that I am a very active person,” says Jenkins, “and I need a woman to be able to keep up. I mean, if she can’t keep up in the Temecula Valley, then how will she keep up in the French lowlands when we go for a real bottle of wine?”

“By far the best way to spend a day,” says Sarah Gifford, “is at one of the dog beaches.”

Gifford, a veterinarian, says a love of animals is crucial to her selection in a dating environment.

San Diego has a number of off-leash dog parks and beaches. The two most popular dog beaches are on Coronado Island and Ocean Beach. Balboa Park has two off-leash dog parks, with the primary one near the 163 overpass.

“The great thing about going to a dog beach is you get to see how the woman handles being around a lot of dogs,” says Gifford. “Plus, you can throw a quick picnic together and voila! you have a beautiful afternoon.”

Gifford says the best time to go is in the morning before it gets too warm.

“I like to go early, hopefully before too many people arrive,” says Gifford, “so we can get a good location. One thing I love to do is just walk along the shoreline talking about anything or nothing at all while my dogs jump and play in the waves. I guess it’s sort of like being a divorcee and having kids. If the other person doesn’t like my dogs, or my dogs don’t click with her, then it’s no-go as far as I’m concerned.”

Bonfires can be a lot of fun — but they can also be a lot of work, says Gregg Mulline.

“It takes me a while to collect enough wooden pallets to have enough for a good bonfire,” says Mulline, a clerk at a local grocery store. “And then you have to be really careful about when you are burning them.”

San Diego has plenty of sites for bonfires, but the city also has a great number of restrictions. First, there can be no nails in the wood. The wood cannot be treated in anyway, either paint or lacquer. And no bottles.

“The one thing you really have to do is respect the right to have bonfires,” says Mulline. “I can’t tell you how many times I will have a date with someone to spend an evening out at a bonfire, and the guy shows up with a case of bottled beer — and that’s after I’ve already told him no glass allowed.”

“Usually the guy’s response is, ‘Hey, no one will even know,’” says Mulline. “Well, you know what, not only do I know, but the parks have a lot of patrol teams.”

Mulline says the number-one thing that people get tickets for is alcohol after 8:00 p.m.

“I know it sounds cheesy,” says Mulline, “but I think it’s a perfectly fine thing for no alcohol after 8:00. I mean, you have to drive home, as it is.”

But Mulline says most of the patrol teams are pretty understanding.

“I can’t tell you how many times I have watched other bonfire folks get ‘verbal warnings’ and just be told to pack up whatever they shouldn’t have,” says Mulline. “Let’s face it. We’re so blessed to have the kind of place where you can spend the sunset on a beach having s’mores any day of the year.”

Troy Devenshire says the movie Pumpkin Head is his all-time favorite film. The only problem, he says, is that it would scare most people if they knew it.

“My favorite line from the film is when this totally great psycho guys goes, ‘Wanna go for a boat ride?!’ and suddenly the movie just jolts you,” says Devenshire. “So I guess I use different places for boat rides as a substitute.”

Devenshire’s favorite ride is the Coronado Ferry, which departs from Broadway Pier and heads over to The Landing on Coronado.

“My ultimate would be if the guy would bike from my house with me down to the Pier and then we can take our bikes over to Coronado for a ride,” says Devenshire.

Don’t get Devenshire wrong, though. He isn’t an exercise or health fanatic.

“Once we get to Coronado, I love to go to the Coronado Brewing Company,” says Devenshire. “They have the most awesome beer-battered onion rings you’ve ever had. Plus, they have all these different beers to choose from, brewed locally.”

But Devenshire is quick to point out that DUI (Driving Under the Influence) citations apply to bicycles, too.

“If you think it’s the kind of date where you are going to sample a number of the local brews,” says Devenshire, “then just take a cab to the Pier and take the Ferry across and either take a cab back from the Brewery or from the Pier. I can’t think of anything worse than having to plead no contest in front of a judge who asks, ‘So, you were weaving in and out of traffic on your Schwinn, is that right, Mr. Devenshire?’”

When Jim Costello (the author’s partner) isn’t busy being commissioner of San Diego’s gay softball league, or preparing for next year’s Gay Softball World Series to take place here in San Diego, he is likely to be found making a trip with this writer to Julian, California for a slice of mom’s apple pie.

“I just love the drive up through the mountains, and seeing the foliage change in the fall is so wonderful,” says Costello. “We usually just think of sand and beaches in San Diego, and I think we forget that within an hour, you can be in such a quaint place.”

Costello prefers the apple crumb with vanilla bean ice cream. And he doesn’t mind the calories.

“You could spend hours just walking through the craft and antique shops there, or even stop along the way back and walk through some of the trails,” says Costello.

Last year’s fires took their toll on Julian, so Costello says the town is even that much more appreciative of San Diego folks coming out for an afternoon.

“The people there are so friendly,” says Costello. “My heart really went out to them when we had the horrible fires taking out so many homes and businesses. Just seeing them pull themselves up and keep moving forward is such a testament to that town.”