Patch Picks: Five Ways to Spend Valentine's Day

Mondays typically don't inspire feelings of passion or romance but alas, this Valentine's Day does indeed land on the first workday of the week. Don't know what to do to celebrate? Here are some ideas.

Sneak up the backside of and plant a blanket, finger food and a bottle of wine where you will "accidentally" discover said snacks and naturally intoxicating aphrodisiac on an innocent cruise up Mount Peak with your Valentine.  Pick a good spot away from a trail but without too much foliage.  I would tell you a good spot, but those are for me.  Find your own.  Don't forget glasses and a corkscrew because pushing a cork into the the wine could potentially sour the sugar!  Snack it up, blanket up, wine down,  and try to score some points with your Valentine friend.  Cheers.

If this were me, I would get a nice little table at the , order some of their steamed clams, two glasses of white wine and talk it up over the clams.  Get some dinner from their decent menu.  It should be nice -- they have good table service.  Take your time and then pay.  Leave a nice tip.  Now swagger out of there and head over to for a microbrew and a game of cards. The winner gets some "time" from the loser.  I love competition.  Score.  Win.

Stop by the swings spontaneously.  It might be hard to be super spontaneous now that I suggested it, but for what it's worth, this is spontaneous and romantic.  Sit down next to each other and swing for a few moments.  If the sun is out, the mountain will be right in front of you and will bounce up and down while the constant thrill and motion of the swings penetrates your little swing session with Cupid's arrow.  Maybe a little kiss ... maybe a little nervous tension...  a lot of fun. Move on with the date.  Score.

I am a guy.  Some of my friends will make fun of me, but this movie is good.  It can allow the guy to show a soft side.  It made me cry more then when "Old Dan" dies in Where the Red Fern Grows. Get some wine and some nice chocolate, maybe a little cheese (not Kraft Singles, dude -- nice cheese).  When the tears start flowing you can assure your woman that you are a rugged guy, but sensitive.  Maybe $30 is all you need.  Sip City, Safeway, and QFC have gigantic wine collections.  Set the cheese up on a nice plate with a cheese knife and crackers.  (The Grocery Outlet always has exotic cheeses -- just check the expiration date.)   Go with a little mood lighting and a candle. That is all you need bro.  Score.

One billion Valentine's cards are sent out near or around Valentine's Day.  Is this day just a creation to spawn revenue for greeting card companies and all those romantic places that people frequent on these days?  Who knows?  There are a lot legends about St. Valentine, and all of them end in his death.  In one, he falls in love with the daughter of a man who jailed him.  Right before he gets the ax, he writes her a letter and signs it with, "From  your Valentine."   This still appears on greeting cards today.  What is this thing all about?  Keep pondering, and enjoy the solitude.  Just remember that Jerry Garcia gives this delicious piece of wisdom for days that seem lonely or wrong, "Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right."  Score.