Valentine’s Day can be stressful, especially if you’ve left planning that special evening to the last minute. But don’t resort to buying flowers and chocolates from a street vendor on your way home from work: Your sweetheart deserves better. Instead, try one of these unusual last-minute ideas:
CRUISING ALONG
Nothing says “I love you” more than a romantic cruise around the Bay. Red and White Fleet offers a “Sweet Valentine Cruise,” which boasts spectacular views of the waterfront along with an appetizer buffet and a complimentary drink. Doesn’t kissing your loved one under the Golden Gate Bridge scream romance?
Where: Red and White Fleet, Pier 43½ at Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco
When: 5 p.m.
Price: $48 per person, $40 for a group
Info: (415) 673-2900 or visit www.redandwhite.com.
UNDER THE SEA
Not feeling like cruising on top of the Bay? How about going underneath it? The Aquarium of the Bay Foundation is celebrating San Francisco’s love affair with the bay at “Amor del Mar.” You and that special someone can mingle with sharks, rays and 20,000 other marine animals from beneath the bay, while being served food, wine, cocktails and musical entertainment.
Where: Aquarium of the Bay, Pier 39, Embarcadero, San Francisco
When: 6to 9 p.m.
Price: $100 per person, tickets available at the door
Info: (415) 623-5300 or visit www.aquariumofthebay.com.
LOVE LAUGHING
Laughter can be the best medicine for a relationship. Or so says the improv group that performs “How We First Met.” Couples are selected to come onstage and share stories about their relationship. Then, the improv group lampoons and ridicules said stories with sketches and songs.
Where: Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco
When: 8 p.m.
Price: Three-course meal and admission for $79.25 per person
Info: (415) 392-4400 or visit www.sfwmpac.org/herbst/ht_index.html
PILLOW TALK
Want something really out of the ordinary to impress your mate? Take those bedroom eyes out to the streets for a massive Pillow Fight. The San Francisco Pillow Fight Club will be hosting, well, a pillow fight. The Food Bank and Coalition on Homelessness will be collecting donations. Just make sure you don’t hit anyone who doesn’t have a pillow, unless they ask.
Where: Justin Herman Plaza, San Francisco
When: 6 p.m.
Price: Just the cost of a pillow
Info: www.pillowfight.info
Find out more at www.sfexaminer.com/join/