Best for:
Long-term partners looking to maintain your love, Ohio adventure seekers, foodies interested in culture, wellness advocates, and local history buffs.
The Psychology of the Shared Journey:
& The Effort to Maintain your Love
A good way to maintain your bond in any relationship is through sharing experiences. A relationship is either working towards growth, stagnant, or worse building toxicity; there is not really any middle ground.
While a routine is comfortable, it’s the pursuit of togetherness, sometimes found in experiences, the kind that take you across four counties in a single afternoon, as well as the ones found closer to home, that fosters genuine intimacy.
Whether it’s an couples massage or a messy encounter on a farm, these shared moments whether new experiences or repeated favorites release oxytocin. These experiences also create a shared language that can act as a buffer against the friction of daily life.
This post isn’t just a regular travel log; it’s a blueprint for using Central Ohio’s diverse landscape to keep a partnership dynamic.
Massages: The Science of Starting with Stillness:
Our day began in Pataskala, Ohio with a 1:00 PM couples massage at Massage Kneaded Peacefully. Beyond the immediate physical relief, massage therapy is a mechanical reset for your nervous system, acting to lower cortisol levels and promoting a state of rest and digest.
When it comes to massage’s effects on intimate partners relationships, engaging in this simultaneously creates a shared atmosphere of vulnerability and calm, thus ensuring that the busier segments of the day and coming weeks are approached with a more unified, relaxed mindset. All of this works together to help you maintain your love.
Maintain your Love Trying New Food:
Moving our day date into the city, we visited Ramyun EZ Columbus (5025 Olentangy River Rd), which took over the space formerly occupied by the beloved Tea Zone Bakery after its closure in late 2025.
The “Ramen Library” concept is a direct export of South Korean convenience store culture, specifically modeled after the CU “Ramyun Library” in Hongdae, Seoul. These spaces were designed to turn a quick, cheap meal into a customizable social event.
- The Concept: A “library” display of over 60 varieties of ramen allows for a granular choice of spice levels and dietary needs (vegan/halal).
- The Tech: Using induction cookers to prepare packaged ramen on-site mirrors the “Hangang Ramen” experience popular in Korean parks.
- Street Food Roots: While the ramen is the draw, the bungeo-ppang (fish-shaped cakes, filled with red bean jam and vanilla ice cream) and Korean potato cakes are staples of Seoul’s street food markets, offering a savory, non-noodle alternative that we first encountered a year or so ago at Kura conveyer sushi.
Dublin Link S-Bridge:
The Dublin Link, is a landmark as well as a pedestrian bridge that connects historic Dublin to the Riverside Crossing Park area after crossing over the Scioto River. This bridge isn’t just a walkway; it’s the longest single-tower, S-shaped suspension bridge in the world.
The Dublin Link spans 760 feet across the River, acting as a literal and metaphorical curve that connects old-school charm with the modern energy.
The high foot traffic and the scale of the structure here has kept this place on my list but unvisited. Simply because a trip here needed to be saved for a day I planned to leave Luna behind. That being said it still remains one of the best spots for a focused walk with your partner or even friend group and maintain your love.
Pro-Tip for Local Walkers:
The Dublin Link itself is the main attraction of the Riverside Crossing Park; its integration into the landscape is the real win for explorers.
If you walk down the paved side walk in front of the bridge and the public restrooms with the green lounge chairs, the sidewalk isn’t just a sidewalk… it is an inner-city trail. This trail links directly from Riverside Crossing Park to Dublin Kiwanis Riverway Park. This allows you to transition from a high-profile architectural landmark into a quieter, continuous trek through more local green space without getting back in the car.
The High-Stakes Reality of Highland Calves:
Leaving the city behind, we pushed further south into Perry County for a much more tactile experience. The final leg of our day date was in Crooksville, Ohio where we moved from history to biology. We were invited to partake in bottle-feeding 3 Highland calves (two six-week-olds standard size and one three-week-old mini) which was an immensely rewarding and high-energy interaction.
- Agricultural Insight: Calves at this age require approximately 10% to 20% of their body weight in milk daily, often split into two feedings. Their “rowdy” nature during bottle-feeding is a healthy sign of vigor and hunger.
- The Serotonin Factor: Physical interaction with baby animals triggers an immediate dopamine and serotonin release. For a relationship, these moments of pure unscripted joy, humor, and core memory building are the “glue” that keeps things from becoming stagnant.
Growing Love Over Stagnation:
A day spent crossing from Pataskala to Crooksville isn’t just about the mileage; it’s about the investment. Whether it’s the $2 fish-shaped cake at Ramyun EZ Columbus or the priceless experience of being pulled around by a hungry calf, these moments build a history of shared resilience, quality time, and discovery.
Don’t let your relationship sit still. Go on, get out, find the hidden trails, and feed the calves… or honestly whatever you and your partner will enjoy together works just as well.
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