If you like a good book with your morning coffee, this is your place. Perk up your morning at Books and Bean. Breakfast sandwiches, smooth coffee drinks, and inspiration await. Owner and New York Times’ best-selling author Etaf Rum curated this calm space to awaken customers’ senses with locally brewed coffees and teas, as well as a rotating wall of books for sale. She encourages you to borrow a book from the community shelf or donate one you’re ready to pass along. Not a bad way to start the day.

Get ready for a day on the water to see if your relationship floats. Paddlers can explore over 55 miles of waterway along the Tar River and Stony Creek. You can drop in at 10 public access points for a fun time on the water.

The Tipsy Tomato is the perfect example of the food you want, precisely where you want it. This little artisan, wood-fired pizza restaurant is located just minutes off the Tar River Trail and right beside the largest Craft Beer campus in this part of North Carolina. So get your steps in and pop over for a couple slices and a cold one.

Like to date someone who is a little competitive? Spend a morning or the entire day enjoying one of America’s hottest new sports, disc golf! Sunset Park’s 18-hole course winds through the woods and around the park. You’ll find long straightaways, doglegs, and one heavily obstructed hole. But most of what you will find is a day of great fun for you and your date.

Koi Pond features an ever-changing variety of unfiltered ales made with local ingredients. This includes pale ales and IPAs, stouts and Belgian beers, Saisons, and more. Try an angry Squirrel. Toss back a Bozo Brown. Or grab a flight and settle in for some trivia and local music. Snacks are for sale. But locals and visitors alike simply bring in food from the fabulous local restaurants next door at Rocky Mount Mills.

River and Twine is a collection of 20 boutique tiny houses in an idyllic setting by the banks of Eastern North Carolina’s Tar River. It is the largest tiny house hotel of its kind in the world. River and Twine offers guests unique accommodations in walking distance to the Rocky Mount Mills’ world-class restaurants, breweries and event venues.