Randon penny arcade in Manitou Springs. I'm pretty sure this is the last place you can still play pinball for a dime.

The river that runs through Manitou Springs

This restaurant is literally built over a river. How cool is that?

Hail

Recently a man surveying Google Fiber knocked on our door. I foolishly thought it was the delivery person for a package I was expecting, so I opened the front door. Unfortunately because I made eye contact I was suckered into taking his survey.

I answered questions about what internet provider we had, as well as my total satisfaction, rating on a scale from 1-5. He then proceeded to ask me which cable company we used. I don't him we didn't have cable. He slightly raised an eyebrow, however it's not entirely unusual for millennials to be "cord-cutters."

"So you you have Netflix or Hulu?" he asked.
"No." I replied.
The look on his face showed that he was clearly confused, as he made scratch marks on his survey paper.

That's right, we are probably one of the few couples under 30 who do not have any sort of TV show or movie subscription. Nada.

I know, I can hear the audible gasp coming from whatever electronic device you are reading this with. The fact is, we aren't against TV or movie subscriptions. We love some of the shows and movies on Netflix. We are also not some self-righteous couple who think they are better than everyone else. Although it may seem odd, we aren't the only ones out there that live like this. 49% of Millennials that don't subscribe the Netflix.

Because of our choice, we can't give you the latest details from House of Cards, or Breaking Bad.

We don't feel the intense anxiety that comes when the 14 seconds are counting down at the end of an episode and we have to decide if we should watch another episode or do something productive.

We don't have to worry about "Netflix cheating", or the temptation to watch an episode before our spouse does.

We don't Google "Best unknown movies on Netflix for people who have already seen everything."

We also don't get that dazed feeling, not knowing if it's light or dark outside after binge-watching several seasons of Downton Abby.

We are not haters, we just realized early on in our marriage, we probably wouldn't be on our deathbeds saying, "Sweety, I really wish we watched one more season of  House."

So what do we use instead?

We use our minds. We get a little creative when it comes to entertainment. Because of this, we have experienced a lot more, and become closer as a couple. If it's cold outside, we just put a few more sweaters on and go exploring. If it's a torrential downpour, we don't resign ourselves to movies, but we get on some old clothes, grab a raincoat, and take a walk in the rain. We don't let the weather, or lack of money stop us from having fun.
Spontaneous activities have included but are not limited to:

- Taking a hike after work to watch the sunset, and then eating sweet potato fries at our favorite restaurant.
- Exploring the little Asian market we always pass on our way home.
- Going for a bike ride along the river after dinner.
- Making cookies and eating them while watching a movie on our laptop outside
- Playing board games that we haven't touched in years
- Reading a book for fun, not for school
-  Planting seedlings in the family garden
- Taking our neighbor's dog on a walk and playing catch with her at the park.
- Volunteering to watch kids together for parents who need a much needed break
- Going out for ice cream and talking
- Cooking together
- Going for a jog at night while our laundry dries in the dryer
- Varnishing a piece of furniture for our house
- Watching a free Disney movie in the park and laughing at how we missed so many of the  little details when we were kids.
- Popping into little antique shops and seeing who can find the weirdest item
- Swimming in the Rec Center pool
- Walking around the city and critiquing landscape choices
- Going to the temple together on a regular basis
- Having bonfires in the mountains (with free wood from Freecycle,) while trying new food combinations in our Dutch oven
- Playing Frisbee golf
- Watching live basketball games, even if we're in the nosebleed section
- Designing and building a beehive
- Window shopping
- Fixing our bike's flat tires together
- Hosting dinner parties with friends
- Seeing a movie at the dollar theater
- Reading the magazines at the library for an evening
- Listening to live music at a free concert
- Going to bed early on purpose so we can relax and talk. We usually say to the other person, "pick a topic" for example, 5th grade, and then you have to tell a story on the topic. We still learn new things about each other doing this.
- Sampling the food at the local farmer's market
- Attending the premier of the Warren Miller movie

For us, we just don't have a lot of time to watch movies and TV. We'd rather be living.

But what about sports? 

Because Calvin is an avid sports fan, we are kindly invited to watch TV at his parents' house. We would like to watch TV at their house even if we did have cable, because it makes watching games a more social event. It's more fun to cheer and boo for a team (sometimes opposing teams) when we're in a group setting. Sometimes, we will also go to a restaurant, order food, and make an evening out of eat. It doesn't get much better than burgers and basketball.

What about when you want to watch movies?
It's no question that the internet has dozens of free, legal websites to stream content from, so we use those. We are also not ashamed to rent movies from the library. Our library has some decent choices for classics. Lately, we have been into watching documentaries or "how to" videos. They're entertaining and well, educational. We occasionally rent from Redbox, or see a movie in theaters. For us, we don't feel deprived and it works. We also save money, and use that money for dates.

Yes, we may be a little odd with our media lifestyle, but we wouldn't have it any other way. Our conversations don't revolve around the TV shows we watch, but rather the things we do together.