Thirteen inches of snow, below-freezing temperatures and layers upon layers of clothing are not what most people would consider romantic. However, Ball State University students and local businesses said they are not too worried about bad weather affecting their Valentine's Day plans.
Graduate student Sarah Delongchamp said she didn't expect any problems unless her photographer, who lives on campus, could not meet with her.
"I have an erotic photo session planned for my boyfriend," she said.
Freshman Stephen Hopkins said he didn't think the weather would interfere with his plans to sit alone in his room to play Minesweeper. Valentine's Day is a conspiracy, he said.
"It's just another reason for girls to take money from guys," Hopkins said.
Despite the weather, the Olive Garden is anticipating wonderful business today, culinary manager Drenalyn Beard said.
"I know a lot of the guests won't be as apt to come in for lunch, but we're hoping the love birds will come in for dinner," she said.
Beard is optimistic that couples will still want to find a way to do something special to celebrate their love today, she said. The Olive Garden, located on McGalliard Road, does not take reservations and seats customers on a first-come, first-serve basis, she said.
Scotty's Brewhouse in the Village also expects normal business tonight, general manager Scott Craddock said. He said the restaurant was "going with the flow" and seeing how the weather turns out.
Students can enjoy a special Valentine's Day dinner-for-two at Scotty's all day today for $40. The dinner includes one appetizer, two entrees and two desserts, all from a select menu of items, as well as a bottle of Jlohr Riesling or a 60 oz. pitcher of Sam Adam's Cherry Wheat, Craddock said.
Even though a number of restaurants are open, freshman Nikki Melcher said the problem for her is getting there. Melcher said she was supposed to go out to dinner at Puerto Vallarta Mexican Restaurant with her boyfriend for Valentine's Day, but the heavy snow might make driving too difficult.
Junior John Carlson said he and his girlfriend were going to drive to The Cheesecake Factory in Indianapolis for dinner, but with conditions on the interstates looking dangerous, he said they would probably find another place to eat in Muncie.
Another Valentine's Day staple, the florist, had mixed feelings about today's business prospects.
Cindy Disney, co-owner of Annie's Arbor Flowers and Gifts, said people were still phoning in orders Tuesday, despite a decrease in the number of walk-in customers. She usually sees all kinds of different people in her store, she said, including young girls and older women. Most of her walk-in customers on Tuesday, however, were men with trucks.
Deliveries were difficult for Paul's Flowers, owner Joe Davis said.
"[The weather] is killing us," he said Tuesday. "I can't get anything delivered."
Davis said he had a van stall four times and another delivery vehicle with four-wheel drive was run off of the road by a snow plow. It is hard to complete deliveries on time because many people are not shoveling their driveways and some businesses are not open to receive their orders, he said.
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