For our 'girls day out' my friend and I decided to visit Ocean Grove. Ocean Grove is a gorgeous, quaint, town on the Jersey Shore.
From the minute we arrived we were captivated by the plethora of boutique type stores, as well as the open air dining choices. We worked our way slowly up Main Avenue, which although only a small jaunt took us ages as we meandered from one exciting store to another.
The stores were full of one-of-a-kind clothing and gift items. Charming antique stores spilled out lost treasures with prices that were surprisingly reasonable.
One of our favorite finds was Comfort Zone, a super-sophisticated beauty store which carried luxurious lines of natural skincare products from all over the world. It was a casbah of colors, and choices, and so magnificently merchandised that the store presentation itself was a work of art. Victor Aluise, one of the owners, was delightful as he graciously indulged all our questions about products and obscure scents we suddenly felt compelled to buy.
Thankfully the exclusive and eclectic baby boutique was just for girls clothes, so my new-mom girlfriend was able to resist a temptation, which would have otherwise been impossible.
We then found ourselves at The Emporium, Victor Aluise and his partner's newest arrival in town. The Emporium lured us with it's colorful, fair-trade, Soho style boutique. We did not leave unscathed! Anna bought the most dramatic straw hat I have ever seen and I indulged in a never-get-it-again turquoise blue belt. Victor was there, and so fun and helpful with our wardrobe choices. If you visit this store you must see the hand-made fabric "flower bags," pictured here.
As we wound up our idyllic visit to this ocean oasis our final decision was where to eat. With bunch of choices such as the adorably named Raspberry Cafe, it was our hardest choice yet.
However, we finally settled on a busy, little cafe that served pasta and the like.We were not disappointed. From local feedback, we gathered you could pick any of the many restaurants here and be happy.
As we concluded our girls day out, and got ready to leave we took a last view of the town and snapped some photos of the abundant, antique, architectural details that make Ocean Grove so charming.
Surf, sand and shopping, Ocean Grove has it all.
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Posted by: Nike Dunks | 08/16/2010 at 11:25 PM