SHOPPING

There is a lot of great shopping in the Orange County area. Here’s a few tips to help plan any shopping safari you may want to embark on! Here’s a link to all of the malls in Orange County: http://www.orangecounty.net/html/shoppingcenters.html

Malls and Entertainment Centers

South Coast Plaza
http://www.south-coast-plaza.com/ is a great mall in Costa Mesa with a good variety of high-end stores as well as more “down to earth” places. The complex is HUGE and requires a lot of walking, but it’s worth it!

Fashion Island
http://www.shopfashionisland.com/ is another high-end oriented shopping center in Newport Beach. This is an outdoor shopping center, which should be a lot of fun in late August. More for walking around and people watching than actual shopping…unless that’s just the way you roll!

The Block in Orange
http://www.simon.com/mall/default.aspx?ID=1236 is an outdoor shopping/entertainment center that is popular with the younger crowd.

The Irvine Spectrum
http://www.shopirvinespectrumcenter.com/ is similar, but is more mature/family oriented. The Spectrum also has a couple of department stores and sit-down, traditional restaurants. However, I think the Block has more stores…

Triangle Square
Yet another option is Triangle square in Costa Mesa. http://www.trianglesquare.com/ It is currently being redesigned, so we will add more information as it becomes available.

Alternative Shopping

Main Street Huntington Beach
Everyone should spend a few hours on Main Street in Huntington Beach! http://www.stockteam.com/HBGuide.pdf
It will likely be packed during the holiday weekend, but there are a ton of great shopping and dining options, plus a real California beach atmosphere which is priceless. http://www.stockteam.com/huntington-beach-film-video.html

Orange County Swap Meet
If any of you have ever spoken to Anthony’s mom for more than ten minutes, then you have heard about the Orange County Swap Meet! http://www.ocmarketplace.com/ It is a HUGE market place that will (probably) be open the day after the wedding. Anything you can think of is for sale there, including cars and houses! Lots of walking and will probably be very warm during mid-day hours…dress accordingly!

The Lab
http://www.thelab.com/ is supposed to be the “Anti-Mall.” We don’t really go there, but who knows…it could be cool!

Melrose Avenue
The world famous Melrose Avenue is in Los Angeles near Hollywood. http://www.seeing-stars.com/Shop/Melrose.shtml It offers some great people watching and some of the coolest and most original collection of stores in Southern California. If you are around for an extended stay or just heading up to L.A. anyways, you should stop by and check it out!