Oyster Point
<http://oysterpointonline.com/overview/index.html>.
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| ����������� There are plenty of places in Virginia where people go just to relax and relieve stress. While some take pleasure in shopping at the mall, there are others who may enjoy hanging out at the nearest park. Everyone has a preference as to where they go to make time for themselves along with family and friends. As for me, that perfect hideaway is City Center at Oyster Point in Newport News, Virginia, also known as Town Center. It is the perfect relaxation spot that my friends and I enjoy going to during the weekends. There are several restaurants and stores all within walking distances of each other, and a beautiful five acre water fountain at the very center. Town Center just opened a month or two ago so not a lot of people know of the luxurious shopping district yet. According to the City Center website, it was "designed as an open-air gathering place and shopping district" for guests to come and enjoy. | |||||||||||||||||
| A Hidden Treasure | |||||||||||||||||
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| ����������� There are a few dine-in restaurants in Town Center like The Lunch Bell, the Red Star Tavern, Maggie Moo's Ice Cream and Treatery, The Belgian Chocolatier and Beanery, and a few others. My favorite, of course, is Aromas Specialty Coffees and Bakehouse. It is a small coffeehouse at the corner of One City Center; one of the many buildings located within Town Center. It has an excellent food selection and their coffee is some of the best I have ever tasted. Unlike most coffee and smoothies from other shops, Aromas does a wonderful job of mixing their ingredients. There are no left-over chunks of ice and the rich, thick mixture leaves you filled and satisfied. So you don't have to worry about spending extra money to get more of the drink to satisfy your thirst. Not to mention, the food also fills your hunger to the brim. Their sandwiches may look a bit small and trifling, but they do not fail when it comes to satisfying your craving for food. After enjoying one of their hearty meals, your body experiences a sudden burst of excitement as it tries to take in the many flavors flowing into your mouth. | |||||||||||||||||
| ����������� Once you've had your fill of a refreshing meal, you can walk it off by taking a nice stroll through the shopping portion of Town Center. Most of the retail shops can be found in One City Center, Merchant's Walk One, and Merchant's Walk South. The stores are a bit on the pricey side, but that doesn't keep guests from just walking around and enjoying the "down-town" feel of Town Center; especially since everything is within walking distance. | |||||||||||||||||
| The major attraction, if guests are not eating or shopping, is coming to enjoy the beautiful fountain at Town Center. The fountain is shaped in a circle with several rings on the outside. The first inner ring is a large sidewalk that surrounds the fountain. Along the sides are several benches where tourists and guests can sit and listen as the water is rocketed into the air and gently glides back down like summer rain. Also along the sides, there are a few old fashioned street lamps. At night they light up all around the fountain and within the small town, bringing out a romantic aura to the center. The second ring consists of soft, green layers of grass lined with a few trees. Then on the last outer ring is another sidewalk and on four opposing sides of the circle are smaller circles. Both of the smaller circles contain a small garden patch, trees and benches for guests to relax and feel the cool summer breeze. The other two circles only consist of pavement and usually showcase new automobiles, or during the winter season, a fairly large Christmas tree. Since the rings slowly sink downwards as you get closer to the fountain, causing a crater-like effect, stairs were put in on the sides to accommodate tourists and guests. It made walking down to the fountain easier so everyone didn't have to worry about fumbling down a hill. | |||||||||||||||||
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| ����������� Town Center is a great hang out spot that is still not finished, but as soon as they get the other stores and restaurants running, it'll be the perfect spot to spend an entire day. Now is also a better time to go because not a lot of people know about the center, which means there is less of a crowd and you can have most of the place to yourself. | |||||||||||||||||
| City Center at Oyster Point |
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| Works Cited | |||||||||||||||||
| "Life Here Just Flows." City Center at Oyster Point. 9 July 2006 <http://oysterpointonline.com/overview/index.html>. |
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