How to Shop in Orange County, California

Shopping in Orange County, California is practically as much of a national pastime as watching an Angel's game, and just as costly. There are places to go and fun to be had when the time for adding to the economy-you just have to follow a few guidelines.

First-decide what you want to shop for and if you intend to actually buy during this preliminary round. An example: You want to look for a new pair of walking shoes, but you won't be prepared to actually fork over your credit card until your next billing cycle-which is two weeks out. Then relax, in a manner of speaking, and go to the larger malls that have the big name chain stores and try on various brands and types. Best part is, you get more than your daily sprint in if you use a brisk pace during the "look-see" and then go back to do some in-depth window shopping.

Some of the best malls to cruise: Fashion Island in Newport Beach. This area is all outdoors has everything from McDonald's to Bloomingdale's. Good place to take out-of-town guests who want the real "O.C." experience.

South Coast Plaza and the Crystal Court. These are interconnected and have many designer stores and eateries. Even Tiffany's and Prada are represented. But if you are really looking for "walkers", Footlocker also has a booth. Stores aren't the only thing high end here, customers tend to dress for the day's stroll as well.

The Shops at Mission Viejo. Used to be dark and dingy, but now it's close to rivaling Fashion Island in look and designers.

Some up and coming malls-Huntington Beach Center is now all outdoors and is looking quite nice. Good to window shop and power walk! Same can be said for the Irvine Spectrum, which is constantly becoming a destination for power-walkers, power-eaters and power-shoppers!

On the flip side, if you are looking to actually shop til you drop: try The Block at Orange and the surrounding areas outside of the South Coast Plaza. Both have outlet stores for several major brands, as well as some fine discount/off season shops.

More down to earth, one of a kind places can be found at The Circle in Orange, where there are many little artisan shops and antique stores. The same could be said for Laguna Beach in various little enclaves throughout the main streets, right off of Pacific Coast Highway. The Lab-in Costa Mesa opposite the major mall, calls itself an "alternative" shopping mecca, is small but has some unique items.

Looking for some pampering and entertainment at the same time? Try the Kaleidoscope in Mission Viejo. Nice eateries, art galleries, a Bristol Farms, Bally's gym (presumably to work off the calories ingested at the restaurants), movies and a Burke-Williams DaySpa.

Orange County indeed has something for everyone-even if you have to really buy those new walkers first to get the most out of the venues.