Finding ourselves with no kids one weekend (which rarely happens- thank you ‘Beach Grandma’) my husband and I decided to take a little ‘stay-cation’. We dusted off our bikes, hit the Fox River trail, and found ourselves all the way in Batavia just as they were cleaning up the last of the farmer’s market that runs every Saturday morning. Luckily, we hadn’t planned on hitting the farmer’s market. We were there to explore ‘downtown’ Batavia.
What we found was mostly standard fare: bars, coffee shops, and ice cream shops where you could enjoy the view of the Fox River over the rim of whatever cup or cone you chose. There was also a neat little music shop and a consignment/resale shop, but what I was truly surprised to find was a unique collection of semi-permanent shops called ‘the Board Walk’.
This cluster of about six or so little shops, plus some temporary craft booths looked exactly, as the name implied, like a miniature board walk. The shops are only open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from the end of May through mid December. They offered a unique array of items from artistically potted plants to hand made soaps to bookmarks made out of recycled sheet music. My favorite of these vendors was actually one of the temporary crafters- a plucky lady that runs the ‘girl power’ cosmetics booth cleverly titled Pretty Strong. All of her products were handmade and offered an array of yummy smells including ‘Lilly of the Valley’. Some of her lotions contained the increasingly popular CBD oil which is rumored to be helpful in alleviating aches and pains. I was most taken with her line of lotions entitled ‘Bitch Balm’ which I plan on being my go-to ‘reasonably priced shop local’ girl pal birthday or bachelorette party gift this year.
If you find yourself in or near Batavia Illinois from mid spring to mid-December and are looking to spend anywhere from ‘free sights and smells’ to ‘high roller’ and anywhere in between I urge you to check out this fun little pocket of good food, good drinks, and unique shopping on ‘the Board Walk’! For more information on vendors, hours, and location check out the links below.
https://downtownbatavia.com/batavia-boardwalk-shops/ (Vendor information)
https://www.facebook.com/bataviaboardwalkshops/ (Facebook page with hours and location)
Cheers!
Love,
Marie
The thrifty-momcom 