thepoppyskull One of my favorite gifts to give someone is an experience. Whether it is a concert, day trip somewhere, or even a nice dinner, an experience gift makes a fantastic memory.
Back in 2019 I purchased concert tickets as a gift for Alex. We got to see 2Cellos at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, NJ. We made an entire day out of our adventure and had the best time! I have been wanting to create this Day Trip Adventure in Red Bank post for a while now, but I never got around to it. Today I am sharing this adventure with you. Keep in mind if you are thinking about taking a day trip to Red Bank, some experiences we had might be different now due to Covid 19.
It was a beautiful April day when we took our drive up to Red Bank New Jersey. The 2Cellos concert was at night, however we decided it would be fun to go up early and explore the town. The drive to Red Bank took us about an hour and 15 minutes from South Jersey. Alex and I listened to a few albums from The Kooks on our drive.
Once we got into town, we realized there was a street fair going on, which was a surprise for our day trip. We found a parking garage at Globe and Front Street that I believe had free parking at the time.
After we parked, it was time to explore and enjoy the beautiful spring day. The main streets in Red Bank were filled with vendors for the fair. There were a lot of cute shops and restaurants that we were able to explore all afternoon.
Red Bank Shopping
The first store we checked out was the Jay and Silent Bob Store (Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash). Obviously this store is perfect for any Jay and Silent Bob fan, however it is also great for comic book lovers. They were selling a ton of comic books, action figures, and other memorabilia.
We perused through a few other shops, such as a mini stationary store, and enjoyed walking around and seeing what the town had to offer. One of our favorite stores we came across was Jack’s Music Shoppe. This record store is pretty big and has a huge selection of vinyls, CDs, and cassettes. They also sell ukuleles and musical instrument accessories.
Along with shopping for vinyls, another part of the store Alex and I enjoyed was the music book section. Since we are both musicians and music teachers, we are always looking for new music books to teach our students from. We never saw a record store with a sheet music section before. It was very refreshing to be able to peruse through all of the sheet music.
Red Bank Dining
Right next to Jack’s Music Shoppe is The Robinson Ale House, where we decided to put our name on the list for lunch. While we waited for the restaurant to text us that our table was ready, we shopped some more at the record store.
The Robinson Ale House has a great atmosphere and food. Alex and I enjoyed a beer, salads, and guacamole. Alex got a burger and I got a flatbread. Everything was delicious! My pants also matched the cushions on the chairs there, haha.
Photo Op
After lunch we walked around the main streets of Red Bank, just exploring everything we could. During our exploring, we stumbled upon this awesome colored wall! Of course we could not pass up the opportunity to take some photos against the wall.
This awesome wall is located at 97 Broad Street. You will find it between the DoubleTake Consignment Shop and the Tiffany & Co. store.
Local Beer of Red Bank
As it got later in the day, Alex and I decided to check out the local brewery, Red Tank Brewing. We both really enjoyed their beer flights and met some fun people there.
Count Basie Theater
Once we were done with our beers, it was time to head to the Count Basie Theater for the 2Cellos concert! The concert was fantastic!! If you have never seen 2Cellos live, I would definitely recommend doing so. They performed a great balance of classical, rock, and pop music. 2Cellos also had a drummer perform with them for some of the rock songs. Overall the concert was a blast and everyone in the audience had an amazing time! 2Cellos are great musicians and I love how they arrange all different types of music for two cellos.
I had purchased balcony seats for this concert, thinking we would have a good view. The view of the stage was good, however I would not recommend sitting in the balcony area. The spacing between each seat and row is very tiny. When we sat down, our knees were hitting the seats in front of us. We still had an amazing time at the concert, however I would not sit in the balcony again.
Final Thoughts
After the concert was over it was time to drive home. We decided to make a stop at the local Starbucks before leaving town. Overall our Day Trip Adventure in Red Bank was such a fun day. I am so happy Alex and I have that memory. I would totally recommend taking a day trip to Red Bank if you have never been there. There are probably other areas nearby that we did not get a chance to explore. If you can see a concert at the Count Basie theater while you are there, that is a great bonus!
Alex and I actually returned to Red Bank in the fall of 2019 for another concert. We saw Postmodern Jukebox at the Count Basie Theater and this time sat on the lower level closer to the stage. Those seats were much better than the balcony. We also arrived in Red Bank earlier in the day so we could go to the music store, ale house, and brewery again.
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I hope you have enjoyed reading about our Day Trip Adventure in Red Bank New Jersey! We would definitely recommend taking a trip there and enjoying all the town has to offer.
Stay Spooky!
-Caroline 🙂
Don’t forget to shop my collection!
Looking for more adventures?! Check out some of my other posts:
Day of the Dead Festival- Historic Market Square, San Antonio Texas
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