As my first Michigan adventure comes to a close, I want to share some of the cool and weird things I did while I was here.
My very first Meijer
I’ve heard about Meijer a lot on the interwebs, but we don’t have them at home so I was super excited to visit the store in Alpena. Dan made fun of me for being so stoked about a store, but when we walked in he was awed by the glory that is Meijer. If you’ve never visited one, it’s like if Target and Walmart had an illicit love child. I love it.
I picked up a couple cute shirts on clearance and a Milani Amore Matte Lip Cream since it was also on clearance. I noticed that the prices here are generally less than they are at home, and that is awesome.
Nowicki’s Sausage Shoppe
We found this place randomly while exploring Alpena. It actually worked out perfectly; we were hungry and they had an open-faced brat sandwich for 99 cents, and they have a bunch of different flavors and a whole toppings bar. It was pretty impressive.
The building where Nowicki’s is located is really old, and we were talking to the dude manning the register about the history of the building. He mentioned that it was a German beer hall and that there was a really cool ballroom upstairs that wasn’t used anymore. We asked him if we could go check it out and he said we weren’t allowed, but then he got distracted by other customers. I’m not normally in the habit of sneaking around old buildings, but occasionally I can’t help myself. Luckily Dan was on board.
The photos don’t do it justice; it was gorgeous. I didn’t go too far into the room because I wasn’t sure how structurally sound it was. It was cool and creepy and I’m not sorry we snuck up there.
Antiques Mall of Alpena
This place is so, so cool. Also gigantic and hopefully haunted. The building is old and a little rundown, but we easily could have spent an entire day exploring the place. The basement was by far the creepiest part; there were sections that my big, manly boyfriend wouldn’t even venture into.
There was so much creepy stuff in this place. Dolls, mirrors, baby carriages, clothing, the works.
I didn’t intend to buy anything, but I found a brush and hand mirror set that I fell madly in love with and couldn’t live without. I’m a beauty blogger; obviously, I had to bring these home despite Dan being convinced that they were haunted.
Cabin Creek Coffee
When Dan started talking about moving to this area, I was horrified by the objective lack of coffee places. It’s not that I’m incapable of making my own coffee; to me, coffee shops are more than places to obtain the necessary doses of caffeine. They’re places I go to work or just be around other humans. I don’t love Starbucks and other chains, but they still give me a way to be with people while using free Wi-Fi.
This place though. It’s bomb.
It’s decorated like an old man’s hunting cabin with taxidermy and funny wall signs and furniture that looks like it’s made from logs.
It’s also clean and bright and smells like amazing locally roasted coffee, so it appeals to a wide audience. We saw families, elderly couples, college kids, all kinds of people come in and out while we were there. We picked up some of their ground coffee and it’s really good. Like, really good. So if you’re ever in Northern Michigan check this place out.
It’s been a good trip, but I’ll be really happy when the weather gets nice and my adventures can include laying on the beach.
Teresa's Big O(pinion) 
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