Frankenmuth and Birch Run

Frankenmuth and Birch Run are destinations that people from all over Michigan travel to visit, perhaps even people from outside of Michigan.  Rarely could you find someone who has not at least heard of Frankenmuth if they were born and raised in Michigan.  However, I was one of those people until recently when a couple of friends and I took a day to drive up to Frankenmuth and Birch Run and explore.  I must say it was quite unlike any place I had even been.  Though many people visit specifically for their famous chicken, I found that Frankenmuth and Birch Run had so much more to offer. 

Though I did not personally experience it, my friend told me that you can take a river boat tour to full enjoy the surroundings of this Bavarian town.  We walked around town instead, still taking in the atmosphere, looking at everything there was to see.  There were giant eggs throughout the lawns and other decorations like a life size nativity scene and bunnies.  Putting a twist on the Christmas theme, the eggs probably because it was Easter time, along with having Christmas trees decorated with Easter eggs. 

There were all different kinds of shops in Frankenmuth, and quite honestly I could not accurately give you all of the names of the unique shops.  So instead I will provide descriptions of my experiences within the shops.  There was one store that really caught my interest because I had never seen anything like it.  In this shop there were all sorts of item that, oringinally black and white, became colorful when put in the sunlight.  Awed but all of this, I could not help but purchase a shirt with a T-rex on it that did in fact change colors in the sunlight.  Maybe I am just easily amused, but I thought that this was a really cool store!  There were also various toys stores with retro kind of toys.  The merchandise available was more typical of generations in the past instead of being modern day toys. 

I really enjoyed the look created by these shops.  They were all different colored buildings but with a consistent renaissance type theme.  This makes it no surprise that there are renaissance festivals actually held at Frankenmuth.  In addition to the shops, there were bridges and other architecture that added to the renaissance aura. 

The Christmas store, Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, was similar to Canterbury Village.  It was a child’s paradise with human size candy canes, Christmas trees, Christmas decorations, and of course, toys.  Due to the time of the year of our visit, they actually had the Easter Bunny instead of Santa Claus available to take pictures with.  Since this is our last blog, for the sake of humor there is a picture of us with the Easter Bunny in the picture below. 

Birch Run is adjacent to Frankenmuth and is an outlet type shopping center.  We went into the American Eagle and got a few things that were very inexpensive but we did not spend much time at Birch Run in general.  If going there again I would like to explore Birch Run more but we were so entranced by Frankenmuth that we simply did not find the time.  What we did see of Birch Run was very impressive though.  

Lakeside Mall

Lakeside Mall is a pretty well-known mall located in Sterling Heights.  This prime location is just past the end of m-59 surrounded by restaurants, Best Buy, Dave and Busters, and many other places that make this area quite attractive for someone looking for something to do.  Lakeside is quoted as “the best in shopping, entertainment, and dining” near Detroit.  Personally, I found my most recent experience at this mall to be quite entertaining and would definitely visit Lakeside Mall again.

During all four years that I was in high school, I went to Lakeside Mall with my older cousin for the Black Friday sales, bright and early at around five in the morning.  So typically when I imagine Lakeside Mall I picture a fun place bustling with people, all of which were finding great deals.  Though this certainly holds true, it was not quite as busy this trip as the ones I remembered, obviously because my only other encounters at Lakeside Mall were on Black Fridays.  This is not to say that the mall was not busy, because being a popular shopping center, there were lots of people, just not to an excessive extent.  Rather, it was a comfortable atmosphere. 

Lakeside mall is a perfect place to go shopping if you have children.  There is an amazing play center for kids.  Additionally there are stroller rentals for youngsters.  In terms of shopping for kids, Lakeside Mall has stores like Toy Box, Carousel, The Children’s Place, Crazy 8, Disney Store, Gymboree, Justice, and Carnival Cuts.  Personally, I would suggest taking children into the Disney Store.  Though I might be biased loving Disney as a kid, it is undeniable that the Disney Store offers a great selection of toys, clothes, and movies.  Not to mention the atmosphere created for kids is ideal, with a Disney movie playing on a giant television and occasional activities held here.  If I have children, there is no doubt in my mind that this Disney Store would be an essential stop. 

Lakeside Mall, like some other malls previously discussed, has programs to encourage involvement at the mall.  Last month was March as “Music is in Our Schools Month”.  This program invited elementary, middle, and high school students to perform their music at Lakeside Mall at various times throughout the month of March.  Lakeside Mall has also collaborated with Habitat for Humanity in order to develop a program, to help impoverished people in the community.  Finally, it was interesting to find out that Lakeside Mall is another mall that offers an “Inside Track Walking Club”.  I cannot help but be interested in these clubs due to my love for brisk walking so I now think even more highly of the mall finding out they too have a walking club and I think it is a wonderful idea that perhaps all malls should adopt. 

The apparel shopping throughout the mall ranges from casual to classy.  The Charlotte Rousse immediately caught my eye and I wandered in, purchasing the perfect jeans and a few tank tops all for one low price.  There were also Abercrombie, Aeropostale, American Eagle, Hollister, and countless other common shopping stores.  This mall also included Spencer’s and Hot Topic for more eccentric styles.  Overall, I was extremely impressed by my shopping experience at Lakeside Mall.

Somerset Mall

As I began to discuss in the previous blog, Somerset Mall is a high end mall offering stores with some of the most widely acknowledged desirable brands and pristine quality merchandise.  This large three story shopping center is divided into north and south sections of Somerset Mall and is known for the skywalk. 

In terms of stores, there seems to be a significant majority of clothing and accessories stores, like most malls.  These include Abercrombie, Aeropostale, American Eagle, Bebe, Buckle, Chico’s, Coach, Express, Forever 21, Gucci, Guess, Hollister, Lacoste, Nine West, Urban Outfitter’s, and so much more.  These examples put a small dent in the plethora of stores at Somerset.  To me, maybe not entirely true, but it at least seems that these stores are more on top of the newest fashions, ahead of some other locations.  All of them are well-kept and professionally organized.  I guess they are probably equivalent to most other malls, except that the atmosphere created makes it seem like you are in a top notch clothing store.  I enjoy shopping there but am more of a cost conscience person and would therefore, not choose Somerset as a regular shopping destination.  There were stores aside from clothing like Apple or phone stores but I did not go in to any. 

As a child, I remember looking forward to going to Somerset Mall because of the Lego store and Build-a-Bear workshop within Somerset.  The mall seemed huge with countless toys.  It was someplace I went with my parents that I always came home with something that I had seemingly never seen in another store.  So Somerset was a sort of magical place to me as a kid. 

Even now, when I think of Somerset, I think majestic.  It is beautiful in so many ways.  The three store mall has glass elevators that make traveling through the mall both exciting and rather scenic.  It’s not just the view of the elevators that looks grandiose but also the view from the elevators, looking out at all the stores and decorative fixtures.  Near the elevators, there is an elegant gazebo that makes the mall seem even grander.  Additionally, there is an abundance of plants throughout the mall.  The flowers and palm trees provide an aura of paradise.  There are fountains and other art forms scattered thoughtfully throughout the mall too.  Overall, the architecture in the mall clearly is successful in its goal to provide customers with a sophisticated atmosphere. 

Somerset Mall has a unique “mall walker program”.  On certain days groups meet to walk around the mall.  They do this to promote healthy lifestyle habits.  They also provide the distances around different circles of the mall if people would like to walk around on their own for exercise and would like to know the distance that they are walking.  I like this idea.  I know that at other malls there are informal groups that walk around the mall for exercise, but I never heard of a mall actually hosting such a program.  They also hold several events, anything from high class art auctions to events for the kids, to get people involved at the mall. 

The pricey theme consistent throughout the mall does have perks.  They are always trying to keep their customers as pleasantly pleased as possible.  This means that there is valet parking, complementary wheelchairs or strollers, and constant assistance being offered everywhere you go within in the mall.  My experience there was quite enjoyable. 

Somerset Mall Versus Summit Place Mall

When I was young, I used to confuse Somerset Mall and Summit Place Mall, not because they were any bit similar even then, but simply because their names sounded alike.  Nonetheless, as I got older, it became clear that these malls were definitely not confusable.  Somerset Mall grew more and more elegant over the years while Summit Place Mall was a vivid picture of decay. 

At one point, Summit Place Mall was pretty popular.  Yet, when Great Lakes Crossing opened, it quickly became a shell of the mall it once was.  In fact, it was considered a “dead mall” because almost all of its stores had closed.  For a while, JC Penny and Macy’s were essentially the last stores standing but in recent years, even those stores closed.  Driving past the mall is sad; it looks like a ghost town.  My aunt was telling me that she has a dentist in the mall but is forced to drive around in tedious manner because the parking lots of the mall are taped off, making it inconvenient to get anywhere in the complex of Summit Place Mall. 

In a way, Summit Place Mall provides contrast and appreciation for other malls.  Once a well-known and booming shopping center, it was unable to endure the change in economy and competition and began an inevitable decline.  This shows that even once popular malls can fail and that the many other well-known malls in the Metro Detroit area must be doing something right, something more challenging to accomplish than a mall like Summit Place Mall was able to handle.  While this mall declined until its breaking point, other malls flourished, clearly illustrating differences among the Metro Detroit malls. 

Somerset Mall may be have too opposite of a situation to justly compare it to Summit Place Mall, but my childhood confusion made it impossible for me to resist such a comparison.  Somerset Mall stands out in the minds of many as a high class mall, higher class and more elegant than most malls in the Metro Detroit Area.  More bluntly stated, I consider it to be a rich mall.   However, one of my roommates refuses to shop anywhere else because she is so in love with this fancy mall.  She gloats about the fact that it is a three story mall and even has extreme perks such as valet parking.  For many people, like my roommate, this is their favorite shopping destination that they simply cannot get enough of.  Personally, I am slightly out of place in this fancy mall, not that I do not love to shop but I tend to be more of a bargain shopper than one to shop for brand names that cost an arm and a leg.  However, I would not be doing the mall justice, simply conveying my slight bias against it, if I did not more thoroughly describe the luxuries that Somerset Mall offers.  It is truly a beautiful place.  So, I will further describe the contents of the mall in my next blog.   

Salvation Army

Salvation Army is a well-known store that offers a wide variety of merchandise.  I chose to visit the Salvation Army in Oxford.  This was a moderate sized (not big but not small) store compared to other Salvation Army stores in the Metro Detroit area.  As with all Salvation Army stores, it offers lower priced merchandise as a charity business, in an effort to make sure that all people can afford the essentials in life. 

One of the things that make Salvation Army unique is that on any given day there may be a different array of merchandise than the day before or the day after.  In other words, you hardly ever find the same thing twice at one Salvation Army, nor do you find the same thing at different locations of Salvation Army.  Therefore, it can really be a hit or miss shopping experience.  You can go in looking for something specific and you might find it but depending on the luck of the draw and the luck of the day that you chose to go there, you may or may not find the specific item you are looking for. 

The majority of Salvation Army merchandise is clothes.  They have racks signifying all different type of clothes (dresses, coats, pants, shirts, skirts, under garments).  There are men’s, women’s, boys’ and girls’ sections, just as with any typical store.  Yet, all the clothes here are previously owned.  You can find some of the clothes that still have the original tags on them, so they were never actually used, but most of the clothes sold were lightly worn by previous owners who donated them to be resold at Salvation Army. 

The advantage of buying clothes at Salvation Army is that all of the clothes are really inexpensive.  However, the disadvantage of buying clothes here is that you must have patience to find the golden needle in the haystack, so to speak.  Personally, I would not shop here on a regular basis for clothes because I do not really like the idea of wearing something that strangers previously wore, when I shop at outlet stores with almost equally inexpensively priced clothes.  Similarly, I do not have the patience to rummage through an entire store to find something cute that is luckily also in my size.  Nonetheless, my seventeen year old sister refuses to shop anywhere else because she loves the Salvation Army in Oxford so much.  So this store is not for everyone but it is some people’s saving grace.

Salvation Army also has a lot of furniture.  I was impressed and shocked by the pristine quality of the couches, mattresses, tables, chairs, desks, and other furniture.  Particularly, I really wanted one of the couches there but unfortunately it was already sold.  It was kind of disappointing seeing it and falling in love with it, only to find out that this one of a kind couch was already sold. 

Salvation Army has a little bit of everything.  There were skis, snowboards, ice skates, sports balls, stuffed animals, VCR movies, DVDs, TVs, hair straighteners, blow dryers, cleaning supplies, jewelry, shoes, grills, dish wear, art, and decorations of all sorts.  Basically, any household necessity you could think of, Salvation Army sells.