Somerset Mall

A must visit place in Oakland county would definitely be the Somerset mall. This mall is located in Troy, Michigan and it is unlike any other mall that I have ever been too. It is ginormous. The mall is separated on two sides of big beaver road. One side is has really expensive designer clothes stores. And the other side has stores such as Nordstrom’s, Macys, Urban Outfitters, etc. I have been to this mall a handful of times but I had to add it to my blog because I continue to be amazed at how nice the mall I every time that I go back there. The mall is three stories tall and there is also a huge food court and bake shops.

When you first walk into the mall you are greeted with big open space and a sense of cleanliness. You can see from one end of the mall all the way down to the other. There is a huge fountain in the middle of the mall where people throw pennies in and make their wishes. This area is also where Santa comes to visit. The mall sets up this entire area to look like the North Pole. All the Christmas decorations are unimaginable. Which is one of the reasons of why I really like this mall because it really interacts with its customers.

There are many restaurants located throughout the mall, such as California Pizza Kitchen, or P.F. Changs. P.F. Changs is personally my favorite restaurant. I absolutely love every meal that I get every time that I go there.  

Overall I highly recommend that you visit this mall, even if it is out of your way it is worth your time to go visit it at least once. It is a great mall with amazing stores, and it is even just a nice place to go and walk around.

 

Erebus Haunted House

Erebus is one of the world’s scariest and largest haunted houses and it is located in Pontiac, Michigan. It is four stories tall of torture and terror. Up until last Friday I had never been there before, but I definitely had heard all of the hype about it being ridiculously scary.

My friends decided that we were going to take on this crazy adventure. After researching everything that I could from the website, I came to the realization that I was going to be scared out of my mind considering the fact that I already was. I learned that it had set a world record for being the longest walk through haunted house. I watched every video and looked up all of the characters in the house and I was already too afraid to go.

When Friday night came by I was nervous throughout the entire two-hour wait alongside the building. Random creatures would come up to me and get really close to my face intensifying my nervousness. One of the things that I was dreading seeing most was a clown; I have been absolutely petrified of clowns ever since I was a little kid. Something about their makeup and the way they act has always scared me.

It is easy to say that I screamed my way through that entire haunted house. I clung on to the person in front of me and wouldn’t let them go for anything. Although it was quite terrifying I would definitely say that it was completely worth the twenty dollars that I spent on my ticket. I really recommend visiting Erebus at least one Halloween season of your life. If I can survive then you can survive. You will definitely not be disappointed.

Below is a link to the website if you would like to check it out!

http://www.hauntedpontiac.com

Rojo Mexican Bistro

A must visit place in Oakland County is Rojo’s, a Mexican restaurant in Rochester Michigan. I went there to celebrate my friend’s birthday and I personally have always loved Mexican food

The inside is very well decorated with Mexican themed decorations. There are all types of colors, banners, and picture frames that help make the restaurant look eccentric. The entire restaurant was very spacious and it had large square tables. My waitress was a girl and she was an awesome waitress. She was so friendly and she gave us her opinion on all of the menu options.

While we waited for our food to arrive there was live entertainment. When I was there it was a man in a sombrero singing old Mexican folksongs. It was nice background music while I conversed with my friends. I learned that the restaurant has live entertainment every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night. So we had happened to choose the right night to be there! While we waited for our food to arrive house made guacamole was made right in front of us and it was really cool to be able to watch and enjoy this happen. When my food arrived, it looked amazing! I ordered a steak fajita and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It will definitely become one of those meals that you order every time you go to a specific restaurant because it is so good and you just cannot bring yourself to order anything different. The prices were not outrageously expensive either. I looked over the whole menu and everything was very manageable.

I definitely recommend that if you are ever in the area that you make a stop to enjoy some great hometown Mexican food. I would try to go on a day that there is live entertainment!

Independence Oaks

Over the weekend I had the chance to visit Independence Oaks, which is a county park located in Clarkston Michigan. Independence Oaks covers a span of 1,276 acres. Throughout this park there are many trails that are primarily used for hiking, cross-country skiing, or biking. At this park you can go swimming, camping, fishing etc. There are so many available outdoors opportunities.

I have always enjoyed going to parks but I particularly liked this one because I haven’t been to a park this enormous in a long time. It is a great place for me to take the kids that I am babysitting or even for me to walk my dog.

While I was there I chose to hike the trails. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the nature that was around me.  I saw many animals and insects and the lake was absolutely beautiful to walk around.

In the main center of the park there is a beach for kids to swim, a volleyball court, a playground and a widespread gazebo filled with picnic tables. There is also a nature center that holds programs for adults and kids. At this nature center there is hands-on natural history exhibit and a feeding station viewing area. I was unable to visit the nature center, but however I did visit the Cohn Amphitheater, which is an outdoor theater that’s seats around two hundred guests. This theater is used for shows and even weddings. I thought this area was special because woods surrounded it and it seemed to be a place that was very old, but still often used.

I plan on visiting this park again especially in the winter time. I think that it would be really cool to visit with all the snow and walk the trails. I definitely recommend visiting independence oaks and bringing your family for lunch and a swim. It costs five dollars to park your car, but once you are in you have the whole park to decide what you want to do!

Downtown Rochester

Today I got the chance to visit a small coffee shop in downtown Rochester called Bean and Leaf Coffee. Its location was on the corner of W. University Drive and S. Rochester Road. 

I really enjoyed this experience as a whole. I got a caramel latte and a doughnut and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I got the chance to converse with the workers and they told about how they loved working in downtown Rochester and how it was a cute town to come to everyday. The entire street is lined with antique and boutique stores that are highly fashionable. I learned that in the Christmas time all of these stores entirely cover their buildings with christmas lights. This brings in a lot of customers because many like to come here in the winter and walk the street, enjoy the lights, and celebrate the holiday.

 After walking the whole downtown I arrived at the coffee shop and my mouth watered as I smelt the amazing smell lingering out of it. The entire inside of the coffee shop was log wood and there were people there with their kids, some people were there doing homework, or some were just there enjoying their morning coffee and reading the newspaper.
 It was overall and uplifting experience and I recommend visiting downtown Rochester, whether it is in the winter time or not, and walking the street and then stopping in for a nice warm cup of coffee, or hot cocoa.