Southeastern Michigan Travel Guide

A few weeks ago, Mark and I went to Michigan with our friends Andrew and Shelby for the week. Why Michigan you ask? Andrew and Shelby moved to PA a few years ago for work from their hometowns in Michigan and this summer they wanted to show us where they grew up. It was such a fun little trip and I can't wait to share all my favorite spots and things to do in where they took us!

Like most of my travel guides, I'm going to divide this travel guide into sections, but instead of "coffee" "restaurants" etc. it will be divided by town. There are several different towns where these recommendations are located, so be sure to plan your trip accordingly.

Detroit-
We visited 8 different cities and Detroit was definitely the biggest! I plan to do a specific travel guide for Detroit after I visit one or two more times and can get a better feel of everything, but for now here are the spots we visited this summer!

•  Royale with Cheese - Pulp Fiction themed fast food place
• The Great Lakes Coffee Company - good coffee, drinks, and a space to get some work done during the day!
• Sister Pie - one of my favorite spots on the whole trip. Like, the most delicious vegan pie I've ever had!
• Third Man Records - great spot to see records being pressed. Such a cool process!
• City Bird - cute shopping spot
• Nest - cute shopping spot
• Shinola - shopping; a luxury design brand
• Jolly Pumpkin - Brussels Sprout Pizza!! Visit on trivia night :)
• Astro Coffee
• Gold Cash Gold - cute little restaurant
• Belle Isle

Ferndale-

This town was the absolute cutest! If you consider yourself artsy, "hipster," funky, millennial, or all of the above then this place is for you. We walked around this town on two separate days because there was that much to check out and restaurants to try. Here are a few of our favorites:

• Imperial
• Red Hook Bakery (and yummy coffee)
• Union Barber (Mark got a super cool haircut here)
• Toast (a great brunch spot)
• Rust Belt (a great market of makers and shops)
• One Eyed Betty's (GREAT breakfast!)

Royal Oak-

We didn't spend a ton of time in Royal Oak, but that's not to say we didn't have a good time visiting some of Andrew and Shelby's recommendations. I would definitely go back and check out a few more things, or even spend more time in some of these spots:

• Atomic Coffee
• Lost & Found Vintage (so many great items!)
• UHF (record store)
• Rail & Anchor 

Fenton-

• The Laundry

Clarkston-

• Honcho (literally the best burrito I've ever had in my life) - we went back here twice. It was so stinking good!

Sterling Heights-

This town is near where our friends' families live. We only spent a short amount of time here (when we were sleeping and hanging out) but there were two spots we ate at and enjoyed!

• Jets Pizza
• La Saj

Troy-

• Grancaster (really good coffee!) 
• The Donut Bar

Southeastern Michigan is really an area filled with artwork, creativity, and innovation. While there were a lot of industrial areas and areas that have been hit hard by poverty, it was fun to explore the areas that are up and coming. I also loved being able to see different parts of the cities and have them on my heart, both in prayer and in lovely memories!