January 24, 2019 | By Holly Sosa

This is my first Northern Michigan winter since my family and I moved here to Alpena this past March. As a SoCal High Desert transplant, it’s been quite the experience. The one thing I always hear from people when I tell them we moved here from California is, “Well, it gets real cold here!” And yes, I’m discovering that with every lowering temperature just how cold it gets here in Michigan.

With the excitement of living somewhere new, I’ve been creating monthly bucket lists for my family and I to complete (you can see our January Bucket List here on my Instagram). And as a new resident of Downtown Alpena, I thought I’d share a Winter Bucket List that would be a fun new way to explore exactly what Downtown has to offer, even in the depths of the frigid Northern Michigan winter.

Downtown Alpena’s Winter Bucket List

1. Drink a glass of Cabin Fever at Thunder Bay Winery (or take a bottle home and enjoy it while watching your favorite show or reading a book).

2. Paint a wintry scene for your home at My Front Porch.

3. Catch a movie and grab some warm popcorn at State Theater.

4. Take a look at the Winterview 2018 display at Art in the Loft Tuesdays – Saturdays from 11AM – 6PM until March 14th that features over 35 artists.

5. Warm up your insides with a craft brew at Black Sheep Pub.

6. Rent cross country skis from Harborside Cycle & Sport or learn about fat tire bikes then go explore Northern Michigan! They’ve recently moved from their old location on State Street to 2nd Avenue, right downtown!

7. Pick up some flowers from Lasting Expressions to bring spring into your home early.

8. Grab a new mug from Traveling Ladders and make some hot cocoa in it.

9. Read a book in the window seat at As You Wish Gourmet Eatery.

10. Play a game of checkers at Blue Phoenix Books.

My family has already began checking items off this fun winter bucket list and we’ve already had tons of fun exploring Downtown Alpena. We met the owner of Traveling Ladders where I purchased the mug pictured in this post, my husband saw the fun in between door at As You Wish and Blue Phoenix books and totally nerded out over it, and this Friday we have plans to open a bottle of Cabin Fever we picked up at Thunder Bay Winery. Frigid winter? What frigid winter? We Alpenians are too busy enjoying each other to care, am I right?

Holly Sosa is a Michigan based foodie teaching you how to cook once deliciously simple recipe at a time on her blog, hollymariesosa.com. You can also follow her adventures and progress on her Instagram page @hollymariesosa.