Alpena, Michigan

You’ve got to love a city that has only 10,000 people but has supported two local theaters and a restored movie palace. Plus it has a charming main street that would be at home in Mayberry.

The cannon in front of Alpena’s imposing City Hall was salvaged from the Maine, an American battleship that exploded in Cuba’s harbor in 1898. Remember the Maine? Its destruction helped trigger the Spanish -American war. Alpena asked to borrow it for a patriotic display in 1912 and somehow it never got returned.
Alpena sits at the head of Thunder Bay, which is part of Lake Huron. Below you can see the bridge into town rising as one of Viking’s tender boats entered.
We took a walk along the waterfront and enjoyed the lovely parkland. You can see a view of Octantis in the background.
Alpena loves its murals. This aquatic mural was restored when the wall was damaged. Residents were invited to pitch in by painting some of the 3-D fish before they were attached to the wall. Everyone who wanted to had a chance to be part of the artwork.
The Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center is here and they have a beautiful visitor center. I’m standing on a recreation of one of the many ships that went down in Thunder Bay, which was known as shipwreck alley.
This Science on a Sphere is a projection system created by the U.S. National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. The 6-foot carbon fiber globe is suspended on a wire, filling a room and casting a constantly changing, rotating image. It gives dynamic, animated images of real time climate, ocean, land and atmosphere information.

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