May 9, 2024 More Holland, MI

 Thursday, May 9

50 degrees this morning and a little misty.  We have a leisurely breakfast of sausage kolaches from home, oranges and coffee.  There is a parade this afternoon, so this morning we decide to explore the coastal area.  

First stop is Holland State Park where we get a map and information from a ranger.  We decide to buy a Michigan State Pass for state parks for $40 since we suspect we'll be visiting more than a few. Looks like their campgrounds are full at $40 a night (or $50 for the one by the beach).

We head to the beach to check out Holland Harbor Lighthouse, known locally as "Big Red".   Bundle up against the wind. The first lighthouse was erected in 1870 and replaced with this one in 1907.  It was automated in 1932.

Another smaller light marks the other side of the channel which leads to Holland's harbor.  This is a pattern we will see frequently.

The sky almost looks like a beach with waves.

The channel is lined with houses, resorts and marinas. And we see this person sailboarding. Even with a wetsuit, it seems a chilly venture with air temp at 55.

  

Next stop is Tunnel Park, with picnic tables and a playground, and stairs that lead to the top of the dunes for a nice view of Lake Michigan and then stairs down to the beach which is reportedly popular in the Summer months. (Apparently there is a tunnel to the beach too, but we missed it.)

We still have some time before events in town, so stop at Stu Visser Trails for a walk among wetland.  Saw a muskrat, a hearty snake, and some interesting birds.  The trails were surprisingly busy for such a cold, wet day. 

A quick stop at Walmart for a few supplies (first self-check only store we've seen), then we go back to downtown.  Our parking place from yesterday is closed off, but Greg finds a good spot at a nearby park.  It is lightly raining, so we don rain gear and carry a big umbrella to the parade route a few blocks away.

Lots of people line the streets to watch some Dutch Dancing featuring a group of young kids - 8-12 maybe? - and a group of older teens.  Everyone is in costume, complete with wooden shoes, while some are wearing clear ponchos over their outfits.  The sporadic light rain doesn't seem to have dampened spirits!

There are loudspeakers playing music along the long block and  groups of dancers at intervals.  

Then comes the parade.  First there is a man with a bell, announcing the start of the parade. 

"But first", he says, "we need to check the condition of the street."  A group of people behind him don white gloves and check the street - and find it dirty.

So a large group of folks of all ages appear next with pales and brooms to clean the street!

Then the parade officially begins with this military color guard.

The parade features several marching bands with baton and flag twirlers, various elementary school groups, decorated vehicles,  marshall arts group, retirement home cars, floats, and more.  Noted lots of private schools and one public school group which had signs thanking people for their support.  Suspect there are some issues there.  The private school bands had fancy uniforms, the public schools had matching t-shirts.  Lots of ethnicities all around.

Each school group had a "theme" - the one above was carrying paper mache pigs in blankets (flannel).

This was a car full of book club people.

 Grabbed a turtle covered pretzel - caramel, chocolate, nuts, from a local chain chocolate and ice cream  shop called Kilwin's - YUM. We watched for over an hour and there was still more to come (probably the scouts and fire trucks).  We made our way back to the Trek, wondering how there were so many spectators when it seemed the entire town population was in the parade!

We went back to the campground and ran the furnace for a while to dry out.  High today was 57!  Had a Stouffer's Lasagne for dinner and tried a new microwave popcorn popper later on.  Nice to have electricity!

Wednesday, May 8, 2024 Holland Tulip Time

Wednesday, May 8

55 degrees at 7AM this morning.  Since crowds are predicted for the festival, we decide to visit Veldheer's Tulip Farm as it opens at 8:00.

We are the first to arrive at Veldheer's and find that the tulips are a bit past their peak.  They discount their admission, admitting that only about 1 million of their 5 million tulips are beautifully blooming.  That is still a lot of flowers!  So we wonder the gardens, soon joined by a trickle of other early risers.  (By the time we leave, a few buses and many others have arrived.)

There is still dew on many of the flowers. The beds 
 are marked with numbers which are identified in a small catalogue handout.  They also sell bulbs here, so you can note your favorites.  (Tulips will grow in Texas but require a complicated rigamarole including refrigeration to get them to bloom, so you don't see many at all.)

There are many beautiful flowers.  I didn't realize there are so many varieties with differing shapes and colors beyond the basic cup shape. Some look almost like peonies, they are so full!  Some have lacy edges, some fringed.

There are also some blooming trees, including my favorite - lilacs - which smell divine!  And other flowers like daffodil and narcissus.

There is also a factory that makes wooden shoes and delft pottery.  I can't imagine people buying the shoes but we will see many people wearing them over the next two days!

Next we drive into town.  We park near a colorful caboose at the train station.

Pere Marquette was a French Jesuit who came to Quebec and the Great Lakes region as a missionary to the native people.  There are many places named after him.

We walk 8th street, stopping at the visitor's center and a few shops.  One shop has all things cherry - another thing Michigan is known for.  We enjoy sampling their goodies and buy some cherry salsa.  Lots of tulips in evidence along the street.

Beth had read about a restaurant by Lake Macatawa  and the ladies at the visitor's center say it is good, so we head that way.  It is a bit farther than expected, but we eventually reach Boatwerks and have a nice lunch.  Greg has a spicy shrimp salad while Beth enjoys locally caught walleye fish. 

 Lots of booths and carnival-like things set up along 8th street and a pier.  Cotton candy, candy apples, etc.  Elephant Ears seem to be a big draw -  a big piece of fried dough topped with cinnamon sugar.

From here we head to the Tulip Immersion, which is just down the road from our campsite.  These tulips are in pots and they can better control their blooming time, so these are perfect!  Very cool and quite busy but tickets are timed entry so it isn't too crowded.  Lots of signage tells the history of tulips, which were first cultivated in Iran around the 10th century.

There are hyacinths mixed in some beds, which smell terrific.

Next, we arrive at the Ottawa County Fairgrounds and check in.  There are many rv'ers, but things are pretty quiet. There is a bathhouse with nice showers, so we clean up and relax and enjoy chicken fajitas that we've brought from home.   We are surprised how much longer daylight lasts this far north!

I admire these Lilies of the Valley, and violets by the caretaker's house - signs of Spring from my childhood!

Temperatures today began in the 40's but reached 70, with plenty of sun.  Perfect sleeping at around 60 degrees.   

SPRING JAUNT TO MICHIGAN, PA and WV May 6-24, 2024

Monday, May 6, 2024  Hitting the Road towards Michigan

It's a long way from Houston to Holland Michigan, but we are headed there for the Holland, Michigan Tulip Festival.  Then we'll explore Michigan a bit before detouring to visit Greg's Mom and Sister in PA, capped off with a few days camping with Beth's sister and her husband in West Virginia.

We've been having torrential rains in the Houston area and we decided on a different route north that avoided the Trinity River area, which had bad flooding. So we take I-45 straight north and then wind our way east to Texarkana.  High water in some areas but nothing on the roads.

From Texarkana, we take 30 and 40 east, through Little Rock and end up at a CrackerBarrel in West Memphis for the night.

Tuesday, May 7

We head north on I55 just before Memphis.  Some dark clouds and heavy rain accompanied us till we hit Illinois around 9:30. 

 Still high water and even a closed bridge just off our route.  Into Indiana by 3:30, we pass more standing water in agricultural fields.  

We turn right just before reaching the Chicago traffic and find another CrackerBarrel near Benton Harbor in Michigan - a great jumping off point to reach Holland and the Tulip Festival early tomorrow!