We headed up to the Lower Peninsula of Michigan to the town of Holland for a little experience of Dutch!! Check out these sites that are in Southwest Michigan!!
Windmill and Tulips 🌷
We were a week late for the tulip festival, however, we were able to see some tulips at the Windmill Islands Gardens. There were tulips in various colors along with a Dutch village that has a model of the a Netherlands village made by early settlers. There is a antique Dutch carousel 🎠 and a playground with children’s gardens for the kids.
On the property is a working 250 year old Dutch mill called “De Zwann”. Grain is milled into natural flour. When the mill was brought to Holland, a base was built for the windmill to sit on. The height of the windmill from the ground to the top is 125 feet and overlooks 36 acres of gardens, dikes, and canals. There are 3 floors that can be viewed and 3 other floors that are unavailable due to social distancing.
Holland Princess
We took a dinner cruise aboard the Holland Princess which is a 65’ Victorian Style Paddleboat. It takes off from Beechwood, Michigan and tours Lake Macatawa and Lake Michigan. Along Lake Macatawa, you can see year around homes and summer homes that add beauty along the water’s edge. The dining area is covered with a cash bar that served an amazing dinner. After dinner, you can go up a deck, view the lake, and take photos.
Holland Bowl Mill
One of the amazing shops is the Holland Bowl Mill which is also a factory that makes bowls straight from trees. They make bowls from various types of wood 🪵 including walnut, cherry, beechwood, ash, etc. They are an environmental company that donate any scraps of wood to artists in the area and they save all the wood shavings which are sold to pig farms in the area. In the shop they sell all sorts of products other than bowls. They sell dinnerware, bowls, abstract bowls, fruit bowls, utensils, and decor items. If you don’t see what you are looking for, you can order from them online.
These are just some. of the places to visit in Holland with many other places to check out. If ever in the area, check the places out!!
Next Stop 🛑: Traverse City, Michigan
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