Windmill Island Gardens

On our most recent visit to Holland we made a quick stop at the Windmill Island Gardens on our way out of town.  We had never heard of the tourist attraction, but we kept seeing signs for it while driving.  Of course, we decided to follow the signs and ended up at this cute little replica of a Dutch village and a giant authentic Dutch windmill.  Everything was closed up for the season and we were the only people at the attraction, but that made it all the more fun.  I am sure the area bursts with color in the Spring and is quite the site to see, but we had fun being the lone explorers of the area on a beautiful Fall day. 

Another Lighthouse!

Lately, I have spent lots of time in Holland, but I cannot believe it has taken me this long to find the Big Red Lighthouse.  You can view the lighthouse from across the Holland Channel at the Holland State Park or by taking a little hike along Lake Macatawa and the Holland Channel to the breakwater on Lake Michigan.  We opted for the short hike so we could walk right up to the lighthouse.  We were lucky enough to reach the lighthouse just as the sun was setting and see a beautiful glow on the water.  I am so glad we finally found our way to this hidden gem.

Boatworks

Last time we were in Holland we took a walk along the water and stumbled upon Boatworks.  It is a beautiful restaurant right on the water with a large amount of outdoor seating.  We were not in the mood for dinner yet, but we did stop and have drinks and appetizers.  Next time we are in Holland we will have to make a point of finding ourselves at Boatworks when we are in the mood for an entire meal, but dinner or no dinner it was a beautiful location that we are looking forward to visiting again.

Tulip Time in Holland

Sorry for the time away from the blog.  I have had a busy couple of weeks and have lots of Michigan adventures to share.  Keep checking and sharing I heart MI with your friends and family because regular posts are back!

Last week we were able to spend some time in Holland for the Tulip Time Festival.  This was my first visit to the festival and I was in complete amazement.  I had no idea there were so many different tulips.  They were all in full bloom and the entire city was in a burst of color.  We were able to see the parade on Thursday and share in lots of the festival festivities.  What a great event to be apart of, I plan on making this an annual trip.

May's Events

Thought I would share another image from my current project with you.  I have also compiled a list of festivals and events that will be coming up in the next month.  Hopefully one is close to where you will be.  Enjoy!

Plymouth's Green Street Fair- May 6-8

Mesick's Mushroom Festival- May 6-8 

Holland's Tulip Time Festival- May 7-14

Boyne City's Morel Festival- May 12-15

Detroit's Downtown Hoedown- May 13-15

East Lansing's Art Festival- May 21-22



Hudsonville Ice Cream

Today is the last post from our day in Holland.  I had the opportunity to tour the Hudsonville Ice Cream factory and had a wonderful time.  What a beautiful building, both interior and exterior.  Hudsonville is entirely based out of Michigan and has been since 1926.  It is fabulous ice cream from people who truly care about the product they are making and the service they are offering.  It is tough to choose, but my personal favorite has to be the Butter Pecan.
 

Holland

Here are the photographs from our visit to Holland last weekend.  What a cute town!  The downtown area is great, with a wide variety of shops and restaurants.  So many fun storefronts that are perfect for window shopping.  The Tulip Time Festival is May 7-14 and would make for a perfect time to visit the town.  Check the photographs below for some of the great signage in the downtown area.

How cute are these tiny sweaters from one of the store fronts!

Springtime

With the crazy weather yesterday I thought I would post some inspiration for spring.  We spent the day in Holland on Friday and we saw signs of spring everywhere.  I have to think that under the snow we got yesterday these flowers are still trying to show their colors!  More pictures of Holland to come this week.