I don’t tend to write about day trips, since they are short and, well, how much can you really get out of them? Well, I guess more than staying at home and working on a never-ending list of things to do! While there is nothing wrong with catching up on homework and projects, at some point it is worth getting out and getting a healthy dose of a different perspective. And while grand tours provide a totally different experience, a day trip can be, at the very least, a nice break from routine and, at most, a discovery of something worthwhile.
After nearly a month of working on my fence and everything surrounding it, I got to the point where I was literally sick – got a cold – and needed anything but staying home. Listening to travel stories from my buddy, who is blissfully unburdened by home ownership, I figured a day trip was exactly what I needed.
Initially, we were not planning on a trip to Holland, Michigan, but the timing was impeccable and the tulip festival had just kicked off, so Holland it was. My wife wanted to go to the tulip festival for a while, but every year there was always something. Not this time! Despite being sick and running on six hours of sleep, I was determined to make it. Fortunately, Holland is about a 2.5-hour drive, so with little planning, little packing, some coffee, sheer willpower, and energy drinks, we took off as early as we could manage.
The secret to a day trip is to hit all the spots in one day, so an early start and late finish are effectively mandatory. We managed to get to Holland around 11, granted we made a couple of stops, including Zeeland.
Luckily, we managed to make our way in and find parking before it got really busy. Since it was my first time in Holland, I can’t claim to know what it is usually like, but it looks like during the tulip festival the town gets overrun by visitors. Little quiet streets get filled to the brim with people, police control traffic manually, and buses are organized to shuttle people around, not to mention electric tuk-tuks.
I enjoy American themed towns – they are just different. You get a feeling that they are actually made for people to walk and enjoy. But every time I walk around one of those themed towns, I get a little feeling of theatrics… like none of it is real. I guess it is a similar feeling to the renaissance festival – while it is on, people and buildings are there, and once it is done, it becomes an empty field. I guess I feel similar about all-inclusive resorts that have everything on the premises – gym, store, bar, and coffeeshop – simulating a mini-town experience, but you know none of it is real. Nonetheless, Holland is a pleasant town and, considering it is near Lake Michigan and right on Lake Macatawa, there are more things going for it.
The tulip festival takes place on Windmill Island. The island is called so because it has a windmill, and it is pretty neat, both from afar and up close. To get in, it cost us $20 per adult and $10 per child. I guess its running costs are relentless and the entire island needs to generate enough money from just 10 days of a festival… but that is just my speculation. There are a few things to discover, but the main event is the flowers. Now, the website states that there are millions of tulips, and while I didn’t count all the tulips, just walking around, it was hard to see where those millions were. Perhaps millions of tulips are spread all over the township, but Windmill Island didn’t seem to have those millions. I guess it is unfair to compare it with the lavender fields in the south of France, but when you hear the word “millions,” you get the idea that the entire island is covered in tulips, and it wasn’t so.
Since Holland is located near Lake Michigan, I wouldn’t leave before seeing the lake with its spectacular beach. I had never been to the Michigan dunes – something I must see at some point – but man, the sand on Ottawa Beach looked unreal. It feels like you are in the Caribbean, such fine sand with an endless beach. I’ve been told Lake Michigan is deep and never really gets warm, but it sure feels warm, at least in my imagination. It is early May and the weather is still pretty cold, so sampling the water wouldn’t do it any justice, but at some point it must be tried, at least once.
The day trip turned out pretty nice, despite the “millions” of tulips. It is quite interesting to travel far and wide, but often we forget what is just around the corner. I often feel regret that I haven’t visited more local nuggets, and going forward I would like to change that, time and luck permitting.