Thursday, day 32 of our trip and it’s 72* in Ruby at 7:45am, beautiful sunny day! 🌞Today’s high expected to be 89* with a low of 62* Last night there were a lot of trains near by and lots of noise from the street. We had breakfast, packed up & were on the road by 10am. Lots of crop fields plowed and some with seeds covered with hay. Dairy farms, big barns, silos and fields of corn, wheat, hay & beans for as far as the eye could see across the hillsides.
Crossed into Michigan at 10:54! So as we are getting onto the ramp for I-69 from this back country road…..bizarre business on the corner! Nothing else around for miles….. stood appropriately for getting on to I-69 was an Adult Store – Lion’s Den! We scratched our heads on this one! 🤦🏻♀️😱🤦🏻♀️😱
We arrived in Holland! Found our way through this adorable town to Holland State Park, where we checked in then proceeded to Beach Campground on Lake Michigan. Site #332 … it’s a double spot in a parking lot! Yes it’s a completely paved campground! We’re next to the bath house so we only have neighbors on 3 sides. We got all set up then walked to the beach!?…..well to the Lake. Our minds are confused…. We see this big body of water, you can’t see across to the other side, there’s a lighthouse, seagulls but no palm trees, shells, turtle nests, dolphin or shark fins! We walked out on the breakwater watching the boats go through the inlet. Across the inlet stands the Big Red Lighthouse & up on the hill Amway’s heir Dick & Betsy DeVos mansion. What a sight to see. We then drove into the town. Able to get a parking spot….parallel site right in front of a Brewery! Tim had a captive audience as he parked our F-350 dually on the first try! 👏👏 The sky opened up, 🌧️ so we sat in the truck for 10 minutes till it passed. Walked down to the visitor center and the woman helping us gave us maps, wrote on the maps her recommendations and was so very helpful. Apparently we missed the 🌷 tulip festival by 2 weeks and they are currently being removed now. 😔 One of her recommendations was only a few doors down. Hops Brewery. We were given tablets as we were seated. Amazing …complete menu breakdown with pictures and descriptions of each item. Truly amazing. We each had a drink & a charcuterie board. Afterwords we walked this cute town. What an experience in Cherry Republic….samples of every cherry product! Then a Lilly Pulitzer store which was closed but will revisit it tomorrow! 😁 Found ourselves visiting the New Holland Brewery where our truck was parked. We each had a drink then back to the campground for the night. After dinner we walked the beach but it was really cold and windy out! Today we traveled 197 miles!
Friday, June 2nd ~ 🍩National Doughnut Day! 🍩 Yes we did! Drove to de Boer’s Bakkerj! Next stop was 🌸 Postcards From Paradise and met Katy the owner who the owner Brynn from the Savannah store told me all about her and to ask for her. Katy showed me around her store and we talked for awhile. It was Tim’s lucky day for I got him a new release Lilly item….boxers & myself….hair ties! 😱 Next adventure was to Windmill Island Gardens. Since we belong to Mounts Botanical Gardens at home, this park is a reciprocal so we got in for free! Unfortunately the gardeners were pulling out all the tulips, but replanting beautiful flowers in the gardens. 🪻🌻🌷🌹 The highlight of this garden was the tour of an authentic Windmill. We got to go up inside and on every floor there was someone dressed in dutch clothing and explained all the parts on that floor. Truly amazing. Tim was ready for a 🍺 beer so he looked to see if there was another brewery in town but he found another location of the New Holland brewery, so we headed that way in hopes there was a tap room there. As we pulled up the sign read New Holland Production Campus. All locked up but there was a gentleman across the parking lot on his phone and he was approaching us. He introduced himself- Jason…Director of Brewing Operations and said the facility was closed but then asked if we’d like a tour! He asked if we’d like a regular tour or an off the beaten track tour…..so he then unlocked the door and gave me a loaner pair of shoes since I was wearing sandals and a pair of safety glasses! For the next hour the 3 of us walked every inch of the barrel rooms, brewery, canning, bottling & packing plant. Then over to the distillery part and again every area of it. Tim hasn’t stopped grinning! This was the most amazing private tour we’ve ever had! Now we had to go have that beer so back to town to the New Holland Brewery and we sat at the bar and split an artichoke spinach dip and a drink and shared our experience with the bartender who knew Jason very well and said that was so cool he did that. Now it was time to go to the famous Bowerman’s on 8th bakery! OMG the aroma as we walked down the street and then when we entered…let’s put it this way….we walked out with blueberry doughnuts, blueberry cinnamon rolls and 4 little different blueberry pies! 🤦🏻♀️ 🥧 It’s now 6:30 and we’re calling it a day. Back to our parking lot campground. We enjoyed our dinner sitting outside then walked out to the beach to watch the sunset 🌅 at 9:30pm. We traveled 30 miles today!
Holland – is a thriving city with a diverse economy-the population was 33,051 in 2010 The city is perhaps best known for its Dutch heritage, which serves not only as a part of the city’s cultural identity, but the local economy as well: the Tulip Time Festival in May and various Dutch-themed attractions augment the nearby Lake Michigan shoreline in attracting thousands of tourists annually. Over 28% of the population identified as being of Dutch descent.
Holland State Park is a public recreation area covering 142 acres It is often the most visited state park in Michigan, receiving between 1.5 and 2 million visitors annually. It is best known for sugar sand beaches, beautiful sunsets and views of the iconic “Big Red” lighthouse. The park has two large campgrounds… we stayed at the beachside one which is a big parking lot on the beach!
Lake Michigan ~ One of the 5 Great Lakes in US. It is the 2nd largest in volume with length of 307 miles x width 118 miles Surface area – 22,404 sq mi. Average depth 279 ft to maximum depth of 923 ft
Bid Red Lighthouse – built in 1872 stands 32’. at the entrance of a channel connecting Lake Michigan with Lake Macatawa. The first light keeper was Melgert van Regenmarter, appointed to service in 1870 at an annual salary of $540.00. He served until just prior to the steam fog signal going into operation. It is said that he wanted no part of the new technology.
Amway DeVos Mansion – Their three-story vacation home sets a new standard for size and grandeur among the other million-dollar-plus mansions that line Lake Macatawa, a popular spot with access to Lake Michigan. The stone and shingle house has 22,000 square feet of space. But if that’s not enough room, there’s a 6,200-square-foot guest house, plus a large infinity pool with a 700-square-foot pool house and three garages, according to city records. Number of bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 5 full and 5 half-baths!
Hops at 84 East – Opening in 1993, it is committed to all things craft. Hops has an award-winning craft beer list featuring 65 taps craft beer, six taps of wine, two beer engines (casks) and signature cocktails based on local spirits, Michigan beers and ciders. Chef Bob Repp and his staff take great pride in a seasonal menu featuring local farms and growers. Hops features one of a kind sandwiches, salads, appetizers, fresh seafood, brick oven pizza and farm to table entrée offerings.
Holland’s rich history can be seen with the curved bar, which has been beautifully constructed using materials from all over Holland and the surrounding area. The fascia is made of oak veneers from the former E.E. Fell Middle School, built on River Avenue in 1919. The brass kick-plates and handle-plates from the school’s doors are featured in the wall lighting installation. In their formative years, some of our more “mature” customers may even have written on Hops’ chalkboards, as they too hail from old school rooms.
The curved bar rail, for instance, consists of hardwood from the sleepers on which pickle-vinegar tanks rested for 80 years; and the light-colored wood at the back of the bar was taken from the tanks themselves. Some of the unusual light fixtures that greet customers as they enter Hops are made from 50-year-old chicken brooders salvaged from derelict barns around Michigan, while others were inspired by the pipes that crown church organs. The wood decoration in the annex comprises pine, ash, fir and maple taken from buildings in downtown Holland. Even the window trim at the north end of the bar, made from reclaimed bleacher boards from a high-school gymnasium in Schoolcraft, reflects our dedication to a sustainable future in which all materials, whether old or new, can find a place.
New Holland Brewing Company ~ an American independent craft brewing & distilling company headquartered in Holland, Mi. They own and operate brewpub-style restaurants and spirits-tasting rooms located across West Michigan. The company’s craft-style beer brands Dragon’s Milk, Tangerine Space Machine, and spirits brands Dragon’s Milk Origin, Beer Barrel Bourbon among others, are distributed throughout the United States and exported to Canada, Europe and Asia. After the sale of Bell’s to Kirin, New Holland Brewing Company became the largest craft brewery in the state of Michigan.
Brett VanderKamp and Jason Spaulding, the founders of New Holland Brewing Company, grew up together and later attended college together In college Spaulding and VanderKamp cultivated a love of home brewing which would bring them together again shortly after graduation. Their business plan took two years to formulate, but once complete, the pair quickly lined up investors, and in 1996 New Holland was founded in Holland.
Originally, their goal was to produce beer that was characteristically unique to Western Michigan. Their beer was well received, and the company increased production to just over 5,000 US beer barrels in 2006. In 2007 the company increased production to over 7,500. New Holland began distilling bourbon, whiskey, rum, gin and vodka in 2005, and selling it in 2008.
National Doughnut Day ~ Each year on the first Friday in June, celebrating the doughnut and honoring the Salvation Army Lassies. The Salvation Army Lassies are the women who served doughnuts to soldiers during The doughnuts were often cooked in oil inside the metal helmets of American soldiers. American infantrymen were then commonly called “doughboys.” A more standard spelling of the word is “donut.”
deBoer’s Bakkerj ~ The profession that today includes the baking of artisan breads and assembling traditional pastries and desserts began thousands of years ago with the gathering of wild grass seeds and grinding those seeds between stones. A few things have changed for today’s baker, but the passing down of a classic art form from father to son has not changed for deBoer Bakkerij. The deBoer’s have been crafting incredible artisan breads, buttery pastries, and delicious cookies in Holland, MI since immigrating from Kollum, Nederland in 1956. Today, fourth generation baker Jakob de Boer and his sons, the Dutch Brothers of Holland, perfect their trade in Holland since 1998. With the addition of their breakfast and lunch restaurant in 2008, the brothers are fueled creatively by classically trained baker Samuel deBoer and their head Chef and graduate of the Florida Culinary Institute Mitchiel deBoer. Jacob deBoer is the Bakery and Restaurant’s manager
Postcards From Paradise ~ comes from the shop owner’s life experience traveling. Katy Heston and her husband lived abroad in Europe and enjoyed spending their off time traveling to places like the Amalfi Coast, The French Riviera, and the Greek Isles. She created a store that can transport people to a completely different place without leaving West Michigan. The store has different themes for the fitting rooms and design/decor accents that are reminiscent of her time traveling through Europe.Postcards From Paradise carries a special brand of clothing called Lilly Pulitzer. The brand brings people together from all over the world with a mutual love of bright clothing and a resort lifestyle.
Windmill Island Gardens~ Dutch history and culture area. A group of City Fathers in the 1950s and 60s recognized the importance of keeping the heritage alive as well as providing a place where community-members and visitors could gather. As we made our way through the park we crossed over a small drawbridge which is a replica of the one that spanned the Amstel River in the province of Noord Holland. They were able to procure the last working windmill allowed to leave the Netherlands in 1964. The historic windmill ‘de Zwaan’ an original 250-year-old Dutch windmill, is situated on Windmill Island. The mill was brought over from Vinkel, Noord Brabant, the Netherlands in 1964 and opened the following year. Its 125 ft tall with 40 ft sails and stands amongst 36 acres of exhibits, gardens and natural areas. The mill still turns and grinds grain into flour and we were able to our all 5 floors since they weren’t doing it today Tunes from a working street organ – a gift from the City of Amsterdam after World War II was playing as we walked through the gardens. The Dutch Carousel was formally a carnival ride in the province of Graningen, and brought to America in 1970 and the horses were refurbished.
Bowermans on 8th Cafe & Bakery – famous for everything blueberry!Bowerman Blueberry farm is family owned & operated.The blueberry }|farm began in 1954. Blueberry plants covering approximately 23 acres the first year. Since blueberries take 7-10 years to maturity, they also raised corn, and worked in real estate. Eventually, the blueberries began producing sizable quantities of delicious blueberries. Now the farm is over 90 acres and they have this bakery in town and the farm.
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