No Tulips in Holland?

After the Alliance Rally ended in Goshen in Indiana on May 27th we headed north to visit some friends in Michigan for the Memorial Day weekend. Two hours away lies the quaint community of Holland, Michigan where Jay and Elaine True live on the shore of Lake Macatawa. The much-photographed Big Red Lighthouse stands by the channel that connects this lake to Lake Michigan. Nearby, the beachfront Holland State Park shelters deer and migratory birds. Windmill Island Gardens is home to De Zwaan, a centuries-old windmill. May’s Tulip Time Festival, recalling Holland’s Dutch roots, sees tulips blooming all over the city.

Unfortunately, we arrived too late and missed the tulips by about three weeks...bummer! Saturday afternoon we rode our E-bikes from our campsite out to see the Big Red Lighthouse and the Lake Michigan beach just north of the channel. And instead of tulips we got to see old friends.

Later that evening we had a great visit with two couples we are close to from our days at Redwood Covenant Church in Santa Rosa. Jay and Elaine rode over in the afternoon. They only live about a mile and a half from the fairgrounds. Our other friends, Dick and Nancy Swain drove about an hour from Hastings, MI to see us. All six of us had a nice visit at our campsite at the Ottawa County Fairgrounds in Holland for a too brief a reunion. Jay and Elaine had family visiting over the holiday so we went to dinner that evening with the Swain's before they left town. Made plans to attend their church services in Ada, MI on Sunday followed by brunch and a tearful goodbye. Sunday afternoon we did laundry before heading over to Jay and Elaines. We rode over on the E-bikes to see their home on Sunday. Beautiful home right on the lake! Had a great visit while drinking Margaritas on their back patio. Definitely will be back to visit next year; earlier in May and for a longer stay.