Dutch Country – July 24, 2015

What a great day we had in and around Holland!  In fact, I broke every dietary rule I have been following and I know I will pay for it tomorrow.

We started off at the Saugatuck Dune Rides just south of Holland.

This is a privately owned company that owns a piece of property that was once a huge lake reported to be very deep.  In the middle 1800’s the trees were all harvested from around the lake and before long, all the sand blew into the lake bed.  Now it consists of high sandy hills and wooded valleys used by this company to give 40 minute jeep rides to tourists.  Each jeep holds between 20 and 25, depending on the size of the children, and takes these hills at high speeds creating a roller coaster without the tracks.  This apparently is very popular because we had to wait over an hour for our turn to come up.  It was lots of fun and worth the wait even though I ate a small popcorn while we waited.

Now it was time for lunch and we found the Salt and Pepper Grill with two menu items that caught our attention.  I had Artichoke chicken with sun dried tomatoes, artichokes and capers in an olive oil –garlic sauce.  Yum!  Jim had an olive burger made with beef patty with green olive cream cheese, sugar-cured bacon, stone ground mustard and more olives.  He said he would order it again which is a rousing recommendation for him.

Our next stop was the Windmill Island Gardens with the only imported Dutch working windmill in America.

Windmill Island Gardens

It was originally built in 1761 and shipped to the US in 1964 because of the negotiations between the City of Holland, MI and the government of the Netherlands.  A stipulation of the agreement was that it continues to be a working windmill and to this day, it is used to grind wheat into flour for local restaurants.  In fact, the city of Holland employs the only Dutch-certified miller in the US, Alisha Crawford, to do the grinding and maintain the windmill.  The building itself is 7 stories high and we were able to go up the first 5 stories.

We learned two things we didn’t know before we stopped here.  The first is that each windmill has a single purpose.  They are used for power, irrigation, grinding, and other things but each mill has only one job.  The second thing we learned is that the turret rotates 360 degrees at the top to be able to position the blades into the wind.

In April, the grounds are covered in tulips which are replaced by summer flowers and just as beautiful.

Gardens around Windmill

Drawbridge found in many Netherland communities

They have added a traditional drawbridge over a waterway, just like in the Netherlands and a miniature model of a traditional Dutch village from the late 1800’s complete with animals and people all hand carved. 

We were treated to some traditional Dutch dancing and music from an Amsterdam Street Organ.   Before we left we went into the gift shop and bought something called Mini  Stroopwafels.  This Dutch cookie appears to be thin round waffles with maple syrup cream in the middle.  I had to have one, or two, or three.

Next was the “Big Red” Lighthouse.  After driving some distance through a community of large lakefront homes, we arrived at a gated community with a sign that said the lighthouse was only accessible on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  The guard at the gate told us that since we were from out of state, we could go in but we had to park just inside the gate and walk the rest of the way bearing in mind that everything other than the lighthouse itself is private property.  So we walked, I would guess a little over a mile, but it felt like 5 miles this late in the day.  Can’t really tell you why they call it “Big Red” because I didn’t think it was so big but hidden in the rocks at the base was a family of ferrets playing and having fun.  Still not worth the long walk there and back.

Boats entering Lake Macatawa from Lake Michigan at Big Red Lighthouse

Downtown Holland is another quaint vibrant street filled with shops and restaurants.  Most of the restaurants had outdoor dining because of the perfect weather up here in the Spring, Summer and Fall. This is where I lost my dietary resolve.  We were not very hungry, either because of the late lunch and the stroopwaffels, but we shared some calamari and something called The Ludwig.  This dish is spaetzle dumplings with spinach, bacon, and melted Swiss cheese.  Both were excellent and just met our appetite needs.

Back to our campground and to my dismay, we have been invaded.  The park is filled with other campers with RVs and tents.  Every available spot is taken.  So much for peaceful!  Did I mention we were next to the basketball court which hadn’t mattered until tonight.  Remember it doesn’t get dark until almost 10 p.m..

Saturday is stay at home and relax day!