Holland Day Trip // Playing Tourist In My Home State

People say to be a tourist in your own state and I am doing that on a very small scale this year. The first spot was a day trip to Holland. I accidentally planned my trip during the Tulip Festival and I had no idea until right before I went. *shrugs* But there is a little bit more to this than just playing tourist.

A few years ago it was my golden birthday and I had wanted to do something big to mark the occasion. That didn't happen (I still had a great golden birthday) so this year, which also was a significant birthday, I wanted to do something for myself. A weekend trip was not feasible so I decided that I would take a couple of day trips. I love the west side of the state and Lake Michigan, so I found a couple of towns that I've never visited and made some loose plans.

It's a good thing I made "loose" plans because not only was it Tulip Time but it was parade day! I had planned to spend some time walking around the shops downtown but that didn't happen. Oh well, I'll just have to go back again :)

I did a LOT of walking. After I finally found parking, I walked to The Good Earth Cafe and had a delicious sandwich. It is a really cute cafe and they have SO. MANY. OPTIONS!!! You could eat there daily for weeks before you had to repeat a meal. If I lived closer I think I'd be going there a lot.

One of the things on my list to see was Windmill Island Gardens. It was really close to the cafe but I was silly and didn't take my camera with me so I had to walk back to my car, get my camera, and then walk to the Gardens. It turned out that I could have driven at that point, because the lot was open again, but I had no way to know that so I walked.

After that, I was hot and tired and I wanted ice cream. I asked some locals for a recommendation and they told me Captain Sundae's or Peachwave. I ended up at Captain Sundae's and had some Mackinac Island Fudge ice cream in a waffle cone. It was DELICIOUS!!!! 10/10 recommend and totally worth the wait in line.

Now it was time for the beach. I chose Holland State Park Beach because it had a lighthouse that I wanted to photograph and I sat on the beach for about three hours. I did some reading, journaling, and praying and just practiced "being". I got to see the beginning of the sunset and listen to the waves. It was very relaxing and nice.

So if you want to go to Holland, I recommend checking to see if there is a big event going on first :) Then, plan to eat at The Good Earth Cafe, get some ice cream at Captain Sundae's, visit Windmill Island Gardens, and spend some time at Holland State Park Beach. You'll have a very nice day.