Day 107-108 2nd year. September 5-6. On to Holland by rental car and lay days in Grand Haven. So no boating miles today

 Got up to a sunny day that promises to warm up to 78 degrees.  We had to get up early to catch the transit which will take us to the car rental franchise.   We decided to rent a car to visit Holland, MI as we are behind in our schedule due to weather days.

Holland and much of the surrounding area was settled by Dutch immigrants starting in 1845.  They came to avoid religious persecution and economic depression of that time.  Albert C Van Raalte  and 60 other immigrants were the first settlers in Holland. Originally planning to find land in Wisconsin, the group was delayed by weather and followed the lure of cheap land in Western Michigan.  Here the immigrants found good farmland and forests which would support a new community.  Van Raalte led the town, starting a school and leading the petition to the government to dredge a canal to link Holland's Lake Macatawa to Lake Michigan.   Van Raalte's home is the last remaining home from 1871 left in the city.  The home belonged to the Van Raalte family until 1978, at which time the home was purchased by the city and is a museum today. 

 

Holland has preserved many of the traditions of their Dutch heritage and up to 1950, the town ethnicity was 100% Dutch.

First we visited the Windmill Garden just north of the city on Lake Macatawa.  The site of the De Zwaan windmill is impressive.  The swamp area where the park sits was drained and built up much as the Netherland homeland.  Their are bridges, canals and locks to maintain the water level to this day.   Note: The bridge can be operated by two fingers as the weights are so perfectly balanced.

The Windmill Gardens consisted of the DeZwaan windmill which was partially destroyed by WWII and had not been operational since then.  The city worked with the Dutch to agree to dismantle and relocate the wind mill to Holland, Michigan.  There were two caveats on which Holland, Michigan had to agree.   One, the mill had to operate as a grain mill.  And second, someone from Holland had to go to Michigan to assist with the rebuilding and operation of the mill.  We watched a great movie that explained how the windmill operated and milled the grain.  Was amazing to walk through the windmill and see how it was constructed and its internal workings.

These are the cogs and grinding stones used to mill the grain.

Here is Bill working the wheel which moves the blades to catch the best wind.  Each of the four blades are made of metal with wood framework which supports the sailcloth, used to help catch the wind and turn the blades.

an old Dutch organ donated to the park dating from 1870.  It still works!

The community gardens, a tradition in Holland has continued. and of course lots of flowers.

Unfortunately, the only tulips we saw were wooden, as the Tulip Festival is in May.

On the grounds of the Windmill Garden are Fresian horses, native to the Netherlands.  They are a smaller version of a Clydesdale, but always are colored black.

We could not pass up a photo op with the traditional wooden shoe.

The garden also had a 1890's carousel which still operates.  The horses on the carousel are original which makes them over 110 years old.

We walked though a replica of an old Dutch town and of course had to visit the gift shop which had Delft, wooden shoes, and lots of cheeses and other food items native to the country, Holland.  Bill spent quite a bit of time sampling the many varieties of cheeses!

After we had walked the gardens we left and drove downtown to get some lunch and see the sites.

We ate lunch at a local favorite that had been around over 100 years, The Windmill Restaurant.  Had a wonderful lunch with portions so large we had the rest for dinner!  Wonderful homemade bread!

Here are some shots of the downtown shops and businesses.

Lots of flowers were all along the streets and hanging from buildings.

The Holland Museum features the growth of Holland from its agricultural beginnings to its manufacturing and shipping, the Holland fire in 1871 which destroyed much of the town and how the town recovered.  On display is a World Fair Clock which depicts life in the 1890's in Holland and a miniature hand painted carousel  as well as, artwork, coins, clocks, books and stories of thousands of residents of Holland, collected over the years.

We ended our stay in Holland by driving down to the state park and beach.  The lighthouse is one of the most photographed on Lake Michigan and is affectionately called Big Red.  

There were quite a few people enjoying the beach even after the holiday weekend.

Day 108   Lay day in Grand Haven

Got the blog caught up, did chores and visited with other boaters.  Visiting with other boaters does take up a lot of time!   

We had lunch with Tracy and Joel from St Louis, MO.  Also met Tricia and Mike from Texas both in the marina here in Grand Haven.

We may rue the fact that we passed up a travel day to rent the car and go to Holland, as we have wind and rain today and the wind and waves continue til Friday or Saturday.  Wish us good weather!   We have four more travel days on Lake Michigan til we get to our holding marina near Chicago.  We will hold up in Chicago waiting for the locks on the Illinois River to open and also to visit with friends and family.

Not much boat traffic today with the rain and wind,  only two freighters.  Here is a picture of one of them.  Kind of impressive to have that large a vessel going through this small river and channel.