Going Dutch in Holland, Michigan

Oh hello! Long time no see–again. It’s been so busy the last five months – more on that later. But first…we went on a little vacation!

Our friends Matt & Ellen invited us to join them and their kiddos on vacation near Holland, Michigan. Ellen grew up going to the area every summer with her family, so she’s pretty familiar with the area. Michigan was on our list for a domestic family vacation so we jumped at the invitation. Michigan’s weather in August is b-e-a-u-tiful! I think the warmest it got while we were there was in the low to mid 80s.

We caravanned up north and stayed almost an entire week. We rented a house through HomeAway.com that was about a mile from Holland State Park. The location was great because it was on a quiet residential street right off Lake Macatawa, was within walking distance to the beach and a short drive to downtown.

We didn’t go up with an itinerary and wanted to play it by ear. The first full day there, we ladies got a run in, followed by a trip to the beach. [Note: it costs $9 per car for a single visit to the state park. $32 for a year’s pass.] School hadn’t started yet so the beach got pretty full. The parking lot actually filled up to where cars weren’t allowed in until 20 parking spots had opened up. We used this trick to contain the baby at the beach. It worked so well! We ended the day by hitting up New Holland Brewery’s Pub for dinner and Captain Sundae for ice cream.

The next day the ladies took the littles on a walk to Albert K’s Lakeside Cafe for breakfast while the guys got a bike ride in. I normally am not a quiche / frittata eater, but for some reason I ordered it that morning and it was so good! We spent that afternoon exploring the shops along main street Holland. I bought a couple things for E at this children’s boutique called Tip Toes, purchased a couple bottles from Fustini’s Oils & Vinegars, and chocolate from the local candy/peanut store.

It was back to the beach the following day. This time Tim and I walked down to the beach with the stroller. We popped into the Ottawa Beach General Store on the way home for some soft serve ice cream. The serving sizes were giant! I couldn’t finish mine.

Tim, baby and I headed up to Grand Haven the following day after a little morning exercise. We didn’t really have much planned this day either. We popped into the Toasted Pickle for a sandwich, explored their main street and then stopped into the brewery Odd Side Ales for a couple beers. We even left with a six pack of one of their beers. We ended the day by going over to Ellen’s aunt and uncle’s house for dinner and drinks. Their house is right on Lake Michigan about 10 minutes away from our rental. We didn’t get the sunset we were hoping for but it was still a beautiful evening with amazing lake views.

Mine and Tim’s last full day on the trip was mostly spent in Saugatuck. The whole crew headed down after breakfast at deBoer Bakkerij. It was Saugatuck’s sidewalk sale event, so we spent some time dipping in and out of the shops before heading over to Saugatuck Brewing Co. Which actually was right next door to an antique mall, so of course I ducked into there before heading home. I may or may not have left with one item. (I did.)

It was a great week spent with great friends. Tim and I had been wanting to visit Michigan and thought this was a great first introduction. I’d love to go even further north to Traverse City next time. Thanks Matt and Ellen for including us in your trip!

–m.

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