Midwest Vacation: #8

I love tulips. They are my favorite flower by far. I like their simplicity. They're not too busy. Not a lot is going on in each bloom. I think yellow tulips are my favorites but, really, I love them all. The area John and Joanna live in was settled by the Dutch and there's even a town called Holland. They grow lots of tulips and celebrate a tulip festival in May. I thought I'd take advantage of being there in the spring and go in search of tulips so on Saturday we headed over to Holland.



It was a gorgeous sunny day but the town wasn't crowded with tourists. It was a bit early in the year for tulip season. We found a parking place downtown and settled on the Windmill Restaurant for lunch. I was in the mood for a burger so got the $2.85 quarter pounder with a side of onion rings instead of fries. I was so glad I got the rings. They were the best onion rings I've had in a long long time. I'd go back there just for those.

After lunch we walked around the downtown area. The street banners are reproductions of famous paintings with tulips inserted in them in funny, creative ways. We stopped in a shop that had a "Pickle Tasting Today" sign in the window. I mean, really, who could resist that? They not only had pickles to taste but all kinds of other things including some hickory potato chips that were awesome so we bought some but then forgot to eat them while I was there. I hope you enjoy them, John.

We also saw some fun street sculptures including Ben Franklin sitting on a park bench and these musicians. Which one doesn't belong?



After stopping in a candy shop (what small tourist town is complete without one?), we were deciding what to do next when I saw a calendar of events posted on a informational board. It was Community Day out at the tulip farm so we made a note of the address and headed that way.

Not only is Veldheer's a tulip farm but they also have bison. And it was free that day. A good combo. They had an area of formal, laid-out gardens that didn't have many flowers yet but there were a few sections of blooms out in the fields.





I loved these pale yellow flowers.



I was amazed to get this shot of a bee in amongst the blooms. They were so speedy it was hard to catch them in the frame.



Can you believe how close we got to the bison? These were fairly docile but another one kept snorting at people. It was kinda funny.



We stopped for ice cream on the way home. A perfect end to a perfect day.