Tulip Festival 2014, Holland, MI

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Tulip Festival at Holland, MI typically takes place between 1st and 2nd weeks of May. Holland is about 2.5 hrs West of Ann Arbor and is near the shores of Lake Michigan. We had previously been to Holland in August (see, Holland, MI - Summer 2013) and really wanted to attend the Tulip time festival this year. Unfortunately, we heard from people who visited Holland at the start of this year's festival that Tulips weren't in full bloom yet. So, we chose the last day of the Festival, which was this past weekend, to visit Holland.

Some of the main attractions in Holland, MI are the Dutch Village, Windmill Island and the Tulip gardens. This was a day trip. We left Ann Arbor early in the morning and it took us longer than we anticipated due to construction along I-96. Our first stop was the Nelis' Dutch Village.

Niels' Dutch village is a theme park built to replicate the life style in a typical village in Netherlands in 1800's. During this tulip time festival, almost every brick walkway, canal and garden is covered in a variety of tulips, making this a beautiful sight. In addition to the scenery, there are some interesting demonstrations like wooden shoe carving, Amsterdam street Organ and the Holland house candle carving, which was especially amazing.
Shops, Nelis' Dutch Village, Holland, MI 


200 year old polder windmill 
Nelis' Dutch Village, Holland, MI
After spending a good half day at the Dutch Village we went to Windmill Island. It was very crowded that day. The garden beside the windmill was lined with rows of Tulips of different variety and color. Unfortunately, parts of the garden were trampled by people trying to take pictures in the middle of tulips.

Tulip Gardens, Windmill Island
We also wanted to visit Veldheer's Tulip farm, but because of the crowd we got stuck in traffic and we weren't going to make it in time. So, we decided to go to the Lake Michigan Beach instead. The moon that evening was quite beautiful.
Big Red Lighthouse, Holland MI 
After relaxing for a while, we drove back to Ann Arbor. The tulip gardens make a very pretty sight and this was a very good trip to start off this summer.

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