Wooden Shoes, Dunes, Apples & Saugatuck

The morning began with breakfast at the Wooden Shoe Restaurant. Everyone seemed pleased with what they ate and we were wide awake when we left the restaurant. It was a good thing because the next event was a sand dune ride in a 15 passenger dune-buggy with a wild college student driver. The ride lasted about 35 minutes and was a lot of fun. One of the highlights of the trip was the snake draped over the tree limb as the buggy passed under at the top of a hill. Linda especially enjoyed the moment.

We saw a lot of Michigan countryside as we traveled to Saugatuck. This charming waterside village is a tourist delight with many shops for the ladies and a beautiful marina for the men to ogle the boats. There were numerous benches throughout town for resting from shopping or whatever.

Lunch was at the Crane's Apple Orchard. This is a working orchard with a nice restaurant. Cider was served as was chili. We had a nice lunch to fortify us for the afternoon. Linda and Mem decided to see the Veldheer Tulip Gardens and Farm; the others returned to the campground.

Holland clearly celebrates its Dutch heritage. We saw ample references to windmills, Dutch food, and wooden shoes as we drove around.

Happy hour began after nap time, and we were joined by Claire, a friend of Mem and Larry. Claire lives here in Holland, and we enjoyed meeting her. Happy hour extended into the evening and ended as darkness and more mosquitoes forced us inside.

Tomorrow we will visit the Holland windmill. It is the last authentic windmill that the Dutch government allowed out of Holland. Tomorrow will be our last day with the group; we will be leaving Friday morning.