To be honest, I had a very low opinion of Holland yesterday after I arrived. Following the map, I went straight to the town, and I found nothing of interest. There's something called "Tulip Lane", and here is how I found the tulips:
I later found out that the tulips were supposed to bloom on May, so I am several weeks late. Needless to say, the first impression was not that good. I spent the night at the Best Western and I was informed that there were several good places to see in Holland, so, I decided to give it a second look. Besides, I hate wasting my time.
The next day, I visited this place:
Notice the dead flowers.
Which is next to this buffalo farm:
Talk about bad timing, there was a horrible storm last weekend that destroyed the garden. In case people don't know, buffaloes don't live in ponds. It is just the entire place was flooded badly. I decided to leave after buying a buffalo jerky for $10, which was not bad. In fact, it tastes better than the beef jerky that they sell at gas stations or supermarket.
From there, I decided to visit this park, where you can take picture of this lighthouse:
Apparently, you have to pay $8, even just to take a shot for that thing inside the park. Being a cheap bastard, I simply refused to pay. Therefore, I took that picture from outside the park.
Another place where you have to pay to get in is the Windmill Island. In this case, however, the $7 worths it. The place is nice: they have a small replica of a Dutch town (though only several houses as you can see in the following photo), a greenhouse, and they have a guided tour inside the windmill. So, it is a very nice deal.
From Holland, I decided to travel along the shore of Lake Michigan. Why? I blame this book, which I bought from Half Price Bookstore for $2: http://www.amazon.com/Most-Scenic-Drives-America-Spectacular/dp/0895778629/ref=sr_11_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1213149316&sr=11-1.
Next stop is Ludington, a small town on the shore of the lake and also a terminal for a ferry to Wisconsin. It has a nice beach. I don't linger too much though, as it was 2 PM when I arrived there and I had to go to Mackinaw City (since I had reserved the room there using priceline)
From here, I tried to use the shore road, unfortunately, I misread the map and I was lost. It took me an hour getting back to the Route 31 and by the time I left Luddington, it was almost 4 PM. Note: the book specifies that from Ludington I should take US route 10/31, but I wanted to be a bit adventurous. Anyway, having survived that problem, I followed the route to Mackinaw, though, I messed up again around route 119, which was close to Mackinaw... took a wrong turn somewhere. Arrived at the hotel at 8:35 PM. Not bad, 320 miles in around 4-5 hours.
Here are some pictures that I took... while driving....
On the side note, I just recalled that it was weird when I left Columbus, my MP3 player was playing "Air" by J.S. Bach. Kinda interesting piece to have to leave the city where I spent eight years of my life and right when i was leaving Ohio, I was listening to Vera Lynn's "We'll Meet Again," the infamous song of Dr. Strangelove. Since I am feeling nostalgic, I will put here the verses of "We'll meet again."
We'll meet again,
Don't know where,
Don't know when,
But I know
We'll meet again
Some sunny day.
Keep smiling through
Just like you
Always do
Till the blue skies
Drive the dark clouds
Far away.
So will you please
Say hello
To the folks
That I know
Tell them,
I won't be long.
They'll be happy to know
That as you saw me go
I was singing this song.
We'll meet again,
Don't know where,
Don't know when,
But I know
We'll meet again
Some sunny day.
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