Holland, MI Tulip Time Festival Photo Diary

Today I wanted to take a little break from blogging and share the photos I took at Holland, MI Tulip Time Festival last weekend, where I invited my mother-in-law for Mother’s Day. The festival celebrates the area’s rich Dutch heritage and culture of the founders of Holland, that stretches along the shores of Lake Macatawa and Lake Michigan. Even though we didn’t get to see everything on our bucket list, it was worth going just to see the beautiful tulips of all shapes, colors, and sizes. Some of them looked like lilies, others were more like peonies, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen pygmy tulips before – those were SO cute!

After the tulips, my next favorite part is the Arts & Crafts market at Centennial Park. Just seeing what people come up with is already fun, and I always end up buying something little. Last time I got some natural soaps from Lindsay’s Great Lakes Handcrafted Products stand, scented with Holland tulips. This year I decided to skip, though, because I have too much soap in my stash right now that needs to be used up. Mom bought a bar anyway, because she loved the last one she had. Moving along, I couldn’t help but peek inside J. Wade Confections stand. I have a weak spot for handmade caramels and soft taffy, and after seeing all the different varieties they have available I knew I had to get some. I ended up buying Orange Cointreau, which is currently backordered online. It tastes heavenly, you guys! There is just enough orange flavor with a hint of booze, and they don’t overpower the traditional taste of caramels at all.

For dinner we thought about going to Boatwerks, a seafood restaurant that has a beautiful location on the lake with its own dock and a waterside terrace. Unfortunately, it was booked solid for Mother’s Day, so we ended up traveling to South Haven, MI [which is on the way home] where we found taste, a place that serves a variety of bite-sized and small-plated foods from sushi to exotic sausage platters. We were actually kind of full after trying all of those free samples at the arts & crafts booths, so a small dinner sounded just right. FIL ordered Ultimate Grilled Cheese with a side of house fries, which was good enough to take home [it was a big plate compared to the others]. Mom got Goat Cheese & Beet Salad and I think she enjoyed it, but she said the beets tasted like they came from a can, while the menu says they’re roasted. Hubs and I shared a Sausage Plate and Cilantro Tuna sushi spread. The sausage plate had three different kinds of sausage on it: two were amazing and had unique flavors, and one tasted like an oversized hot dog. The sushi was good, but not great: something in it was overpowering the tuna, which was the best part of the dish. I guess they can’t all be winners 🙂 I also ordered a small cup of their soup of the day special – Creamy Carrot Ginger. It was really delicious and reminded me of a soup that I make at home, but I also add butternut squash to it for sweetness.

I hope you enjoyed spending time with your loved ones last Mother’s Day weekend!

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