Saturday, June 24, 2017, Zeeland, MI (Holland)
Day 44

After a 30 minute drive we arrived at the Dutch Treat Campground in Zeeland. We checked in and headed to the 8th Street Farmer’s Market in downtown Holland. After sampling some goodies, we walked around town, had a tasting at the Warner Vineyards shop, tasted and purchased some olive oil and vinegars at Fustini’s and stopped for lunch at the Alpen Rose, recommended by a local couple we met in Grand Rapids. I had two white brats with sauerkraut, onions and spaetzle. Rosemary had crepes stuffed with eggs, spinach, mushrooms and havarti cheese and topped with artichoke and roasted red pepper salad.  A great and filling meal. After lunch we walked to the Windmill Island Gardens. It turned out to be a 30 minute walk - it did not look that far on the map! The main feature is an original Dutch windmill “De Zwann”. The windmill is centuries old and was transported to Holland, MI, in 1964 from the Netherlands. It was the last time the Netherlands authorized the export of a windmill which are now considered national treasures. It is the only original Dutch windmill in operation in the U.S. A tour allowed us to climb up and view the inside and outside. There was also a stable of Friesian horses, a breed originating in Netherlands at the Gardens. After a hike back to the car, we headed to the 157 foot Mt. Pisgah Sand Dune where after a short hike we climbed 239 stairs to the top which offered nice views of Lake Michigan and Lake Macatawa.

Friday, June 23, 2017, Grand Rapids, MI

Day 43

The morning was spent at the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. The Park included a very beautiful Japanese garden among others. The sculpture garden included one of our favorites, Claes Oldenburg. A special exhibit was the work of Ai Weiwei, a very interesting display of mostly porcelain art. An exception was his 3 part Lego display of “Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn.” The afternoon was spent at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, a well done and very interesting display. It is pretty neat when presented with history that I can vividly recall happening during my lifetime. On second thought, that just means I’m getting old. Upon closing the museum at 5:00, we were standing right at the Brews, BBQ and Bourbons festival along the riverfront. Naturally we had to attend. I started with a Big Sky Moose Drool Brown Ale. After perusing the BBQ, I had a nice talk with Gary, the head guy at Stonewood Smokehouse. Of course, I happened to mention I am a KCBS judge. I could not refuse the offer of a free rib to give my opinion of his BBQ. Well, the opinion was delicious and we purchase a full rack to go for dinner back at the coach.

Thursday, June 22, 2017, Grand Rapids, MI 

Day 42

After a quiet and peaceful night at the Clio Walmart, we headed 70 minutes to Lansing and took a self guided tour of the State Capitol, built in 1879 and designed to look like our National Capitol building. Sat in on the Senate proceeding for a few minutes. Next we visited the R.E. Olds Transportation Museum. Artifacts of the life of Ransom E. Olds, the founder of Oldsmobile. Included was information on his failed 4.5 million dollar attempt to create a resort paradise in Oldsmar, Florida, on the north end of Tampa Bay. The museum had many antique Oldsmobiles including an original 1897 Curved Dash Oldsmobile, the first mass produced automobile. The original is on loan from the Smithsonian so this museum could create a replica with the exact scale. There were only 4 of the cars made in 1897 and this is the only one remaining. We then headed to Grand Rapids about 90 minutes away and checked into Walmart at Henze Drive for the night.

Wednesday, June 21, 2017, Clio, MI (Frankenmuth)

Day 41

After breakfast I called National RV and the part was in. We pick up the $45 part and it takes me 15 minutes to install. We turn on the a/c and yippee, it works. Raspberries to you General RV and Camping World! After 5 days we finally check out of the fairgrounds (which was actually a very nice place) and drive 40 minutes to Farmington Hills and Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum. More aptly described as an arcade with some antique machines than a museum. An interesting place but not exactly what we were expecting. We headed on for about 50 minutes to Walmart in Clio, MI, where we leave the coach and drive 10 minutes to Frankenmuth. A Bavarian town, this place has tourist trap written all over it.  The main attraction is the Bavarian Inn which features the Amish “broasted chicken” family style dinner. The Inn has a glockenspiel clock which at 6:00, we watched the clock tell the story of the Pied Piper, an awful story about a town breaking its promise and the piper leading the children away “never to be seen again.”  We did manage to find the Frankenmuth Brewery and had dinner-bratwurst and a smoked polish sausage with sauerkraut, sweet peppers, braised brussel sprouts and asparagus washed down with an oatmeal stout. Rosemary had a salad, topped with chicken. On our way out of town, we had to stop at Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, the world’s largest Christmas store. This place had anything Christmas you could ever want, even a tree ornament stating “Happy Hanukkah” with a picture of a menorah. We hiked the store to help get our 10,000 steps in and took some photos just because we had to. But the bottom line, this was just like the biggest ball of string!