5/7 - Holland Mich

On Friday we flew into Grand Rapids Mich and started see tulips before we got out of the airport.  Not to long later we had made it to "Tulip City" or Holland, Mich.  We met our host, who had tulips in her back yard.  She took us downtown that evening to see some traditional Dutch dancing and for a walk through Centennial Park which is the center of the Tulip time celebration.  There were tulip gardens throughout the park and along the esplanades of all the streets downtown.

Today we went to Windmill Island which touts the only working wind mill in North America.  The windmill was imported from the Netherlands with the agreement that it would be maintained in a working condition.  Holland, Mich has the only official woman miller.  She trained in the Netherlands and is is in a select group of 32 millers with the Dutch certification.   Of course, tulip gardens covered the grounds.  Next we went the the Valheem Tulip farm and walked through acres of tulips.  Beautiful, see if this link works   .Holland, Mich Picasa Album

On negative note.  On my way out of Houston we were rushing to make the security line and gate and I cut the corner on one of the turns and tripped over the two inch ledge and did a face plant on the floor of the airport.  Suddenly there was a group of airport employees, security, courtesy and eventually the parameds to tend to me.  I  bled on their floor from a quarter size skin tear and a small laceration on my chin.  A bandage and the parameds let me go.  Continental courtesy expedited us through security and carted us to the gate for a just in time boarding.  Now, adding to my long list of aches and pains is pain in my sternum.  I may have fractured it.