I started my last day in Michigan with only tentative plans for the southwestern corner. I hoped to leave myself enough time to see some of the Gerald Ford Museum in Grand Rapids and more of Lake Michigan, but I had not made firm plans because I was enjoying time with my friends, Billy and Karen. Billy and I grew up together, so the opportunity to catch up and see their life was delightful. I did not think they had free time to hang out on the Friday, but they surprised me by freeing up the day. Billy is enthusiastic about Holland, and he delighted in showing it off. Karen and he raised their family in the Chicago area after our childhood in northern Ohio, then settled into the Lake Michigan community for semi-retirement.
So I stopped first at their place, before we headed to the downtown. Much of the downtown of Holland is owned by the DeVos family, so there are no chain stores–only locally owned shops. Billy likes the coffee shop, so we started there and sat talking. It was a gorgeous day, so we went for a walk in the town, which leans into its Dutch/German background. We ended our walk at a German clock shop, and I bought a wound up buying a Weihnactpyramide on this last day because I did not find a special one in Frankenmuth at the start of the week. This one was in my had three characters to remind me of the day the three of us spent together, which I will remember when I am unpacking it in future holidays.
I was being very spontaneous at this point in the trip, but Billy is a planner. So he was surprised by how unplanned I was. It was my last day, a Friday–my days of planning tightly were behind me. We went to the local library, which has an outdoor tribute to the Wizard of Oz book, then we went to the Saugatuck Dunes State Park on this gorgeous day. We had the beach mostly to ourselves and I was delighted to wander in the sands of Lake Michigan, what I anticipated to be my last day of Great Lakes. We continued to chat non-stop, drove around looking at the mansions, then made a final stop for sandwiches and ice cream and Billy’s favorite sandwich shack.
I had made plans to spend the evening with one friend back in Toledo, then the night with another after a concert we had hoped to enjoy together. I had given up on seeing anything in Grand Rapids, including the Gerald Ford Museum, but the time with friends was worth it. We lingered so long that I eventually zoomed west across the southern end of the mitten, a trip that reminded me of the old adage that Michigan has two seasons: winter and construction. I was headed south toward Ohio in good light and my friends were very gracious about my constant updates. I spent the night with my evening friend and wound up joining my night friend with her beau at Lake Erie, completing my Great Lakes tour.
As always, I left Michigan with some key reasons to return. The beauty and distinct character of each Great Lake was the thing I will take away from this trip to a state that is should be defined by its water and not its land. My Ohio family would remind me that it’s nearby, so getting back should be easy. I hope so.