Pat and John rented a car, picked us up and downtown we went for lunch and a tour....They are staying at Eldean Shipyard having a prop repaired.
History Lesson....A Dutch minister, settled in Holland in 1847 with his family and members of his congregation. They arrived in the dead of winter seeking freedom from the religious and economic hardships facing them in the Netherlands. Holland's first residents shaped a city that still embraces the Dutch heritage today.
The settlers eventually hand-dug the channel that leads from Lake Macatawa to Lake Michigan, making the Holland harbor accessible for commercial shipping.
8th Street Grille
John and Rik
Did you know 6 million tulips bloom throughout Holland each Spring
Rik and Pat
Captain Hook....rescue cat from Hurricane Charlie lives next door on Island Girl
Interesting Fact.....Shoppers don't have to worry about slipping on ice or traipsing through snow in downtown Holland. Snowmelt, introduced to Holland in 1988 and expanded in recent years, is an underground heating system designed to keep the streets and sidewalks "snow free" during the winter months. Over 125 miles of plastic tubing are coiled beneath 8th Street and River Avenue. During the winter, warm water is constantly pumped through the underground tubing. The water is headed to 95 degrees maintaining a ground and surface temperature of around 50 degrees. Holland's snowmelt system is the largest municipally-run system in the country.
Big Red, Holland's famous lighthouse stands at the mouth of the channel
A lighthouse has stood on this location since 1872, although the current structure was erected in 1936. Originally a pale yellow, the lighthouse was repainted bright red in 1956 to satisfy a Coast Guard mandate that all structures on the right side of a harbor entrance must be red.
Tomorrow Garmin comes and hopefully the auto-pilot will be fixed and we will be back on the water.
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