August 2, 2024, Holland, Michigan

 The morning started with rain so we decided to see more of Holland by car rather than the bike tour we planned.  We toured Windmill Island Gardens and enjoyed the colorful flowered grounds including an authenic and funtioning windmill.  The windmill has to be pointed into the wind manually by using a large round steering wheel.  Grain is hoisted to the top of the windmill where it is ground into flour. Holland (Michigan) imports 500,000 tulip bulbs each year and plants 350,000 of them in Windmill Island Gardens.  They bloom in April and then are given to the general public.  The fields around the windmill are used for the tulips.  We then drove north to Traverse City and prepared our bicycles for transit. Preparation includes removing the pedals and altering the handle bars.  We dropped off our bicycles off at  Northwestern Michigan College which is also our departure point tomorrow. After loading our bicycles we stopped at Keith J Traverse City State Park where Laura could not resist wading into Grand Traverse Bay.  It was a beautiful evening with 70 degree weather and a nice breeze coming off of the water.  Tomorrow we will be bussed to Alpena.