location-Holland, MI
built-1907
active beacon-yes
stamp-yes, at the Holland Municipal Museum
players-Jen, Lincoln, Spencer, Jackson, Manya and Grandpa
August 2, 2010 was the official beginning of the "Stewart Family Lighthouse Explorations"! Woo hoo!!!
John was out of town, so Manya and Grandpa came to visit. Armed with the only lighthouse information we had, we made a plan. We had a Lake Michigan Circle Tour & Lighthouse Map that Manya picked up in Ludington last month. There are 103 lighthouses on the Lake Michigan Circle Tour. We decided on Holland Harbor Lighthouse.
Before we went to the lighthouse, we went to downtown Holland for some lunch and a little shopping. There are a lot of cute little restaurants in Holland, but we had to find kid friendly. We went to Froggy's, the kids loved the frogs all over the place.
Then, I ran into a couple stores with my mom and Jackson, while Grandpa entertained the kids.
Next, on to the lighthouse. Holland Harbor Lighthouse, known as "Big Red", was meant to guide ships that wanted to enter Lake Macatawa from Lake Michigan. If you want a good view of Big Red, you can enter Holland State Park and get a good view from across the canal. However, we wanted to get up close. It is also possible to get in from the south side of the lake. The lighthouse and pier have limited public access from inside a private gated community. After we parked it took about a 1/2 hour to walk out to the lighthouse. It's a fun walk along the water and out on the pier, lots of ducks for the kids to watch. Big Red is still active, so there is nobody manning it and the tower is not accessible.
That was fun, but after the long walk back to the car everyone is more than ready to eat again. Back to downtown Holland for some dinner. Obviously, we we're looking for kid friendly again. We decided on New Holland Brewing Co. -- loud environment, good food, perfect.
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| Jackson loves to laugh |
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| but, food is serious business! |
After such an eventful day you would think everybody would be worn out, but not so!
Hi, I was just reading your blog. I really enjoy visiting lighthouses and I have a passport stamp as well. You have great pictures of the lights. I just thought I would let you know that there is a passport stamp at the Holland Municipal Museum for the Holland Harbor Lighthouse. They have it at the front desk in the museum if you get back to Holland. I almost missed getting that one, until a friend let me know they had it there. The new lady working there didn't know they had a lighthouse stamp there until we had her look for it. The address for the museum is below.
ReplyDeleteHolland Muncipal Museum
31 West 10th; Holland, MI 49423
Thanks a lot! I didn't know that. You let me know just in time. We are actually going there next weekend for Tulip Time. We will definitely stop in & get that one. It wasn't listed on the USLHS website. I'm glad you enjoyed the pics. Feel free to "follow" & share. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteThanks again. We got our stamp today when we went to Tulip Time in Holland.
ReplyDelete