Day 4: Lazy days of summer

Bike Distance	Avg Speed	Total Ascent	Saddle Time	Calories
38.38 miles	10.58 mph	317 ft	03:36:51	1982 cal

Best sleep Ever!:

All I can say is wow! This was the most comfy mattress and bedding set I've ever slept on! Granted, the cool room and darkening curtains were also a plus. :-) we quickly got dressed and headed to the lobby for our free continental breakfast. It was 9:30 so we only had a half hour to dine! Swatz got two bowls of chex cereal, fruit and oj. I ate one bowl of fiber one cereal, fruit, small Danish, oj, grapefruit juice and coffee! We finished right at 10 so prefect timing! We only have about 35 miles today so we can take our time and enjoy! We checked out, let our panniers at the hotel and headed to our main attraction.

Windmill Island Gardens:

The morning was actually quite nice weather wise as there was an overcast protecting us from the sun. We made quick work of the paltry 1 mile to get to the island. On the island is street made to look like one you would find in the Netherlands. The was about 4 shoppes each selling imported products and a small scale city scene depicting life back in the day. It was mainly geared for children but was still educational for us!

As we headed to the main attraction we got distracted by a huge antique music making machine. I don't recall the Dutch name for it but you feed it sheets of music and the machine plays it. It was pretty impressive sounding and looking!

The Windmill tour was quite informative as they led us up to each floor where they explained what occurred there. Essentially, this Windmill was used to produce flour from raw gain. The farmer would pull his horse cart through the lower level where the operator would lift his raw gain up to the grinding level (I believe the 4th floor). Here the Windmill would turn a giant stone which would grind the grain into a powder and force it through a chute to the packing floor below. There, the fresh flour was "bagged" and lowered down directly into the farmers cart. It was literally the first real drive thru! The town of Holland still produces flour in this way as the Dutch government would only allow the export of the Windmill if it's main function was preserved indefinitely. In fact, this was the last Windmill to ever be exported as the Netherlands declared the remaining as historical sites.

Good Earth:

Swatz was informed by a friend that she should visit a local vegetarian sandwich shop while in Holland. By this time it was after noon so we decided to pay it a visit. It was easy to find as it was literally across the street from the hotel. Swatz got a vegan wrap and I, all not very hungry, got a bagel with cream cheese. I must admit Swati's wrap was delicious (I had a nice a nibble). We collected our bags and waved goodbye to Holland.

Coffee. Tea. Or me?:

We had a relatively uneventful 22 mile ride to Grand Haven. I believe 8 of which were on a paved path parallel to the road. This nature filled path took us off the street and out of harms way. However, it wasn't as flat as the street and thus we had more of a rolling Hill type of route to deal with. I would have been on the street in no time had I been alone but Swati was enjoying it too much for me to suggest a change. Ultimately our average speed suffered as a result. The things I do for my wife! ;-)

Once in town we decided to explore a bit for a coffee shop snack. The town is a cleaner version of new Haven which may explain why they call it "grand"? Like Holland it too bad that college town feel only a bit more touristy. We found a nice coffee shop on the main strip which also had vegan treats so Swatz could" fuel" up. We enjoyed some free Wi-Fi but kept the visit short as it was approaching 6pm and we still had 12 or so miles to Muskegon.

Meh... Muskegon:

We chewed up the miles and found ourselves entering the not so awesome town of Muskegon. Earlier, in grand haven, we searched for hotels within 5 miles of the ferry and the Travelodge was the only one with a review greater than 3.5 which, based on the photos, wasn't very promising. I'm not really sure how to describe the sections we rode to get to the hotel other than it was reminiscent of the South side of Chicago. Boarded up houses and vacant strip malls. Gary Indiana looked like Lincoln Park compared to this.

As we rolled up to the hotel I was a bit alarmed at the number of people loitering in the hotel parking lot. Especially considering we just past an empty looking ginormous red roof Inn 1 block earlier. I envisioned it as some sort of crack dealer distribution center/hotel. Troy, the friendly hotel clerk, initially recommended the room with a hot tub stating "why not enjoy some time together in the 'tub'?" I kindly declined and he gave us a discounted rate for a floor level room. Our accommodations were musty but adequate. Hey, it had a working a/c unit, a shower that wouldn't drain and an old 25" SD TV! The free Wi-Fi was a shocking bonus... ;-) Despite, the rather drab hotel we were a mere 1 mile away from the highest rated restaurant in Muskegon "Hearthstone Bistro". We switched on our lights and off we went.

Fine dining - take two:

Typically I don't lock my bike when it is in view but after tonight's ride through town I figured why risk it. I even took my helmet with me just to be sure. The restaurant was fairly busy for 9pm but we managed a nice outdoor table. The staff was very knowledgeable and were able to assist Swati in creating a vegan dish. We ultimately decided on the two pasta dinners for $22 Wednesday special. She had spinach pasta with grilled Vegis while I had the local favorite Mamma's meatballs and spaghetti. In honor of my Dutch peeps I washed that down with some Heineken.

As we were wrapping up dinner we decided to double check the ferry times and purchase the tickets using their on line system. Turns out the 10:30am ferry has sold out! WTF! The restaurant staff said they usually sell out Thursday mornings. The next available ferry was 4:30pm! (insert slang word here). No way we want to spend Thursday in Muskegon! We decided to wake up at the crack of dawn Thursday morning and get to the ticket office ASAP to see if we could pull some strings... Fingers crossed!