Where to go in Michigan on Memorial Weekend

This trip was one special trip as we got to meet up with buddies and break a record of 3 states (Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan) in one day with a night in Michigan.

The purpose of this trip was to meet up with friends from Detroit, MI; since we flew in to Chicago airport, we decided to meet at midpoint, Holland. We ended up with our first attraction at Coopersville, MI (about 3 hrs drive from Chicago) for a steam engine train ride.

On our flight to Chicago, snapped an awesome view of the sunset horizon.



Arrived at the Midway airport, Chicago. Southwest airline has frequent flights to this airport. Southwest rapid loyalty program is one of the best program in the U.S. Its perks include cheaper price / points, no change fee, and best of all, the companion pass.

Conquering one airport at a time.



The awesomely cheap and brand new (~5k miles only) Hyundai Accent compact rental car, at about $19 per day with Chase Ultimate Reward points. It fits four people, two umbrella strollers, two carry-on luggage and two back packs. We choose the least expensive compact category for our rental car and especially we are now able to pack 4 people clothes for 5 days in a carry-on size luggage (check this post).  This helps to cut down on fuel cost. For us, there isn't any difference between the cheaper category and the economy category.



Coopersville, MI

We went for the Coopersville & Marne Railway entertainment excursion that runs for 90 minutes. It is a very old locomotive powered train that takes you for a ride on the tracks back for forth. (Similar to the Thomas train ride here). Since we've been on one of these ride before, we knew what to expect, not much excitement there; but it was definitely more fun with friends.



The Coopersville train ride sets apart from Day Out with Thomas in that they have volunteers on board with music entertainment. If you've never ridden on a train ride, it's always good to try it at least once. Otherwise, just be aware that the ride is a little time consuming (around one and half hour ride in the train itself).



Grand Rapids, MI

About 25 minutes drive is Michigan's second largest​ city so we paid a visit to the city by stopping at the outskirts of its huge botanical gardens, Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.

If you appreciate arts in anyway, definitely stop by for a visit. The park is 158-acre big and easily takes a good 2 to 3 hours to cover such a large park. There are many seasonal highlights within the park so be sure to checkout their website. Here are some of the highlights.



There is also a children garden.



As a family with small kids, we like the botanical garden of Dallas slightly more; because it doesn't feel as spread out as Meijer garden and it has a dedicated children adventure garden with variety of activities for kids.

Situated in Grand rapids downtown is the Fish Ladder Park. Incomparable to the one in Seattle; for the City did poorly in its upkeep.



Holland. MI

Alright, this is Holland in Michigan and not the famous Netherlands. We were excited to find that there are tulips around the town. Unfortunately, we were 2 weeks late and did not get the chance to see the tulips field. Despite the disappointment of lack of tulips, Holland is such a neat little town for a visit especially for family with little kids.

Windmill Island Gardens is where you would go for the tulips field. The tulips festival was on the second week of May when the tulips were at its peak. By Memorial weekend, all the tulips were gone, but the Island is still open for windmill tour. Admission is $9 for adult and $5 for children.

The authentic Dutch windmill that is still producing stone ground flour today. You do get to tour inside the windmill.



It is a beautiful island with dutch design. Can you imagine when the tulips are fully blossom?



Cheesy picture with the dutch wooden shoes.

Nelis Dutch Village is another cool place in Holland for family with children. FREE parking and there's a park admission of $12 for adult and $10 for kids 3 years and up. Be sure to ask for combo package of the Windmill Island Gardens and the Nelis Dutch Village, where you get a slight discount when you buy both tickets. Do check on Groupon for deals availability as we bought two adults ticket for $15.



Nelis Dutch Village is like a kids theme park. They have many rides including the ferris wheel, carousel and other fun stuff. The boys' smiling cheek to cheek with eyes closed while riding the swing was simply priceless. That is one of the top reason why we travel when the kids are still young.



There is also dutch dancing performance in traditional dutch clothing. If you are going to dance in the wooden shoe, just make sure you wear a lot of socks to protect your feet and to prevent shoes from flying off.



Big Red Lighthouse is one of the famous photographed destination of Michigan, located along the coast of Lake Michigan and Lake Macatawa. A must see in Holland, Michigan. Such a beautiful scenery for a nice stroll after dinner especially during sunset. Surprisingly it wasn't crowded on a Memorial Weekend. Daddy really enjoyed the beautiful scenery with his walk, the breeze of chill wind, along with friends and kids chuckling and playing with the sand. As a reminder, don't waste a sunset.