After four springs in Iowa I decided to stop being such a grump and, with encouragement from a friend, tried out Tulip Time during the festival. Oh, we've been before or after the actual festivities. We've admired the tulips, eaten the poffertjes, walked the Molengracht. We've even toured the mill and historical site, but we have never taken in the whole shabang. Alas, the sun was shining this Friday morning (after a rainy Thursday), and we seized the day.
It turned out seizing the day began with parking 3/4 of a mile away and and walking to the fun but it was an easy walk and the kids were in great spirits. Actually, I was, too. It's not lost on me that having children who are older makes things just a bit easier.
Quite luckily for us, we had friends who did know the ropes and let us tag along on their day. Whew. They knew things like to put out blankets for the parade and where to find the good treats.
A lot of the tulips were spent already with such warm temps early this year, but we still found some pretty ones. We wandered the gardens and the car show, then meandered the booths in the park.
As I pointed out the rumble seat to Evalynn while we were walking by she said, "I wish I could get in it." The owner was standing nearby and he said he'd be happy for the kids to sit in there. So generous. What a treat!
We had a picnic lunch and visited with more friends and then everyone chose a treat. Ev and Zayden had ice cream and the other three chose funnel cakes. We watched a good chunk of the parade but had to slip out early to hike back to our car and get home for soccer.
Overall, it was a great day. There was a lot of people (like, a lot) but the kids were so glad to go and I enjoyed it, too. I am thankful for friends who could show us how to navigate. I also very much appreciated the sunshine soaking me 'to the marrow' all day long. I very much needed that!
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