time for tulips

photo by me!

Yesterday I got off work early and drove down to Tulip Time with some of my family. When my cousins got in my car, one of them looked at me from the backseat and said my mom told me to wear a nice shirt because I might be on your blog. That made me laugh so hard! 

I've been going to Tulip Time for years, so it just feels wrong not to go once that time of year comes around. Plus, I love stuffing my face with almond-filled pastries. Who doesn't, though?

We opted to go earlier this year because I thought we'd beat the lines, but it was still crazy and I didn't even get inside Jaarsma because the line was halfway down the street. So I took a picture and that was that. We also skipped the parade because nothing is creeper than little Dutch children waiving at you atop floats that represent the Second Coming of Christ. Yikes!

photo by Evan Olson

I warned the kids beforehand that I'd be taking a lot of pictures and they didn't seem to mind. Although, some of them are more keen on smiling than others (see below.) But we came at just the right time because the light was starting to dim and soften a bit. We only stopped a handful of times, but I think I got a handful of decent shots.

The town where this is all held (Pella, Iowa) has a really strong Dutch heritage and the townspeople don't miss a beat! There are windmills, cheese shops, and lots of people wearing wooden shoes. However, there aren't as many tulips as you would think. Some years are better than others, but this year almost all of them were dead. So I don't have any pictures of tulips, but I did get a picture of my friend Megan eating her Dutch pancakes. You're welcome, Megan. (p.s. she's marrying my cousin this summer. excited to have her in the family.)

photo by Evan Olson

After walking around the town and eating everything in sight, we headed for Megan's house fifteen minutes south and proceeded to play hide-and-seek in her giant 1900's manor. It was fun and I felt thirteen again. We came back home very tired, but also very happy. My feet hurt, but my heart and stomach were full. What more can you ask for? 

Hope you can make it next year! You're not a real Iowan if you haven't :)

photo by Evan Olson