Happened to be at St Joseph beach during the eve of July 4th and saw some of the tourists getting ready to witness the fireworks.
The Amtrak runs very close to the beach and I did not know that there was a station at St Joseph.
Love lighthouses and some of the stories behind them.
At this location there were two lighthouses close to each other and the second one is equally good.
Sometimes the angle of the light makes a lot of difference. I like the silhouette better even though the man fishing from the boat is the same in both the pictures above and below.
I showed the above picture to the guy in the boat and he laughed saying "but there is no fish in the picture"
Talking of fish, we did see one guy actually catch a big one. Looks like a Drum.
These lighthouses have been here for more than a century.
The Michigan Lake is so vast that at times you feel that you are looking out into the ocean. Most of the time the waters are calm and you may see a lone paddler moving about
While we were there we did not miss a chance to get some cups of Caramel from Kilwins.
A small video clip captured at Kilwins got converted to an insta reel. I love that 1964 song by Chuck Berry attached to the Instagram. About an hour's drive up north from this place is a Dutch village where you get to see and learn about Dutch culture.
Among other things that we saw was a shoe (Klompen) making factory and a Dutch dance display.
The Dutch dance display was entertaining as well as informative.
The Gouden Engel (organ) that played in the background was made in Belgium and later transported to the Netherlands. The fact that it weighed more than 2000 pounds makes it one of the heaviest street organs in the Netherlands.
All those who danced were students from the nearby university.
There were some funny moments while they danced, like one of the boy's shoes went flying and was later retrieved from the canal.
Maybe he didn't wear enough socks (they wore anything between 5 to10 pairs of socks)
Later they invited the audience to join the dance which was an opportunity to learn a few steps.
While watching the video I had my doubts. Did he deliberately fling the shoe?
The tag says that it costs 550 Euros for the set.
A bit steep I must say but when you look at the effort that has gone into the
making of this pair, I think it is worth reconsidering.
Had been to the Delft Pottery in Netherlands about
six months ago. A visit to the factory is worth it if you are in
Netherlands.
They take you through a set of articles that are on
display with special mention about how it was made. For example “The Night
Watchman” is a collection of 480 tiles of 18x18cms.
The original painting of 1642 by Rembrandt was 13
ft x 16 ft. It took more than a year for two master painters to convert this on
to the tiles by individually painting them by hand.
The best part was that the tiles were sold even before
the painting was over. To this day the owner has loaned the set to the museum so
that the visitors can enjoy this unique piece.
Before you enter this section, there is an audio
visual display giving you a brief history of how Delft pottery came into
Netherlands.
Time stands still on this table with the Delft
pottery.
King Willem III has donated his collection with
the condition that it will be exhibited in a "dignified fashion"
Some of the other exhibits
I admire this model who agreed to wear all this
pottery and walk the ramp
The old drafting board that was used by them is
also one of the exhibits
Further down one can have a glimpse at their
factory where each piece is physically examined by a person and final touches
given with the help of a leg operated “pottery wheel”
In another corner one can see the artists painting
each piece. Don’t miss the transistor in the background. I observed these
transistors even in the factory where it was splashed by the paint and wet mud, but who
cares, music is more important.
Further down there is a display of the items that
are for sale.
All in all a good experience. Have made a 8 min video with more photographs:
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