One of my favorite traditions every year is to head over to Holland to see the tulips during Tulip Time! And can you believe this is my 10th year blogging at the tulip fields? So crazy to see how long I’ve been running Selective Potential. I decided to check out Windmill Island this year instead of Veldheer Tulip Gardens just to mix it up a little bit from the past two years! I absolutely love the windmill in photos, but Veldheer has more tulips. But either way, you’re in for a real treat if you visit either place (or both) during this time of year. We always make it a tradition and go on a weeknight, because there’s less people and it makes for better photos! Afterwards, we usually head downtown to check out some of the wooden shoe street dancing and to grab a bite for dinner.

But yeah, one of my top recommendations for visiting the tulip fields during this time of year is to try a weeknight. Both Windmill Island and Veldheer Tulip Garden stay open until 7pm! This year was really muddy (these mules definitely need a wash!) but it was still totally fine to walk around, especially on the pathways. The more you venture in the rows of tulips, the muddier it’ll get, of course. We always try to keep an eye out for overcast days too so it’s not overly bright or shadowy! I love the colorful tulips against the overcast sky! When we left GR, it was in the high 60s but by the time we got to Holland, it had dropped to mid-50s and the wind picked up (lake effect!) so it was pretty chilly when we were shooting! But I love how they turned out; and I’m so glad to have 10 years of photos here!

After we explore the fields, snap photos, stroll through some of the shops, we usually make our way to downtown Holland. There are always little girls walking around in Dutch outfits with their wooden shoes… so cute! They have street dancing during the week, along with a ton of other events — arts and crafts festival, fireworks, carnival rides and food, you name it. We typically just tend to stick to the tulip fields and dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Holland, but checking out all that Tulip Time has to offer is definitely worth it if you’re making the trip! We headed to New Holland Brewing for dinner — which is one of our favorite traditions! I ordered a yummy gin fizz drink, and Eric always gets a specialty beer on tap. This year, we split a pretzel and burger for dinner! I just love Holland (especially this time of year!)