Holland, Michigan: When I told people I go to college here, their reaction is “Why? That’s in the middle of nowhere. The only thing that state has going for it is the fact that it looks like a mitten.” Well, Holland has a lot more going for it than people give it credit for. Despite the fact that the coolest college is there, here are some of the awesome things that Hope College and Holland has to offer that I’ve realized:
1. Tunnel Park Proposal! This video was brought to my attention by my brother. At first I thought this was just a cute lipdub proposal until I realized where it took place—Tunnel Park in Holland! That’s about 10 minutes from campus. When I saw this, I thought that it was so cool that a small town was chosen for this—especially somewhere that I spent a lot of summer days playing. Read about the proposal on MLive.
2. Windmill Island! Windmill Island is very popular place in Holland. If you haven’t heard about it, this is a small Dutch village with a huge Windmill and little Dutch shops. This is a very popular place during Tulip Time–there’s dancing and blossoming flowers everywhere!
3. Filming of “Virginia.” Although this is filmed in Saugutuck and not Holland, it has some big name actors in it including Ed Harris and Jennifer Connelly. Something interesting I found out about this film is that it was filmed at my grandmother’s childhood home—it was really cool to see a scene of the house and having my family recognize it! What are the chances???
4. Filming of “Return of the Hiding Place.” This movie was actually filmed on Hope’s campus!!!! How cool is that??? My brother happened to be on campus working for the school when it was being filmed, and he said he had to take a double-take when he saw soldiers casually walking around. Here’s an article from the Holland Sentinel about it.
5. The Peanut Store! For those candy lovers out there like myself, this is one of the largest attractions to Holland. Don’t be deceived by the name of the store—it’s not a peanut store, but a wonderland of delicious candy. No joke, I probably have spent a cumulative 15 hours in that store during the course of my life. They have an assortment of chocolates, jelly beans, typical grocery store candy, seafoam, and some other randomly delicious treats.
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6. Hope College!
Most importantly, Holland has the most amazing school ever… HOPE! With the
great downtown area, it’s a good place for college life and is known for being
one of the safest cities in the country.
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Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @hopeleslie15!!!!