So it just so happened that the entire family was up by 7am last saturday, and it was sunny, so I suggested we all head out to the tulip festival. The girls were game so we hustled everyone in to the car and off we went. We arrived at the first field by 8:30 am. Kiah had her first face plant in the mud by 8:31am. Luckily she handled it well and took it as a free pass to wallow in the mud some more. After checking out the flowers for a bit Moira asked where the festival was . . . whoops apparently she was expecting a full on vendor/crafter fair. So after getting over that little set back Moira settled in to checking out the flowers. The first field we stopped at was just that a muddy field w/lots of flowers.
The next stop we made was Tulip Town. This is the tourist version of the festival. You had to pay $5 for adults to enter, but hey they had bathrooms. Tulip Town was much less muddy and had statuary, music, manicured grounds, and many other things the girls thought enhanced the experience. We rolled in a little after 9am and there were maybe 25-30 other people milling around. The clouds finally started to break up and out came the sun. You were allowed to go down the rows a bit here, which made for great photo ops, and it was a hilly piece of property, which also allowed for some pretty fantastic scenic vistas. After several warnings about playing the "puddle jump game" Moira had a spectacular fall in to a puddle and was not only covered in mud, but soaked. After a fair bit of crying Nick managed to convince her to walk around a bit more, and we madly shot pictures in an effort to beat the kiddo clock. We left the 2nd field just after 10am and it was getting really crowded, and difficult to get a shot without some random person walking through it. The roads were also insanely backed up as we left town. So the lesson for next time we go is to bring mud boots, towels, and multiple changes of clothing.
