Weekend Getaway: Holland/Ludington

G and I had a much needed getaway the last weekend in June. We took Friday off and left straight after work Thursday. We were so excited to explore a new town, get some beach time and quality time together.

We stayed at City Flats in Holland the first night. It was a short 2 hour drive west and only an hour from Ludington. We checked in and the girls at the front desk recommended a Holland Beer Tour of sorts. LOVE IT!

We checked into our super cute and modern room and then started off on the first stop of tour which was only a five minute walk away.

On the walk over we saw a bunch of street performers juggling and showing off exotic birds. So fun!

Butch's was our first stop and our favorite place of the entire trip. The atmosphere was casual, the service was awesome, the drinks and food were to die. G had a gin drink and I had a gin and St. Germain drink. That is my jam lately. 

The napkin was in the shape of the dutch shoe, how cute is that?!

We shared the pomme fries with garlic aioli and the flatbread. Both were incredible. The fries were crisp and lightly salted just the way I like 'em. The flatbread was so flavorful and tasted so fresh. We were sitting by the windows up front so we had great views of the street performers and people watching everyone walking by. A lovely first stop and I cannot wait to go back!

Next up was Our Brewing. 

The atmosphere was eclectic and fun. It was album night and the Deejay was too cool for school and I mean that in the best way. He played 80s music. The vibe was low key and chill and that was definitely our speed.

We each ordered a beer flight and they came with way more beer than we expected so we were here quite a bit longer just relaxing and hanging out. We found seats on a nice leather couch and sipped our beer and enjoyed the free popcorn.

We played a few games and watched a lively group of kids play Heads Up. Good times.

Lastly we headed to Hops. We got 15% off for showing our CityFlats key card. We tried the margarita flight because how can you not when it's on the menu? We also had spinach and artichoke dip and it was all delicious. The margs were a little sweet, but the cucumber was my fave. Another fun atmosphere with cute decorations and great service and the perfect end to a perfect night.

We were up at 7:30 a.m. the next morning for some reason. I guess we were just excited to start our day! We drank coffee in our room and enjoyed the view. 

Breakfast didn't come with our stay, but we were given these complimentary snacks and they made the perfect breakfast.

We decided to walk this nature trail across from the hotel and sit at the lookout and eat our breakfast. What a view!

It was such a gorgeous day and still early so we decided to walk back into the city and explore all the cute houses. 

Then we wandered into town and did some shopping. We got Manny a birthday cake to share with his friends when we got back.

I love window shopping in cute beach towns and taking photos of all the cute signs.

We found this adorable park with a pond full of fish and a pretty fountain.  Then before I knew it we had walked over 4 miles (!) and it was lunch time! We had asked for late check out so we headed back to our room to get ready for the day.

We drove down the street to Boatwerks. A recommendation from a coworker and the girls at the front desk. It had the most gorgeous and large patio. 

We could sit right on the water and it was so relaxing. Also, a gorgeous day. Sunny and high 80s. It doesn't get much better than that.

We ordered brews. I love Founders Rubeus on draft, but find it too sweet from a bottle. Anyone else? 

Per our sweet waitress we shared the shrimp tacos and they were insane. I want them back in my life. One of the best meals of the whole trip!

It was an entertaining lunch. Our waitress spilled ice water on the guy next to us and we watched a boat try to park next to us. Then when he finally parked his wife jumped out and came back 15 minutes later with two drinks (long islands?). He started leaving the dock as we all watched and instead of going forward he went backwards... almost into the dock and once he realized it he pumped the gas so hard his wife spilled all of her drinks and started yelling at him. He zoomed off embarrassed. 

The rest of lunch was quiet and relaxing while I enjoyed our food and the views.

After lunch we headed to Tunnel Park for the afternoon.

It was such a pretty beach and I was obsessed with the tunnel. So much nicer than walking up a dune or a million stairs. 

The beach was crowded so we walked to the very end for some privacy. We floated in our tubes all afternoon and it was magical. Seriously. So relaxing.

Okay this is getting long so I'll break this up into two parts. Come back tomorrow for part two!