Replacing the ocean with a lake opens new possibilities for a beach vacation, if the lake is Michigan and if you like sparkling clean communities whose residents seem to enjoy good times as much as vacationers do.

They certainly produce a lot of festivals in western Michigan, and sustain restaurants, museums, shops, breweries and all sorts of sports.

Local folks seem to like the visitors as well because I encountered only friendly cheerful people on my four-day jaunt along the coastline. I’ve been to cranky places and saw the difference.

I went specifically for the tulips in Holland because I’ve not been in the Netherlands for tulip time and can’t grow them successfully in my hot South Georgia yard.

Saw thousands, maybe millions, of blooms and resisted the temptation to buy bulbs in every color to try one more planting at home. Well, not black because the Holland gardeners say that’s the only color not seen in tulips.

600,000 tulips line the streets in Holland; 300,000 new bulbs come from the Netherlands every year and the process to replace half of the blooms keeps on happening.

No way to count the number of tulips in big meadow-like gardens at Windmill Island and Veldheer Tulip Gardens.

Didn’t resist much else in this stretch of shoreline communities due west of Grand Rapids because fun was abundant. That includes the fun of food and fine beverages.

Holland was my base but I learned quickly that lodging, shopping, fine art, sports and games in Grand Haven to the north and Saugatuck to the south are charming too.

The connecting highways 196 and 31 aren’t stressful roads, and that immense lake water is always nearby. People boat in from Chicago and elsewhere.

Ride a bike if you prefer; it’s 22 miles between Grand Haven and Holland.

Holland has 120 miles of connected lanes and a bike store so committed to matching cyclists to bikes they measure you every which way and even check leg muscle flexion on a massage table to get your pedals right.

This family-run Cross Country Cycle teaches yoga for cyclists, shows and shares remarkable bicycle technology and pretty much provides an all-day experience right in the shop.

Pick and choose from my western Michigan experiences when you go, or start from scratch. Clearly there’s more to discover.

Sure winter’s cold, but hot water flows under Holland’s downtown brick sidewalks in one-inch tubes so the snow melts. Grand Haven is installing a snowmelt system downtown right now.