SKI Vacation Part 2 of 3
The third night we stayed in Post Falls, Idaho at the Comfort Inn. At breakfast the next morning, everyone spoke with a Southern drawl. I remarked as to how I must be down south. One of the guys asked how far south I thought I was. I said North or South Carolina and he said close enough as most of them were from South Carolina. He took a vote and they all agreed I could have breakfast with them as long as I didn’t imitate their speech.
They were all there for a Baptist get-together in Idaho. Brady Cooper, the senior pastor at New Vision Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, TN, wanted to know about hunting and fishing in MN. When Genie told him that she went along deer hunting and she liked to fish, especially through the ice at Lake of the Woods, he became very envious. Brady told me how lucky I was to have a wife who enjoyed the outdoors and would go along hunting and fishing as his wife didn’t and wouldn’t. Rev. Brady, for your sake, I hope your great wife doesn’t read this!
The fourth night we reached our destination of Spokane, WA for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America Women’s Triennial Convention. The total attendance for the three-day event was about 2,000.
Who are Joyce, Jaci, Gwen, Austra, Barb (the cookie monster as she stole two of my chocolate chip cookies), Bernice, Marjorie and Karan? They are either grandmas, aunts or moms of Awesome Blossom students, some of which we passed on I-90 just before South Dakota. The lades are members of First Lutheran Church in Blooming Prairie and they stayed in the same motel, the Travelodge, for three nights, as Genie and I did. Small world, isn’t it?
Parked in front of the Travelodge Motel was a van with McCabe Motors Rental, Owatonna, MN on the side. Eight ladies from Red Oak Grove Lutheran Church in rural Austin rented the van and took turns driving the 1500 miles to Spokane. They were going to travel by Amtrak but because of all the water in North Dakota, Amtrak couldn’t get through.
Marie Tesch of Waseca, an outgoing Women of the ELCA Officer, was there with her two daughters and one grand daughter.
Caroline Neale, Hazel Spiering and Paula Buendorf were some of the ladies from Albert Lea in attendance. Hazel and Paula are also on the Twins bus sponsored by Grace and Central Freeborn Lutheran Churches to Lutheran Night at the Twins.
Genie completed an early Saturday morning 5K Walk/Run raising $200 (I slept in). She attended the convention while I promoted LAMP (Lutheran Association of Missionairies and Pilots). We are both missionairies and have taught Vacation Bible School in remote villages in Canada. We do programs of our experiences if you’re looking for an informational real-life adventure program.
The last night of the convention I was lucky enough to sit next to Elizabeth Hunter, Associate Editor of The Lutheran and The Little Lutheran. She is the mother of two young sons and the person who the pastor of her Lutheran church obeys. She can really belt out a song and it was very enjoyable to sing along with her. By the way, her pastor and husband are one and the same!
The evening service the last day included communion. Genie was one of the communion assistants. Guess who had the pleasure of serving me communion? If you said Genie, you’re right. What a great experience for both of us. Thanks be to God.
We left Spokane Sunday, July 17th and drove to Tacoma, WA. While there, we visited Genie’s Aunt Alice Thompson and her daughter Linda and son-in-law Keith. We enjoyed a noon meal with Alice and Linda. The ladies visited about their travels and their times together in the Clear Lake, IA area. They talked about their times at brother Albert Juhl’s farm (uncle to Linda and Genie where the plane carrying Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Richie Valens crashed killing all three and the pilot). Albert Juhl guarded the wreckage with his double-barrel 12-gauge shot gun until law enforcement arrived.
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Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent. His wife, Genie, is a retired RN, currently working on her doctor’s degree in volunteering. They have two children, Deb in North Carolina, and Dan in Vermont. This is the Hanson’s 36th summer at Beaver Lake. They leave the lake in mid-October to go south — to Albert Lea — and return in April. Bob says if you enjoy his article, let him know. If you don’t enjoy it, keep on reading, it can get worse. Words of Wisdom: There is always room for God.