On Saturday, Dec. 7, with the sun shining, 46 people boarded a coach bus in front of the Wok-N-Roll in Albert Lea with Marty Modderman at the helm. It was the first nice day since all the snow shut everything down on Nov. 6.
The bus, sponsored by F.R.O.G. (Fully Rely On God) of Central Freeborn Lutheran Church, headed south of the border on I-35 to Clear Lake, Iowa.
Twelve games of Deal or No Deal were played on the bus for prizes. Winners were Donna Stolaas, Donalie Jensen, Sandy Johnson, Becky Boelter, Larry Enderson, Steve Johnson, Gary Goodnature, Cindy Enderson, Ruth Olson, Neva Mathison, Lynette Emerson and Kathy Paul.
Prizes were from Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce and the Minnesota Twins. A Christmas stocking from the Albert Lea Convention and Visitors Bureau shaped like a little bag was given to each person on the bus. In the bags were coupons from KFC, Arby’s, DQ, QDOBA, Applebee’s, Main Street Family Restaurant, Ramada and Quality Inn, all of Albert Lea, plus a Beanie Baby and a Christmas card.
We reached our destination of “Christmas by the Lake” and Marty parked the bus in the location reserved for us by “Kweenbee” and her staff of the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce. If you wanted to, you could see the lighted Christmas parade and the fireworks shot over the lake from the bus.
We had about an hour to tour main street with all the activities prior to the lighted parade. The hour was also enjoyed with the sun setting and geese flying across the sunset. The five airplanes flying into the sunset was just beautiful, so much so that it was the utopia of a picture-taking person.
The lighted parade was most enjoyable and was immediately followed by fireworks on the lake. To me, the fireworks were second to none, maybe because it was the 25th anniversary of Christmas by the Lake.
Back on the bus, we headed for Wok-N-Roll while driving by Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in the retirement community along I-35.
We arrived at Wok-N-Roll about 7:15 p.m. Genie Hanson led the table prayer and Annie at the door welcomed all. Each person was given an empty plate with the job of filling it from the many entrée selections. Second and even third fills were welcome!
Prior to leaving, the bus people sang, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” twice to the employees.
The next F.R.O.G. activity is a Valentine’s party Saturday, Feb. 1 at 6 p.m. at Central Freeborn Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall. Pizza starts at 6 p.m. followed by 12 games of Norwegian Bingo, ice cream with toppings and door prizes. Call 373-8655 or 826-3267 to attend.
P.S. Wok-N-Roll has six different choices of ice cream. From my sampling of all six, butter pecan is the best!
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Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent, currently working on his master’s degree in Volunteering. 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. Bob says if you enjoy his column, 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.