After a good night’s sleep, we went upstairs and our hosts, Patti & Hunter, had the coffee pot and hot water ready for us.  We talked for a little while as we waited for the other guests to arrive.  The table was already set for breakfast.

Scrambled eggs, Cinnamon French Toast Strata and Oatmeal Banana Muffins with Jam were served along with fresh strawberries, juice, coffee, and tea.  It was lovely, simple and there was plenty of food for all.

The Cinnamon French Toast Strata was so moist.  I told Patti she really needs to have a blog where she posts her recipes.

 

After a leisure breakfast (no rushing here), we headed out for the day with no plans whatsoever.

Driving through the countryside, I said out loud “this would be a good place to ride a bike.”  The setting was so peaceful.  While driving, we ran across a couple of interesting items next to the road.

This was so funny.  I almost missed it except that the “green” stood out so much.

As we continued on, I remembered that there was a Seventh-day Adventist church somewhere nearby and decided to attend the service.  Not knowing where we were and with no cell coverage, we guessed our way to a town called Rice Lake.  We expected it to be small but it was a fairly large town of over 8400 people.

Although late, and not wearing “proper” church clothes, we quickly found a seat in the back.

What a surprise to see that the church was full.  Lots of people and lots of children.  After the service, the people were genuinely happy to have us there.  No judgment about wearing jeans to church — lots of people were “just like us.”

I’m finding that people in the country live more simple lifestyles and they have an acceptance of people regardless of their outward appearance.  I see this more and more as I continue my search in the Minnesota area for a “home” church.

I think I could be happy at this little church — a wee bit too far but it has a lot going for it.

When we left the church building, we noticed that they have a school that are on the same grounds.

After the church service, we drove around the town of Rice Lake, population approximately 8400.  It’s a very large small town.

Pulling into a road that led to the lake, we came across a World War II memorial.

The pavers on the ground were memorials for different groups and individuals.

When a picture is attached to the name, it feels more personal to me.

So many died.  So many still die.

A constant reminder that we live in an imperfect world.