Saturday–Monday, March 3–5, 2012
Posted here April 15, 2022
Left home at 11:12 a.m.; ate lunch at Culver’s on the way out of town. Arrived at Red Carpet Inn in Rochester, MN at 4:40 p.m.
We ate dinner at Denny’s on Broadway in Rochester. There were six of us: Wendi, Chrissy and myself; Joe and Elizabeth; and Josh Jewell, who also had the weekend off and was spending it with us. We paid for dinner (7:45 p.m.); it was our belated birthday gift to Joe. ~ We went to an ice cream place called Flapdoodle’s for dessert; Joe treated us. They had more ice cream flavors than you could imagine! ~ After that, we spent the evening at Joe and Elizabeth’s apartment, relaxing, conversing and playing video games on our phones.
Continental breakfast at the hotel was skimpy: just muffins and mini cinnamon rolls that seemed to be a day old (or more) and coffee (we used the coffeemaker in the room instead).
We met Joe and Elizabeth at their apartment, then attended Autumn Ridge Church (3611 Salem Road Southwest; formerly First Baptist Church), which is a BIG church with a lot of modern technology and even a bookstore! The building was built in 2005. There is a chapel near the main building, called Timothy Chapel, and this is where the college chapel services are held. ~ The service was nice. The sermon text was Hebrews 5:11–6:12 with emphasis on 6:4–6 which is a very difficult, controversial passage; the pastor handled it well.
After church, we stopped at Kwik Trip for gas (12:18); then we all met at Arby’s for lunch (12:33). ~ Elizabeth, Josh, Chrissy and Wendi went back to the apartment while Joe and I went to Sam’s Club and then Target (where Joe works) to buy food for today. ~ Elizabeth lay down for a nap about the same time we got back.
The plan was to make homemade pizza and salad for dinner. Joe and I worked together in the tiny kitchen, with the sink full of dishes (Elizabeth had been sick, so Joe couldn’t keep up, between work and school). We actually had a great time. ~ Joe used a 12-inch pizza stone for one pizza and a 10 × 15 inch baking sheet for the other. ~ Toppings included Jimmy Dean pork sausage, fresh red bell pepper, canned mushroom stems and pieces, green olives, and chopped black olives (oops, Joe meant to get whole ones). Hormel Turkey Pepperoni was used for the larger (baking sheet) pizza only. ~ They didn’t have garlic or oregano, so I increased the basil from 1 to 1.5 teaspoons and added 1.5 teaspoons of original Mrs. Dash; surprisingly the pizza sauce was fine, with a deeper, more robust flavor than usual (though it could have used more garlic). ~ Pizzas were topped with Mozzarella cheese and baked at 375° (oven temp runs about 25° low, Elizabeth said) for about 30 minutes each. ~ The crusts, processed in a bread maker much like our own, turned out superb. ~ Dinner was served at 8:00 (stone) and 8:30 (baking sheet). Everything disappeared and was given raves by those present. Wendi said she was proud of us for working so well together.
Another friend was present for the evening: Ruth Muller, a 17-year-old high school student who takes some classes at the college under the PSEO (post-secondary education option) program. Ruth is funny and energetic; she was a lot of fun. ~ We watched “The Guild” seasons 1–3 on Netflix; it was a series of web shows about some gaming geeks, and though it contained numerous sexual references and a fair amount of strong language, it was extremely funny. ~ We left sometime around 11:00.
This evening I helped my son make great homemade pizza and salad,
and we watched The Guild… SO FUNNY!! — with Joe Petitt and 4 others.
~ Posted at 10:51 p.m.
Biscuits and gravy with a stack of pancakes — at Denny’s
Restaurant.
~ Posted at 11:05 a.m.
Up 9 a.m. ~ Packed up and checked out of Red Carpet Inn at 10:37 a.m. ~ Ate breakfast at Denny’s: biscuits and gravy with hash browns and a stack of pancakes (11:34; Wendi had a quesadilla in place of the pancakes). We got some glazed pecans to go.
Joining Joe and Josh at the apartment (Elizabeth stayed back), we went shopping at Savers; Wendi bought only a pair of jeans, but Joe managed to get a Star Wars light saber for $3. ~ Next to Aldi so Joe could buy a few things; we bought some snacks and stuff (1:34).
Wendi bought herself a Crossroads College hat at the bookstore that afternoon.
Back at the apartment, we watched season 4 of “The Guild.” Ruth Muller was there too. ~ That evening, all 7 of us ate dinner at Denny’s (5:37). ~ Elizabeth dropped off Josh and Ruth at the apartment (5:52), then took Joe to work (his shift was 6:15–11:30 at Target). We took Josh and left at 5:58.
Last night in MN. Dinner in a party of 7 (same place again lol)
— at Denny’s Restaurant.
~ Posted at 4:49 p.m.
Dropped Josh off at his apartment in La Crosse, used rest room, met his roommate Fred, who was doing the dishes (7:13-7:32). ~ Arrived home at 11:01 p.m.