Yesterday Sylvia and I joined a group of friends from church for an outing. We started the day with a meeting with our financial planner. We wrapped that up just in time to meet our friends. We were both very tired, and so we were happy to be passengers in our pastor’s car. It was a 90-minute ride from the church parking lot to the River Lake Inn Restaurant.
The drive was nice and went by quickly as we chatted with Pastor Mark and his wife, Ellen. It was about noon as the last car of our group pulled into the parking lot. We were, as they say around here, in the middle of nowhere. The restaurant used to be a honky-tonk bar. It looks nothing like that now.
The couple that owns the place that used to be surrounded by corn fields, has transformed it into a very friendly atmosphere. They serve luncheons only by appointment to groups of at least twenty persons. They made an exception for our group of eighteen. We had selected our entrees in advance so ordering went very quickly.
We were seated at one end near large windows. We looked out on a beautiful natural scene with water fall and ponds. Myriad bird feeders attracted a large gathering of American gold finch and humming birds. Butterflies abounded.
River Lake Inn also features a bird shop and nature trails. Some of the folks with limited mobility were able to ride around in a stretch golf cart. We enjoyed seeing the fall flowers and the ponds. It was nice and restful. And it felt good to stretch the legs after lunch and before we loaded back into the vehicles for the return ride home.
Before we left we gathered around the entrance and Carmen took a photo of the group. She was kind enough to send a copy to me.
Mary, (seated) Doris, Annette, Agnes, (standing) Majail, Judy, Jill, Mary, Ellen, Pastor Mark, Sylvia, Larry, Chuck, (Seated) Helen, (Standing) Mary, Roy and Les. Photo by Carmen.
It was a great way to spend a day with folks we really like and enjoy being with. After the photo, we got in our vehicles and returned home. Pastor Mark and Ellen wanted to stop in Battle Creek and so we returned home at around 5 PM. Midnight was glad to see us and spent the first couple of hours very close to me. I like that..
How did I miss that post? Oh! You did two today. No… Wednesday came early! Anyway… glad you had fun.
Ryan, honky tonk is usually associated mainly with lower-class bars catering to men. Synonymous with beer joint and like terms, honky tonks usually serve beer or hard liquor and may have a bandstand and dance floor.
Vanilla, It was a fun day indeed.
Pricilla, It was indeed. You would have enjoyed munching on the swiss chard in four different varieties that grew there in abundance.
What a lovely way to spend the day.
It appears that you hang out with my kind of people. Fun day.
Looks like a fantastic day out, excuse my ignorance but what is a honky Tonk bar?