REFLECTIONS

Everyone likes a mystery! That’s because we want to tax our knowledge of putting puzzle pieces together.
Bev Lysne of Bev’s Travel in Owatonna set nearly 60 people on a day-long mystery trip that involved us seeing how lefse was made. We also had an opportunity to drive through Amish territory in the southern part of Minnesota and northern parts of Iowa, and we kicked back and enjoyed some wine at a winery in Harmony. We concluded our mystery by solving it at The Branding Iron in Preston.  Then, on the way home (either Albert Lea, Owatonna or Faribault), we played bingo. I won, too. I’m still counting the quarters I earned after playing three games.
What a day it was!

As we headed in different directions, many were guessing what our destinations would be.
“I bet it is Diamond Jo’s,” said traveler DuWayne Gross with a laugh.
It was also Bev Lysne’s 82nd birthday. She was grateful to the many people she has served through Bev’s Travel the past 30 years. She also thanked her husband, Jim.
“I couldn’t have done it without him and without all of you,” she said.
First stop was the Norsland lefse factory in Rushford. This was the source of our lefse for our dinner last Oct. 14, which featured several rounds of the Rushford-made lefse.
The lefse store also featured a wonderful bakery. It brought back memories of the bakery in Blooming Prairie, run by Greg Fristedt. The bakery had a variety of mouth-watering cookies, muffins, and pastries, all baked fresh daily.

DuWayne had two strawberry cream cheese turnovers. I had a large cinnamon roll, a glazed donut, and a blueberry bismarck.
Walking slowly back to the bus, we were all ready for an early afternoon nap.
Our history knowledge was tweaked by a historian on the Amish people. She jumped on our bus and eloquently narrated the history of the Amish. She said the Amish tours had been a regular attraction since 1974.
We first stopped at an arts and crafts building, which featured many necklaces and bracelets crafted by young artists. We were told to stay on one side of the store.
Next, we were treated to a display of Amish furniture. There were six rockers set in a row and all were being rocked in unison. Highest price was $799.
Our narrator told us about sisters Lydia and Sarah, who made fried pies. Bev was given a free pie since it was her birthday.
Our narrator talked about a recent accident where two Amish children were seriously injured by an irresponsible driver. She also talked of three children being burned to death.
An Amish woman named Mary invited eight guests to her house. A bus passenger asked about the difference between Amish and Mennonites.
“The Amish shun their children and the Mennonites do not,” our expert on the Amish said.
The next two stops were a winery in Canton and the Branding Iron restaurant in Preston.
A door prize was given after the ticket holder actually had lost her ticket on the bus. My wife Judy, with assistance from the bus driver, found the ticket, turned it in, and won the door prize, a lighted pumpkin.
Two possible trips will be discussed at Torey’s Restaurant in Owatonna on Nov. 21, Niagara Falls at 1:30 p.m. and Normandy at 3 p.m.