The Morning After

The sun rises on a new, hopeful day in the State of Oklahoma.

As everyone knows by now, yesterday was quite a day for our state.   So sad, all those lost lives and lost homes in Moore, an Oklahoma City suburb, not far from Route 66.  The news has not only dominated the press and the media, but has also occupied the  hearts and minds of all who live in beautiful Oklahoma.  We have tornadoes.  This cannot be ignored or denied.   Sadly, it is a part of life here, a part I'm not sure I'll ever get used to.  But it happens, and I'm sure those Moore citizens are already thinking about rebuilding their lives.  I've learned that Okies are like that.  Furthermore, people from all over the state are rushing to help, because  that's what Okies do.  Our state legislators are a weak link in this rush to be of help to the unfortunate citizens, but hopefully they will finally understand the importance of putting human lives above politics.  

Meanwhile, it was pretty quiet on this mostly dark and gloomy day in Afton.  We had 11 visitors, then I left about an hour early because weather reports relayed to me via text message from Ron M., who was at home watching news reports, indicated that there could be more storms coming our way.  I drove home in rather hard rain, but fortunately there was little wind and no hail whatsoever.  I'm home now and things are calming down nicely.

These two gentlemen are from Inverness and Glasgow, Scotland.  They're cruising Route 66, and I'm such a fan of the Scottish brogue that I would have liked them to stay at Afton Station forever, just talking to me.  Love these guys!

The British Isles were also represented today by this couple from Sheffield, England.  They plan to traverse all of Route 66 on their Harleys, and so far seem undaunted by the weather.  I hope they escape the worst and have many sunny days ahead.

We also had visitors from Versailles, Illinois (truckers who have been past Afton Station before but just today finally had time to come in), a family from Branson, Missouri and a couple from Grove, Oklahoma.   Marly was with me for several hours and Betty stopped in shortly before we decided to have our early closing.

Storm Coming

On a background of  TV reports about an extremely severe tornado-filled storm working its way up Route 66 through many Route 66 towns such as Edmond, Luther, Arcadia and Chandler, I'll try to get through this blog before it gets close to Tulsa.  I have to admit, I'm frightened when this happens.  Thus, another short, sweet posting here.  Excuse any typos as a result of my nervous fingers.

We started the day with four Australian bikers who were in a hurry to make it to their next stop.  Soon after that, the anticipated group of 16 from the Valley Antique Car Club of Russellville, Arkansas arrived on the last day of their weekend cruise.  They've visited before, and they're always an interesting group.

 The owner of this car is a huge fan of Packards!   He just didn't drive one of his today.

 A very nice lady named Evelyn arranged this tour, and I had a great chat with her while others were drooling over the cars in the showrooms..

Two trailers arrived at once, this little teardrop (with the motto on the back "I Go Where I'm Towed To"), from Salem, Indiana. . .

 . . . and this congenial couple from Collinsville, Oklahoma with their much larger RV, coming back from a weekend on the lake.

The three folks on the left are visiting from Beijing, China.  The man on the right is from Cedarburg, Wisconsin.  Since they all arrived at approximately the same time, I photographed them together, not realizing that the Wisconsin gentleman had a wife in the car who simply didn't come in in time for the photo.  The Chinese contingent is traversing all of Route 66 and taking huge numbers of photos.  Many of those photos were taken in and around Afton Station.  The Wisconsin fellow and his wife are also planning to end their road trip in Santa Monica.   Yayyy for all of them!

Other visitors today came from Olathe, KS, Little Rock AR, and Eufala, OK.   

Now, please excuse me while I continue to keep an eye on the TV screen, which will eventually tell me if I have to go to my basement with a mattress over my head.  I love Oklahoma, but not this part. . .

Bikes 'n Vettes 'n Aussies... Oh My!

I'm pleased to announce another wonderful, busy day at the Station!  There were folks waiting at the door when we got there, and folks who left when we left.   Busy, busy, busy all day with 39 visitors.  It was so great to have Phil back from California.  He was gone for three months and we missed him.  He spent a little time with us today but later went home to rest from his long drive.  Ron M. was with me as usual, and Robin stopped by, too.

Visitors who were at the door when Ron and I arrived were four guys on bicycles who call themselves ROMEO -- Retired Old Men Eating Out.   Since they're pedaling across the country, one really could not think of these ripped and athletic guys as "old".  One of them was on a recumbent bike.

 Here are a couple of them choosing decals for their bikes.  They're doing Route 66 in two stages, the first having been pedaled last summer.  Here are two of the four choosing decals for their bikes.

A couple from Queensland, Australia also came early.  Here is the wife signing the guest book as I yap, yap, yap as usual.  

 Two couples, one from Discovery Bay, CA and one from Eagle Point OR were next.  Here's the fellow from Cali finding a spot to sign the door as his wife stood by.   We were actually surprised that he found a small space, but he persisted and found a tiny bit at the bottom.  We admired his perseverance!

Another California/Oregon duo arrived a bit later -- two old college friends traveling together.  On the left, Bill from Eugene OR, and on the right Jim from Pleasanton CA.  We really enjoyed their visit. . .

 . . . and they certainly enjoyed the cars, particularly the DeSoto.

 A group from the Central Oklahoma Corvette Club is on an exploratory cruise of the Grand Lake area and we are honored to be one of their stops, for the 2nd year in a row.   Here I am giving them a little welcome talk before letting them loose in the auto showrooms.

It's always nice to a have the parking lot filled with beautiful 'Vettes!

Another very interesting and pleasant lady came and stayed for a good bit of the afternoon.  She's from Speculator, NY  and is in the area speculating on buying a home here to be closer to her kids who are in Springfield, MO and Stillwater, OK.   I hope she makes the decision to move here, because she'd make a good neighbor!

 Other visitors came from Seminole OK, Wichita KS, Baxter Springs KS, and Ketchum, OK.   Tomorrow we are anticipating bad, or even severe, weather, so it will be interesting to see how the day goes.  We do plan to go to Afton, but not sure if we'll be able to stay.  Tune in ....

Yesterday's Blog Today

I just wish I had more time to devote to this blog post because yesterday was so wonderful at Afton Station. I'm running late again, but I have a lot of photos from  yesterday, so I'll show them with little fanfare.  Although the bus tour from the Green Bay area of Wisconsin came near the end of the day, I want to tell you about it first.   This very plain "kneeling" bus pulled up exactly on time at 4:20, and 58 lovely senior citizens piled out and entered the Station with big smiles on their faces.  They're on a 13-day tour that will take them the full length of Route 66.

They shopped and looked at the cars and asked lots of good questions.  Thank goodness Ron M. was there to help out.  

Tattoo also stopped by and found it a great time to show off his new ride!

Our 26 other visitors (oh yeah, it was a BUSY day!) came from the Austrian Tyrol, Gold Coast Australia, New Zealand, Manchester England, Belfast Ireland, Mulhouse France, Springfield MO, Kansas City MO, Olathe KS, Wichita KS, Greenfield IN, and Afton and Miami, OK.  

This son from Wichita, KS brought his parents who are visiting from Belfast, Northern Ireland.   They are here to see their grandson graduate but are also lucky enough to be able to take a short Route 66 jaunt as well.

From our favorite other hemisphere came these two guys, one from New Zealand and one from Australia.  They are self-proclaimed "car guys"!

And this couple, our first visitors of the day, hail from the Tyrol, Austria.

How about these handsome guys from Manchester, England?

Three ladies from Springfield, MO.   The two on the ends have visited before and came back to show their friend (middle) the wonders of Route 66.   The two repeat visitors are also postcard collectors, and I have such an affinity for those who share this obsession with me.

Our last visitors of the day, two gentlemen from Kansas City, MO were intrigued by the cars and the whole mystique of Route 66.  They stayed for a long time and one of them even interviewed me on video.   Felt like such a star!   They came with these two cute pups, Tima and Stella.

One of the most interesting events of the day was when traffic was stopped in the middle of Afton to allow room for absolutely the longest "Oversize Load" we've ever seen.  Check it out.  The load stretches to as far as you can see in the photo, even beyond the light pole on the left.  Impressive!  I just wonder how they made that corner in Vinita!  

I arrived home very late last night (about 3 hours later than usual) so I'm a bit weary today, but life goes on and I'll be back in Afton in the morning.   Hope to see some of you then!

Today's Post Tomorrow

Oh gee, just walked in the door after a VERY long but wonderful day.  So much to tell, but not tonight.   I need to watch the finale of The Office and get some sleep.  So, tune in tomorrow for a long and photo-filled description of this great day.  Night, all!

Wild and Crazy Afternoon

I woke up so early this morning that after I drove to Vinita for breakfast at Clanton's I still had nearly an hour before I had to be at Afton Station.  I decided to pull into a parking lot in Vinita to read the paper and listen to Howard Stern on Sirius/XM (which is the best invention ever!).  Instead, I fell asleep and had a magnificent dream that nearly caused me to be late to open the Station.  In it, I was in the car with Howard Stern and we were driving through New Mexico looking for a motel to purchase.  We planned that I would be the desk clerk and he would be the maid. We were also going to buy some stuffed horses and open a "horse museum" next to the motel.  Then I woke up, but I'm sort of sorry the dream couldn't have continued. It was quite bizarre!

Among the travelers today were my first Bulgarians, a man who has 15,000 squashed pennies, and a Public Radio reporter from Berlin, Germany.   Just another day at the Station!

 The morning was quiet, but the afternoon was wild and wooley!  There were 19 visitors altogether, and they came from Paris, France, El Reno OK, Twin Rivers MI, Sofia Bulgaria, Nashville IN, Bella Vista AR, Hollow Rock TN, Berlin Germany, Kansas City MO, and Santa Rosa CA.

This French couple was first in the door this morning.  They had a chance to speak French with David for a while, since he and Marly were out back working on the motor home.   Despite many years of French language lessons, I still carry on a very marginal conversationn  myself.

This man and woman from El Reno, OK were driving a semi, and said they'd been eager to see the Station for some time since his father is a strong Packard owner and lover.  They were quite satisfied with what they saw, and I have a feeling he'll be back with his dad one of these days.   

I don't believe we've been visited by any Bulgarian citizens before, but this young couple were adventuring across Route 66 and seemed to be enjoying every minute of being their country's pioneers.  They took some pressed pennies home to Sofia to show proof of their trip.

So many visitors arrived at the same time near the end of the day that I was getting confused.  I just hope I gave a good welcome to each and every one of them.  In the midst of the rush, this beautiful lady from German Public Radio came in to interview me.   She has been stationed in the U.S. for a couple of years and transmits stories back to Berlin from here.  She's doing a story about Route 66, so after she interviewed me, she was able to talk to some of the folks who were visiting the Station.  She was most pleasant, and I believe I pulled it together enough during the chaos to have some good words for the Mother Road.  

I was a little late leaving, but Marly was still at the Station in case any others drove in.   This Thursday, I'll be very late getting home due to a visit from a bus load of people from Green Bay, WI.  They're supposed to be there around 3 or 4 p.m. so I might not have time to write a blog that afternoon.  I'll tell you all about it on Friday.  

Photos, Mostly. . .

First of all, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY  to all mothers who read my blog!

I don't have much time for flowery prose tonight, so although we had a wonderful day at Afton Station with many great guests, I'm basically just going to show some photos with quick captions.  Perhaps tomorrow there will be time to elaborate on some of today's events.

This young lady was here once before, prior to moving to Oregon then back to Cushing, OK.  This time she came with her adorable almost-one-year-old daughter, Natalie, and a friend from Pawhuska, OK.

 This couple from Frostproof, FL came to Afton in their own classic car (below).  They also admired our '35 DeSoto Airflow.

Tom and Mahgrit (New England-speak for Margaret... ha ha) from Amherst, NH are doing Route 66 with their two cute miniature dachshunds, Jasmine and Julia.   We love to have doggie visits at the Station, and these two gals were sweet ones.

Tom tells us that he is frequently told that he looks like Jay Leno, so I tried to get him in a Leno pose for a photo.  What do you think??    Both he and Jay are good looking guys for sure!

Some folks from Oak Creek, WI arrived in their '72 Dodge Swinger.  Another pretty classic.

Near the end of the day, we had our first Scottish visitors of the season.   These two guys definitely win our Enthusiasm Award for the day!  Not only were they wildly enthusiastic about their trip, but they were extremely well-read on Route 66 geography.  It's certain that they'll have a wonderful trip.  Here they are while signing our door!

Again, best wishes to all mothers.  Being a mother, for me, has been a fantastic journey.  I hope the same for all of you.