Saturday, December 12, 2009

What's the buzz?

Fellow Route 66 enthusiast Richard Moeur was flying (commercial airliner) over northeastern Oklahoma last week and decided to try to snap a picture of Afton from the air. The result is here and, considering the altitude, I was pretty impressed. It certainly shows how small Afton really is. The surrounding countryside is all farmland. Thanks, Richard. This is very cool.
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Last night I was fortunate enough to be invited to dine at "Trula", the restaurant in the newly-restored historic Mayo Hotel in downtown Tulsa. http://www.themayohotel.com/ Besides enjoying a mighty fine piece of sea bass, I got to see the beautiful lobby and grand staircase. A couple of things surprised me, though. First, it was serene. I missed any signs of hustle and bustle. Since the registration desk is off to the side, almost in a separate room, there's not much reason to come through the lobby, I guess. What a shame. While waiting for the folks I was meeting there, I sat alone in this massive, high-ceilinged space. Occasionally, I'd see people walking on the upper balconies, but even that was rare. The people-watching sucked. I was reminded of how years ago I could spend countless hours just watching humanity pass by in the lobbies of the Waldorf or the Plaza in NYC. The restaurant was very busy, and we were told that it was the first night since reopening that they were fully reserved. All the employees I met couldn't have been nicer -- the maitre'd, our waiter, the valet parking guy, and the guy at the front desk of whom I inquired how to get to the restaurant. The Mayo is indeed a beautiful space, and a not-to-be-missed attraction on one's Route 66 trip through Tulsa.

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I couldn't decide whether to come to Afton Station today or not. There's freezing drizzle predicted, and some friends from Texas are in town and would have liked for me to have brunch with them today. But then, I found myself on Route 66 headed northeast, and then I found myself in Afton! I know Tattoo Man is due here soon so I really wouldn't have had to come, but I couldn't stay away. I'm not expecting many visitors, and I'm freezing my butt off. So, let's see what the day brings. . . .
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When Tattoo Man arrived we caught up on what's been going on in the past week or so. Later, our friends Ron Warnick and Emily Priddy arrived, and it's always nice to have them pay a visit. Ron W. had come to interview Tattoo and take some pictures of him for an upcoming article. Emily and I just chatted about important things like the importance of having leg lamps in our lives. :-) While they were there, another couple from Ishpeming, MI stopped by. They're doing a little Route 66 tour through Oklahoma in their RV, and were glad to be in the relative "warmth" of our state rather than home in the cold Michigan winter.
Ron interviews Ron
Emily
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Do you like steam? I do. I took this picture this morning from the overpass at the Cyrus Avery Route 66 Plaza. The oil refineries were going full steam (literally) this morning.

2 comments:

Ken Riches said...

What a cool picture to add to your collection.

Richard C. Moeur said...

Glad to be of service! With all the fun visits we've had to see you, it was interesting to see the Station from a different point of view. :)