Sunday, July 25, 2010

Birthday Cake!

The only bad thing about this day was that there were too many interesting people there at one time, thus not enough time to spend with each of them. It's kind of an epidemic around Afton Station these days. Today was Ron M.'s birthday, and we did manage to have a little party for him around noon. The usual gang -- Ron M., Tattoo Man, Betty W., me -- was joined by Bob from Gravois Mills, MO (who is becoming a regular guest) and his friend Charlene from Baxter Springs, KS. We had sandwiches, then decimated this chocolate cake. Marly stopped in late in the day and polished off the last of the cake.
Tattoo, Birthday Boy, Betty W., Bob, Charlene
We couldn't light the candles. Too many fans blowing them out!

Bob gave Charlene a tour of Afton Station as well as a walking tour of Afton. It's nice to get to know Charlene. She's about to become the President of the Baxter Springs Chamber of Commerce for the 2nd time, and is also involved with Kansas Route 66. Here they are examining the DeSoto Airflow.
Another repeat visitor was a fellow from Paola, KS who visited last year at this time. He is remembered for his very neat old truck and for the fact that he travels with enormous stuffed animals riding shotgun. I had taken photos of the stuffed animals on his last visit. Here's the truck.
A regular reader of this blog, Tanya from Park Hill SC, had told me some time ago that she and her husband and sons would be visiting today. They didn't make it until almost 3 p.m., but we still had time for a nice visit. Her older son Charlie , a mere 9 years old, interviewed me in a very professional way while Mom taped the whole proceeding. I was amazed by how mature this little boy was. His younger brother Will was no less delightful and bright.

Besides all those fine folks, we met and greeted others from Mt. Vernon KY (a trucker), Bird Island OK, El Cerrito CA, Grove OK, Owasso OK, Miami OK, Surprise AZ, Vinita OK, St. Louis MO, Schuyler NE, and Geneva Switzerland. I've got to admit that I'm tired tonight and late getting home. Zzzzzzz........

2 comments:

TMorris said...

Oh my, what a goofy picture of me. I think it kind of captures our family's goofy nature. Thanks for keeping the store open for us. We all loved talking with you & Ron & Marley. My husband loved all the cars & picked Afton Station as his very favorite stop on our trip.
We have hundreds of pics & hours of video to go through. But hopefully I can get your interview posted soon.
The next day we visited Dawn Welch at Rock Cafe. She said she hoped more kids would be interested in living along Route 66. Will told her that he's going to open a restaurant in Afton -- just as you suggested! You obviously made a big impression on him.
Keep it up!

Laurel said...

Tanya,
Thanks for the nice note! We really enjoyed having you at Afton Station. I loved your boys, and I'd love it if Will opened a restaurant in Afton, although I'll be long dead before he is old enough to do that. But please tell him that I encourage him to pursue that dream. I'm also pretty flattered that your hubby liked our place the best. Comments like that just make my day!

Glad your trip was a success. Please come back again soon.

Laurel