Sunday!

Yes, Sunday. . . and another wonderful day at Afton Station. (In the event that you think I'm one of those people who loves what she does SO much that she can't stop enthusing about it, you're right.) The only less-than-great part of today was the middle, when Tattoo Man and I sat there for over an hour with no visitors. But both ends of the day were outstanding.

For one thing, as I drove to Afton this morning at sunrise, there was definite rain in the clouds over Route 66. Rain! Finally! Unfortunately, there were only a few drops where I was driving, but I did hear later that it had rained a bit in Tulsa this morning and quite a lot in the Afton area last night. We need it so badly, so seeing the dark clouds cheered me up!

We had visits from 25 folks, and among them were some interesting travelers. For example, there were 7 guys from France on motorcycles who stopped in to say "Bonjour!" They were from a whole array of French cities and towns, and one was even from Ile de Reunion. If you're not familiar with it, it's a tiny island next to the island of Mauritia, which is next to the island of Madagasgar, which is off the coast of Mozambique, Africa. (Look it up!) I feel fairly certain that he will be the one and only Ile de Reunion citizen to visit Afton Station this year... or perhaps ever! They almost got away before I had a chance to snap this photo as they were saddling up to leave.

We also had two foreign women come to visit, each taking solo trips on Route 66. One was from Rothenberg, Germany and one was from London, England. The German young lady spoke near perfect English because she's an English teacher back in her native land. I think it takes courage to travel an unfamilair country, so I have to hand it to both young ladies for striking out on their own.

Two Australian men also stopped in on their trek westward on Route 66, as well as more localized folks from Mungerville TN, and Morris, Tulsa, Vinita, and Miami OK.

Charlie, the nice guy who has his motorcycle for sale in front of Afton Station, stopped in to talk this morning and helped me open the Station. And then, he came back later to give me a truly great protective cover for my new iPod. He said he had an extra and didn't want it. I'm so appreciative of this new friend!

Another friend, photographer Michael Scruggs stopped in and this time brought his wife. He he showed me some of his most recent work, and as usual it's beautiful. I'm hoping to sell some of his prints after the new showroom is built and I'll have some wall space. Meanwhile, I'll scan some of his work and post it here tomorrow if I have the time. Tonight, I don't.

Two fellows who grew up in Afton arrived around closing time, and talking to them about Afton's history was worth postponing my closing for about 40 minutes. Interesting stuff! You know how much I like to hear stories of old Afton. Marly arrived just in time to help me close up after those gentlemen left.

The Micro Car group will be visiting Afton Station tomorrow afternoon, so I'll drive up there right after dialysis. I should have some awesome photos of these tiny cars tomorrow. See you then.