In January? Holy Cow!

And to think, we weren't even "officially" open today!   Hard to believe that we had 16 visitors, and all of them wonderful folks.  Ron M. and I were joined by Robin, Marly, and Betty for a good part of the day.  We started out doing a careful inventory of sweatshirts, of which we have many.  I'm about to put all the Route 66 sweatshirts on a BIG sale ($16 each for very high quality merchandise!) because they take up a lot of space, and because winter is the best time to sell sweatshirts.   Come and get 'em!

Having not been at Afton Station for several weeks, I expected to find much to do there, but it was obvious that the place has been in good hands with Marly and Robin being there occasionally.  Everything was clean and organized, and they even greeted a number of visitors in my absence.

Shortly after getting the piles of sweatshirts put back in their proper spots,  people started arriving!  All told, we had 16 visitors today!   First came a couple from Wyandotte, OK, and close on their heels a 4-generation family from Siloam Springs, AR and Colcord, OK.  Here are all of them together, with the couple from Wyandotte on the right.

 Later there were visitors from Disney OK, Laramie WY, and Monkey Island, OK.

I've been wanting to meet the new owners of the iconic Blue Swallow Motel on Route 66 in Tucumcari, NM  ever since they bought the place early in 2011.   How exciting it was to find them at the door of Afton Station this afternoon!    Kevin and Nancy Mueller are traveling to Florida for a little vacation after dropping off their son Cameron and his girlfriend Jessica in Kentucky on the way.  What a pleasure to meet the folks who have taken on the daunting task of keeping the historic lodging operating.    We thoroughly enjoyed meeting this very lovely family!

Kevin was on a motorcycle (fortunately, our warm streak is continuing), followed by Nancy, Jessica, and Cameron in a pickup pulling this awesome trailer.   It's perfect advertising for the Swallow, not that they need it. It's quite certainly the most popular motel on all of Route 66.

Ron caught this shot of the Mueller's pup hanging out in the pickup.  We are very dog-friendly at Afton Station, but apparently this cutie was quite happy just relaxing and enjoying a breath of fresh air.

 Today was nothing short of excellent at Afton Station.    I hope the nice weather continues so that travelers can take advantage of beautiful days and a few attractions which are open in the winter.  I will be back in Afton again next Saturday, but Marly and David will be working there during the week, so we'll be open off and on.