Great Guests on a Gloomy Day

We weren't overwhelmed by numbers of visitors today on this unremittingly cloudy and gloomy day, but those who did find their way to Afton Station's front door were all people we enjoyed chatting with.  And, several of them were actually from out of state, which is a bit unusual for winter months.      

Here are the Kellys -- father from Grove, OK and son visiting from Rockford, IL.  The father was my neighbor when I lived in Grove.  Tim, the son, is a member of  Team USA Wheelchair Curling Team.  As a national champion curler, he travels all over the world to events.  I wouldn't be surprised if some day we might see him representing the United States in the Paralympics!   

A fellow from Pryor, OK stopped in at the same time as the Kellys.  He had tales of his father's and his own experiences with maintenance on antique cars, so he obviously loved ours, particularly the 12-cylinder '34 Packard.

 An absolutely delightful couple from Audubon, IA visited early this morning on their way home from a partial Route 66 trip.  They had just had a breakfast of calf fries at Clanton's in Vinita.  They were quite well versed in things Route 66, so we had a really good conversation with them.

At the end of the day, a woman from Philadelphia, PA stopped by.  Her work has taken her to Bartlesville for a few months, and she's exploring Route 66 on her free days.  She, as well as the couple from Iowa mentioned above, remarked that the best part of Route 66 is the people.   I love to hear that, but of course I've known it all along!

Ron M. was with me today, and Betty W. visited for a while.  She's recovering from illness and it was good to see her out and about.   Robin and Phil dropped in for a while, too.  Robin brought these neat "flowers" carved out of tiny pieces of wood.  They were left at the post office (where she works) and she was told to bring them to the Station, but we don't know who made them.