Meetin', Greetin', and Speakin'

There are times when I sure wish I could sleep during the day! If I knew how to make myself nap, this would be the day. I finished my presentation at the Volvo thing a bit early and actually had most of the afternoon free at home. Working at Afton Station on Saturdays and Sundays curtails my "free time" on weekends, so this has been a treat. I'm pretty tired, but not tired enough to nap I'm afraid. Instead, I've been working on some buttons I'm making to sell at the Station, and catching up on email and snail mail (with the U.S. Open playing in the background).

I picked up Ron M. at 6 a.m. and we went off to Afton. We arrived at 8, got things opened up, and then Ron "Tattoo Man" Jones arrived. The Volvo folks came at about 8:30, five guys in vintage Volvos and another gentleman from Wisconsin pulling a cute little '70s-era trailer behind his later model Volvo. They didn't stay long, but I'll be seeing them later today in Tulsa.

The vintage Volvo lineup

Marly came just in time for the first wave of visitors from the Oklahoma Route 66 Cruise and Poker Run. We developed a "production line", with Ron M. counting noses and taking photos, Ron J. handing out the cards for the poker hands, Marly stamping and initialing the passports, and me making sure everyone signed the guest book and taking money for purchases.

Some of the vehicles which brought Route 66 Association cruisers to Afton

My friends Blaine Davis (l), owner of the iconic Blue Whale, and Mike Pendleton (r), my frequent visitor, officer of the Route 66 Assoc. of Kansas. "Car shirts" were the order of the day.

At 11 a.m., Ron M. and I had to leave to head back to Tulsa for the aforementioned Volvo presentation. When we left, there had already been over 60 visitors recorded in the book and it wasn't even noon! Betty had arrived shortly before we had to go, so I left Afton Station in the capable hands of Betty, Marly, and Ron J. I'm sure they had potentially the busiest day in the history of the Station, but I haven't heard from any of them yet. My dearly beloved, massively appreciated, and woefully underpaid (i.e. volunteer) crew. They were all there today!

It seemed surreal to be driving west on Route 66 before noon, because the sun was behind us rather than in front of us. I know it sounds odd, but since I drive east in the morning and west in the evening, the sun is always ahead of me. Thus, this small change lent an interesting quality of light to everything. By the way, it's hot, hot, HOT today -- in the mid-90s.

When we got back Tulsa and made our way to Jackie Cooper Volvo, the dealership where the festivities were taking place, we were about a half hour early so we were invited to partake of the buffet that had been set out for the attendees -- some fine barbecue, potato salad, and carrot cake.

My presentation went pretty well, although I heard my voice quivering a few times. I'm not really used to speaking into a microphone. They say that the sign of a good speech is when the Q and A period is long, but in this case I only took 5 questions, so maybe the talk didn't generate the enthusiasm I was hoping for. I gave a short history of Route 66, but since I'm not much into boring facts and dates, I tried to emphasize all the fun times one can have on the Mother Road, and all the great things a Route 66 traveler will see and experience. I'll know if it was a success if I find vintage Volvos lined up at the door tomorrow when I get to Afton. Hmm....

Lunch with the Volvo people

Me, attempting to appear knowledgable.

And that, thus far, is my day. Back to Afton again tomorrow for what I hope will be another crazy-busy day.

Sidewalk Highway Monument to be a reality...

. . . if we can raise the rest of the money. Today, four members of the OK Route 66 Association -- Carol Duncan, Marilyn Emde, Jeanne Miller, Cletus Simpson -- came to Afton to go with David and me to the site of the proposed monument at the western end of the 9-foot highway's Afton segment. I'm so excited about this! Here's a picture of the proposed monument, which will be engraved on Oklahoma red granite by a company in western Oklahoma which has done similar monuments for other sites on Route 66. It's about time this historic part of the Mother Road is recognized and explained. For an explanation, click to enlarge the picture below. It says it all.

The $3920 cost of the installation has been reduced by $1060 by David, my ex, offering to pick up the monument in western Oklahoma, deliver it to the site, and "plant" it in cement there. The county is going to be asked to provide a small pull-off area near the monument, and if we sweet-talk them enough, maybe a fence around it. But that still leaves $2860 we will owe the company. So far, at least $1000 of that has been donated, but we will now officially start a "$66 for 66" campaign. We will take all donations of any size, but the "66" is a catchy way of starting the campaign. We would like to get the full amount as soon as possible.

If anyone is interested in donating to this cause, please send checks to:

Oklahoma Route 66 Association

P.O. Box 446

Chandler, OK 74834

Ok, enough begging.... It was a good day at Afton Station today. I put down the new rug, which looked so small in that big room! Betty stopped by and stayed for quite a while, and that's always a happy time for me. Other visitors included a trucker from St. Louis (his second visit there), two folks from Minnesota, and two guys from Michigan. Then, of course, the four Association folks arrived and looked around a bit before we drove out to the 9-foot road.

Here are Carol, David, Marilyn, and Jeanne.... in the rain.... at the monument site. It's a bad picture because it was taken on the fly. Nobody wanted to hang around for pictures in the cold rain!And here's the rug in it's new home. It's already been christened by being stepped on frequently today.

Let there be LIGHTS!

It looks like I won't be going to Afton until Sunday. I was going to go tomorrow but come back early to participate in the Oklahoma Route 66 Association tour of Christmas lights in Tulsa. But the leader of the tour was called away due to the death of his grandmother, so he asked me to fill in. That means I'll be leading a caravan of cars (not sure how many) all around Tulsa looking at various Christmas displays. We start with an early dinner at 4:30 at the Hickory House Barbecue on Route 66 in Sapulpa and go on from there. Since I have to pick up some people who are going to be riding with me, and then get to Hickory House early now that I'm the "leader", I'd only be able to spend a couple of hours at Afton Station before making the long trip back to Tulsa. So, I've just decided I'm not going. David said he might be able to spend a little time there tomorrow, so I hope he catches any stray winter travelers who may stop in.

One of the stops on the light tour is Rhema Bible Church, a place I've never been but have always wanted to see. It's a huge campus, and apparently (if the hype is accurate) has one of the Top 10 Christmas light displays in the country. There's a picture of a portion of it above. We'll also be stopping for dessert and coffee in downtown Tulsa after looking at the lights there. I expect it to be a festive evening, and I'll give a full report tomorrow.