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.

Volvos and Bagels

Tomorrow is the Oklahoma Route 66 Association Cruise, although this year it's actually two cruises, one beginning in Quapaw on the east end of the state and the other beginning in Texola on the west end, and meeting in the middle in Chandler for a '50s-style sock hop at the Route 66 Interpretive Center there. As much as I'd love to participate, that won't be happening. Afton Station is a passport stop on the cruise (a place where cruisers stop to get a "passport" stamped, with prizes for those who make it to every stop), but I won't even be there for that part of it. Ron M. and I will be going up to Afton in the early morning to greet a group coming through at 8 a.m., then we will leave Afton Station in the able hands of Marly and Ron Jones because we must hurry back to Tulsa so I can get ready to give a Route 66 presentation to the Volvo Owners' Group which is in Tulsa this weekend. The theme of their whole convention is Route 66. I love to give presentations and speeches, although I don't think I'm that good at it. For one thing, I need notes to remember facts and figures. My memory stinks in that department. My style is very casual, but I get energized when I can talk on a subject I'm passionate about, such as Route 66. Wish me luck.

Absolutely non-Route 66 related: A new bagel place has opened in Tulsa, and at last (hallelujah!) real New York bagels are available here! I'm going a bit overboard, I fear. Ron and I went there for lunch today, and I brought some home and plan to have another one for dinner. I bought some smoked salmon, so I'm ready!!! I might even have another one for breakfast. I've missed New York bagels ever since moving to Oklahoma from the NYC area. Oklahoma has alway been one of the most wonderful places in the world. Now, it's perfect!!

Just a lot of good stuff....

I actually got home from Afton earlier than I expected so I have time for a short blog post before heading for my meeting (which, incidentally, takes place at my favorite steak house!). So, here's the day in a nutshell...

Ron M. rode up to Afton Station with me, and we had a surprise visit from Tattoo Man sporting his new "Clanton's" tattoo. I forgot to take a picture.

The morning was probably the dullest ever. We had no visitors until after 1 p.m. Tattoo went home and Ron M. was so bored that he decided to challenge a fly (who was probably also bored). Ron won. Way to go, Ron! President Obama has nothing on you!

When visitors started coming, we had folks drop in from South Lake TX, Seguero TX, Hemlock MI, and Joplin MO. We also had a souvenir salesman from I'm not sure where. Today they came by semi truck, motorcycle, car, and pickup truck.

The coolest part of the day -- and I'm not kidding -- was when two guys from Afton Public Works walked in with a huge, old, dirty "AFTON FILLING STATION" sign! Yes, they did! They found it in a field and brought it down to give to us. What a treasure!!!! An actual sign from our place!!! Excuse all the exclamation points, but I'm psyched!!!!! It'll need some straightening and cleaning up, but that's not a problem. Yippee!!!

And that was our day. Very hot and a bit lonely at first, but with a great finish.

Oh, here's a new sign that just went up on Route 66 a little east of Tulsa. There are no horses anywhere around there, so I don't know what it's all about. If I should see the horses, or if I should see anyone feeding the horses, I'll be sure to take action.

Watch This Space

Due to several projects needing my immediate attention, as well as an unexpected 3 1/2 hour wait at Sears this afternoon while getting new tires, I will have no time for blogging this evening, nor will I have time tomorrow because I have a dinner meeting tomorrow night. Therefore, this is just a space filler so that my loyal readers don't give up on me. See you on Saturday!

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (and Fork Lifts, and...)

Well ok, no planes, except for those overhead. But today we had visits from a semi truck, several motorcycles, a couple of motor homes and of course lots of automobiles. All this as the trains kept whistling past. In addition to these, Afton has it's own in-town travelers. Ron M. and I call them Tractor Boy, Fork Lift Man, and Golf Cart Woman. Tractor Boy is a young kid, now on summer vacation, who spends most of his days driving up and down the road on his dad's John Deere. Fork Lift Man is a guy who spends tons of time moving things via fork lift from one storage place to another several blocks from the first. Golf Cart Woman is an elderly lady who drives somewhere (not sure where... perhaps the post office?) in her golf cart at least once a day. We're a virtual plethora of transportation media in beautiful downtown Afton! Here, for example are two bikers (one from Charleston, WV and one from Watonga, OK) discussing life on the Mother Road in front of a motorhome from Opelaka, AL. Another motor home, from Phenix City, AL also visited. The two are driving in tandem.

The trucker is from Warsaw, MO and has visited before. He spends a lot of time drooling over our '48 Packard Custom 8 Touring Sedan, because he had one just like it at one time.Those traveling by car were from Enterprise OR, Lewiston ID, Oklahoma City OK, and Plano, Sanger, and Abilene TX.

There was plenty of observation done today, since the weather made it possible to keep the A/C turned off and sit outside again. It was very nice until about 1 p.m. when it became rather beastly hot, but we stuck it out without the air conditioner, thus making me feel like a wet washrag by the time we left to drive home. Even so, sitting outside and observing is such a tempting thing to do in just about any weather. It's noisy, because semi trucks continue to roar past at a rate much above the speed limit. But the more we sit waiting for visitors and watching the passing parade, the more we learn about who's passing. For instance, pickup trucks are almost always local and rarely stop at Afton Station. Convertibles are a better bet than hardtops for stopping, and SUVs are the best bet of all. Motorcycles with packs are long distance travelers and often stop. Motorcycles without packs are locals out for a spin. Rental cars are far more likely to stop than family cars, and often carry foreign visitors. Motorhomes are somewhat of an enigma, since they're usually travelers and yet they rarely stop to visit us. I guess it must be because most of them are driving past to get to their destinations at the many campgrounds on the nearby lake. Big rig trucks stop quite a bit more often than one would expect. So, we're learning how to sit outside and predict, by the time they're a block away, who will stop and who won't. (NOTE: Our track record isn't that good!) But even on dull days, we try to make sure there's never a dull moment at Afton Station!

Bar-B-Q and Bar-Ber-Shop

Today, just a couple of Route 66 photos I found in my files. . .

This is what remains of an old barbeque joint in Vinita. They still have quite a stash of wood, considering the place hasn't been open for years. Here's the Cowboy Cut Barber Shop in Chelsea. It's small and cute.

One of these days I'm going to run out of picturesque buildings to photograph between Tulsa and Afton, and I'll have to start posting pictures of McDonald's and Subway. No, not really.

I'll check in again tomorrow with Tuesday tales from Afton Station.

Rain... then Sun... then People

Anybody need a wagon wheel? There are lots available in Chelsea.


I'm very tired. I've decided that it's because of the 4 hours of sleep I got last night, coupled with a long, hot day at Afton Station. Excuse enough? I think so.


After celebrating Pat Bremer's birthday at Local Table last night, and after I took them on an evening tour of the lights of Tulsa, including the new Meadow Gold sign, Jen and Pat came home with me and spent the night. This morning we were up bright and early and went to Jimmy's Egg for a hearty breakfast. After that, I picked up Ron M. and we left for Afton at 7:30. Pat and Jen decided to stop back at Afton Station on their way home to Indianapolis, so we met up with them again there. Here they are, with Ethyl. I trust they got back to Indy with no problems.
Tattoo Man arrived, a nice surprise, and spent the day with us. The three of us met and greeted an interesting array of 19 travelers, but first we had to wait out a pretty significant downpour. Once the rain let up, five hot, wet motorcyclers from Mokena, IL sought shelter under our portico. They stayed a while, dried out, and did a little spending before moving westward on Route 66. Motorcycles drip-dry while their owners take advantage of the time by perusing the old cars, using the restroom, and making quite a number of purchases. A nice, jolly group!


After that, the skies cleared, the sun came out, and so did the travelers, which included folks from Muskegon MI, Tonkawa OK, San Antonio TX, Topeka KS, Moline IL, Milwaukee WI, and a solo traveler from London, England. Nearly all of them were taking significantly lengthy Route 66 trips. I'm convinced that the "tourist season" on the Mother Road has officially begun.

This is a bad picture of the Chelsea Motor Inn in Chelsea. It's a great little 6-room mom 'n pop motel owned by friends of mine who are extremely interested in Route 66 and in maintaining a top-notch, clean, inexpensive motel. Just a hint... if needing a place to stay in Eastern Oklahoma, keep them in mind!

I need a nap!