Pardon my brevity

This will be short and, I  hope, sweet.   It was a great day at Afton Station, but the fact is that I have a dinner guest coming (actually, it's Ron M.) and I need to cook before he gets here.  So, just the facts, Ma'am (or Mister). . .

The visitors came from Berwyn PA, York PA, Livingston TX, Chanute KS, Bentonville AR, Everett WA, Tluszcz Poland, and Owasso, Twin Oaks, Adair, Claremore, and Chelsea, OK.

This college senior (Green Mountain College in VT), who is actually from Berwyn, PA just loves cars.  He had been to the Peterson Auto Museum in CA before he got to Afton.  The Peterson is considered one of (if not THE) finest car collection in the country, so I was fearful that he'd think ours was pretty rinky dink.  On the contrary, it turns out he prefers the smaller, private collections, so I breathed a sigh of relief!

This is a very sweet family from York, PA.   Little Chloe, almost two years old, had her "companion", a Cabbage Patch baby also named Chloe, hanging off her tummy in a little baby carrier.  The family is expecting Baby #2 soon.   They didn't know that we took this picture of dad changing Chloe on the top of the car.   We couldn't resist.   It was so charming and cute!

Ron M. took this sensational photo showing the reflections of our gas pumps in the chrome on the bike of one of our visitors from Twin Oaks, OK.  Absolutely great shot, Ron!

Our only foreign visitors today were this family from Poland.   He told me about the Packard "clones" that were built as limousines in Russia in the '50s.   He thought they were called "tschaika" but he wasn't sure.  I'll be sure to look that up, as it sounds like an interesting story.  The two little boys were really nice kids!

Off to the kitchen to put finishing touches on dinner.    Back to Afton in the morning.

Relaxing on the Ribbon Road

I love it when former visitors to Afton Station send me photos of their Route 66 trip which they think I'd like.  The father and daughter from Iowa who visited on Tuesday were not only great, enthusiastic travelers, but they were kind enough to send me these photos they took on the 9-foot highway because when I saw them on their iPad I commented that I loved them.   Here they are. . .

Thanks so much!   I do love the idea of lounging on the old road with the 'Vette in the background!

Today was moderately busy.  Ron M. was with me all day and Tattoo Man stopped in for a while.  Tattoo just got the insurance straightened out in regard to fixing his Stallion which was wrecked in an accident in Tulsa, and today he found out that it will probably be repaired in a week or two.  Now that he's repaired himself (i.e. recovered from his recent hospitalizations) he is excited that he'll be able to arrive at the Joplin Festival astride his beloved bike.

Our visitors today came from Kittanning PA, Natrona PA, Apollo PA, Augusta KS, Baxter Springs KS, Grand Rapids MI, Houston TX, Whitesboro TX, Jay OK, and Tulsa OK.

Find the little boy in this photo of a family from Tulsa.  He was adamant that he did NOT want his photo taken, so a smidgen of the back of his head is all you get.  Too bad, because he was a cutie.

Here's one of the bikes belonging to four neat guys from various towns around Pittsburgh, PA who rode in rather early in the morning having just "survived" a ride on the 9-foot highway.  They were hot but happy, and two of them bought our long-sleeve t-shirt to protect them from further sunburn.

A lady from Afton also came in told us that she just moved to town -- or actually to a farm just outside of town.  Welcome to our new neighbor!   Come back again!   And that's all for today, folks. . .

Crowd Control

Ok, today wasn't exactly crowded, at least not like the last four or five days, but I was at Afton Station alone today so it felt very busy.   I met some of the most interesting people today!

Our visitors hailed from Ft. Worth TX, Phoenix AZ, Des Moines IA, Riverton KS, Perth Australia, Rogers MN, Ambler PA, Kansas City MO, Keokuk IA, Nashville TN, and Tulsa, OK.

The Tulsan has a Citroen truck, and was hoping to speak to David about owning one of the little French cars. The gentleman from Nashville was on his way (via Route 66, of course) to the annual Ford Falcon gathering in S. Tulsa this weekend.  His white Falcon looks exactly like the one my dad had!

This duo from Des Moines, Iowa are father and daughter traveling together.  They have been planning this trip for years and even bought (jointly) the white Corvette they're driving.   They, along with their spouses, also do a lot of Harley riding and really enjoy the smaller roads.   On this trip its just the two of them, and they're trying to hit every inch of Route 66.

This is Michael Kechula, a writer and photographer who was kind enough to give me one of his books of short stories, I Never Kissed Judy Garland.   We had a good conversation about writing styles and cameras.  Michael has written a large number of award-winning works.

This young couple from Western Australia has already been in the States for about 5 weeks, with quite a few left to go.  They were driving a '67 Mustang which he partially built  himself, having ordered the parts in advance.   It wasn't quite done when the arrived here, so he had to finish it himself and they will send it back to Australia when they've completed their trip.  They got away before I could get a photo of their car.

I did manage to get this photo of the Model A with a neat little trailer which was driven to Afton Station by a couple from Kansas City.   Very neat resto!

Dean "Crazy Legs" Walker stopped in for a bit, as did Marly.   I was not overwhelmingly busy so I was able to spend some quality time with both.

OMG, we survived!

Morning -- nothing.   Ron M. and I sat there and wondered why we'd even bothered to drive to Afton Station this morning.   Then. . .about 90 minutes later. . .a glorious influx of visitors which, by the end of the day, totaled 51 (unless I missed a few in the crush). . . one of the best days we've ever had without hosting a large group.  At one point, I became confused as I tried to greet each person individually, and Ron was infinitely helpful by guiding everyone to the auto showrooms.  I hope I made note of everyone who visited, but I'm not absolutely sure.  Betty came around noon and helped out, too.  We had a ball, but, well. . . . whew!

During the morning the only excitement in town was the arrival of these two men in some sort of protective suits.  There  has been a rumor about a gigantic bee swarm in the building across the street, so we thought perhaps they had come to remove it.  But then it looked like they were sealing up the door of  the building, thus suggesting that their suits might be protection from asbestos.  We still don't know.  They left with buckets of. . . what??

By the time the visitor crush was over, we'd greeted visitors from:  Mt. Juliet TN, Quebec Canada,  Fraser MI, Dearborn Heights MI, Johnson City TN, Bryan TX, Springfield MO, Seattle WA, Bilbao Spain,  Gloucester England, Round Rock TX, Houston TX, Paris France, Olmstead OH, Hamburg Germany, and Shawnee, Bartlesville, Wagoner, Vinita, Tulsa, and Adair, OK.  

We enjoyed this couple from Bilbao, Spain (in the Basque country) so much. . .

. . . that Betty asked them to do her the honor of signing her cast!   She only has to wear the thing for 12 more days, and she's very pleased about that.

This foursome from Shawnee, OK was braving the very hot day on their Harleys.  They're veterans of motorcycle riding, having been on many long trips on their bikes.

Jolly Old England was well-represented by these three gentlemen. . .

. . . as was Germany by this family of four.

Nothing like a handsome Frenchman to brighten the day!   This one is from Paris, but is working in Wichita, KS at the moment.

Have you noticed a common thread in today's photos?    European men are mighty handsome!   Shame on me, but it's true.    Maybe I'm just delirious from the heat and the crowds.   G'night!

Want to buy a shaved ice stand?

When the shaved ice place opened up next to Afton Station we had high hopes for it.  It is actually on our property, which we kindly let them use thinking it would bring business to Afton.    Well, in order to sell shaved ice cones, you have to open up occasionally.  This didn't really happen.   Their hours were very short (about 3 hours a day, if at all), and lately they haven't been open at all.  Now, the "For Sale" sign has gone up on the building.  For $8,500 or best offer, it can be  yours.  I still feel that it could be a profitable concern if open during the hottest parts of the day in the summer, particularly on weekdays when a lot of truckers and other workers are going past.  It also needs some picnic tables next to it, and a large Route 66 shield, always guaranteed to attract Route 66 travelers.   So, if anyone is feeling entrepreneurial, let me know.  I have the phone number of  the current owner.

Today's visitors could have used some shaved ice.  It was very hot, and although we tried to live without the air conditioner, we eventually turned it on.  Those visitors came from Edmond OK, Mt. Calm TX, Columbus KS, Racine MO, Sapulpa OK,  Antwerp Belgium, and Cuba, MO.

The folks from Edmond, OK were the daughter of the current Afton mayor and her husband, both of whom grew up in Afton and came back just to take a walk around town.

The little girl from Mt. Calm, TX made a bee line for the pressed penny machine.

So did the little girl from Racine, MO who came in with her parents who are longtime friends of our "resident" photographer Michael Scruggs.  Here Michael is helping her use the machine.

This good-looking and extremely nice couple from Antwerp, Belgium were are only foreign visitors today.

Frank Gierhard, fellow member of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association, stopped by with his lady friend Stella.  Nice to see them!

Meet Bob (front and center), his wife, and friends.  Bob's Gasoline Alley on Route 66 in Cuba, MO is a huge collection of gasoline and automobile memorabilia, possibly the largest in the country, and it's open by appointment only to groups and individuals.  Bob and his wife, as well as some friends, visited Afton Station today for the first time.  I can't imagine that Bob was very impressed by our meager collection of gasoline memorabilia compared to his, but we definitely enjoyed their visit and now I can't wait to drive up to Cuba to view his goodies! http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/25259 will show you a few photos of the neat place.

BOOM! . . . and not the firecracker kind!

First, Happy Independence Day to all!   I hope none of you started the day like I did.    The BOOM I referred to above was the noise my refrigerator door  made at 5 a.m. this morning when it fell off!   I'm a little too tired to go into the whole story, but just quickly:  I went to the grocery store at 4:30 a.m. as I always do, every week, since it's really the only time I have.  Came home, opened fridge to put in groceries, door fell off (yes, really!) and kind of trapped me against the opposite counter.  Fridge doors are HEAVY, especially when overloaded.   I wasn't exactly trapped, but I couldn't let go of it or it would have destroyed the opposite counter and sink, and I couldn't budge it.  Used my Medic Alert button.   Medic Alert guy sent a FIRE ENGINE out to my house!  How embarrassing!   I'm completely fine, just a little humiliated.  And, I have to get a new fridge.  Otherwise, all my stuff is trapped in my old fridge because the three cute firefighters who came to my house said if I touched it, it could fall off again.   Details available on request, but not tonight!

Ok, so on to the important stuff.... Afton Station!   It was a very fine Fourth at  the Station.  We had regulars there -- Ron M., Betty, Marly, Tattoo Man -- for much of the day, and we entertained 26 visitors as well.  We were too busy to take many photos, but there are a few.   The visitors came from Columbia MO, Chicago IL, Dallas TX, Gravette AR, Tulsa OK, Sacramento CA, Enid OK, Northern Spain, Hesston KS, Adelaide Australia, Edmond OK, and Grove OK.

A nice surprise at the end of the day was a visit from our good friends Joe Meeks and Jim Morton from Tulsa.  They'd been to the Cajun Festival in Grove and stopped by on the way home.  Always fun to see them.

Here's a family from Columbia, MO.  The little 3-year-old boy was adorable!

The folks from Gravette, Arkansas arrived in this Cobra.  It's a reproduction, but none the less gorgeous and impressive.

This nicely restored '57 Chevy belongs to the visitors from Edmond, Oklahoma.

Time is short, so this will be all for today.   See you back here on Saturday and Sunday.  Robin will have the Station open tomorrow.  

NPR

I love National Public Radio.  It often keeps me company as I drive to and from Afton.  But I also love Howard Stern, who entertains with totally bawdy content on other days.  You could say I have eclectic radio tastes, I guess.  People don't realize how many down-to-earth shows exist on NPR.  Listening to shows like Car Talk, Wait Wait, or This American Life are lighthearted ways to learn a little more about the world.  On the other hand, most people don't realize how smart and sensitive Howard Stern is, something one gradually understands after listening for years. He's not all sex and potty humor. He has a lot of good, sensible, and accepting views on life.  I love my car radio!
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Well, now that I've got that off my chest, here's today's report on Afton Station. It's 1:30 and I'm taking my first break of the day. It started as soon as I arrived  and kept going until just now.  Thankfully, Marly came by so I captured him and held him hostage so he could help out.  He's such a good guy and he's so great with the visitors.

This '64 Galaxy belongs to our first visitor and his passenger, two brothers from Kalix, Sweden.  He bought it in Wisconsin and they're driving it to Los Angeles, after which it will be shipped home to Sweden.

There followed a couple from Clermont, FL on a trike, a woman from Chicago, IL driving Route 66 by herself, a couple from Anderson, MO, a couple from NorthPark, Sweden, and two guys from Rio de Janiero, Brazil who seemed to be in a big hurry.
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Ok, I'm home now, and the afternoon was equally as busy as the morning.   Marly eventually had to leave, but I stayed to greet 6 folks from Faenza and Cesene Italy on motorbikes, guests from Muskogee OK (he is restoring a '47 Packard!), LaBrea CA, Ft. Worth TX, Las Vegas NV, Vinita OK, Belo Horizonte Brazil, Burlington OK, and Yukon, OK.

Here are the six folks from Italy who arrived on motorcycles.  Fortunately they were riding on one of the "cool" days here.

 This is the family from Burlington, Oklahoma.   They are spending July 4th week at Grand Lake, and . . .

. . . so is their sweet little dog, Twinkie!   

There were 34 visitors in all, which is a big number for a Tuesday.   This bodes well for the rest of the month.  I would like to break the record for number of visitors, which is now held by June 2012.    We WILL be open on the Fourth of July, so please stop by if you're in the area.