It's . . . Thursday!

Not much of a title, is it? Well, it's a reflection of my day at Afton Station. What can I say? I had exactly ONE visitor up until 1:30 p.m., quite a departure from the 56 visitors I had a mere two days ago. Sometimes I just don't understand. Betty stopped by in the afternoon, and then three more people wandered in -- two from Wichita, KS and one from Bartlesville, OK.

The morning visitor was a photographer from Timpson, TX who has taken some very nice photos of old, rusty gas pumps and cars in Texas, and now is turning to Route 66 for more interesting images. The couple from Wichita, KS is doing Route 66 in segments, and they're on their Tulsa-to-Kansas segment. The fellow from Bartlesville has been past Afton Station many times but never was able to stop in until today.

David and Marly were supposed to erect the huge D-X sign today, but dangerously heavy winds prevented it, so they did some much needed cleanup of the back rooms and the work room. Marly is almost finished dusting and cleaning the cars in the showroom. I used my free time cleaning the bathroom, Windexing, and getting things ready for the crowd of motorcyclers due here early Saturday morning on a Poker Run being held by the Vintage Iron Museum as a fund-raiser for the Red Cross. We're to be the first stop on the run.

On the way home, the wind continually tried to blow me off the road, but I hung in there and arrived home with sore knuckles from grasping the steering wheel. I was able to stop and snap this picture of "my" field, although I don't think there's been much growth since last week. We could use some rain.

In International News. . .

Let me see . . .yesterday I left off saying I'd give updates on my international guests today. Well, there's plenty to tell! Shall we begin with Manu, the French man on stilts? Prepare for a rather lengthy tale.

After he left Afton Station on Sunday, he headed for Trudy and Frank's awesome motel in Chelsea (Chelsea Motor Inn). I went home, assured that they'd have a great evening there, and as it turned out, they did. But I didn't find that out until the next day. On Monday, Ron M. and I reserved a room for Manu and Patrice at a motel on Route 66 in Tulsa. Then, as planned, we drove to the Blue Whale in Catoosa to meet up with them and "lead" them into Tulsa, since we were pretty sure he wouldn't want to stilt-walk in the rain in our fair city, where all the roads are torn up while being repaired. We waited quite a long time and they never arrived, so we left a note with Blaine Davis at the Blue Whale telling them what motel to go to, how to get there, and asking them to call me when they got the note. (BTW, we translated the note into French, for their ease in understanding.)

We heard nothing after that whatsoever until yesterday (Tues.) However, we did hear via the TV news that there was a shooting Mon. night at the very motel where we had put the Frenchmen up for the night! Uh oh, I said to myself -- actually I probably said something more salty! I knew that Manu wasn't involved, because the news reports (which, incidentally were all over the TV) said that police had shot a man accused of robbery and possibly murder who was holed up there, and whom they'd had surveillance on for many days. My worry then, however, was that Manu would be upset and think we put them up in a really crappy motel, whereas it was only a semi-crappy motel. LOL! (They needed to be as close to the eastern edge of Tulsa as possible, and this was the first choice.)

When I got to Afton Station yesterday morning, there was a phone message from Manu. They loved the fact that they got to witness the shooting and the police activity and all the news coverage! In fact, Manu used the words "incredible" and "a memorable adventure" in describing the incident. The way I see it, they got a little taste of the Wild West right here in Oklahoma. I breathed a sigh of relief!

I last heard from Manu and Patrice yesterday, but I presume they went on to Stroud, where they planned to spend last night. I'll keep you informed, or you can go to Manu's website at:

il court l’échassier Landais » DIRECTION SANTA MONICA. You can also watch a video, taken by Josh on his cell phone camera, at YouTube - Manu Cuadra on Stilts on Route 66.

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Now, about yesterday at Afton Station, another extremely busy and fulfilling day. Altogether we had 56 visitors, which is pretty amazing for a Tuesday. The focal point of the day was a visit from the Czeck Route 66 Association, but more on in a moment.

Other guests came from Sterling IL, Millstadt IL, Fairland OK, Pawhuska OK, Gresham OR, Salina KS, Fayetteville AR, Oklahoma City OK, Rimrock AZ, Monett MO, Albuquerque NM, and Houston TX.

The folks from Millstadt, IL arrived in this very cool custom rig with trailer.

The three couples from Gresham, OR came all the way across the country in a caravan of three custom vehicles, this eggplant truck being one of them.
The folks from Salina, KS had two very cute kids. Here, the little boy was mesmerized by my animated diorama from the "Cars" movie. Here, the kids learned how to press pennies.

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The Czeck Route 66 Association arrived very late after visiting with the ladies at 4 Women On The Route then taking the Sidewalk Highway to get to Afton. Betty W. had to leave before they arrived, but Ron M., Tattoo Man, and I waited it out until almost 5 p.m., and it was well worth the wait. What a nice group of folks! Zdenek, the leader, had this van which was all decked out for the trip.

Zdenek

The rest of the folks followed along in cars or (mostly) on motorcycles. There were 25 of them altogether, and they seemed to be enjoying their trip very much. They set up cameras, as they're making a documentary about the first ever Czech Route 66 Tour. So, Route 66 and Afton Station will be brought to the attention of another European country, which is good for us, good for the Road, and good for the people of Czechoslovakia. Read more at: ABOUT - První ceské informacní stránky Route 66

Checking out the merchandise

Photographing the front of the Station and Tattoo's car

"Czech" back tomorrow. . .

. . . for all of Tuesday's Afton Station news. It was a very busy and very exciting day at the Station, but I just got home (about 2 hours late) and I don't have the strength to continue.

Lots tomorrow, including pics of the visiting Czech group.

I'll also give an update on Manu, the French stilt walker.

Night!

Manu on Stilts

Overall, this was a great day at Afton Station, but the centerpiece was definitely the visit from Manu, the French gentleman who is traversing all of Route 66 on stilts! I don't exactly know what I was expecting, but seeing him walk toward the Station -- very quickly with l-o-n-g strides, much faster than a normal person could walk without stilts -- was quite an experience. He is making 40-60 miles a day (!!), and only fails to walk if weather or hazardous road conditions disallow it. His friend Patrice is following along in a car for just such occurrences, which have been rare. It was great meeting both guys, and Manu was quite taken with our Citroen 2CV -- a little touch of home right here in Oklahoma. Here are some photos. I hope to have a video for tomorrow's blog.

Need any ceiling lightbulbs changed?

Manu with Josh, Ron M., Betty, and a neighborhood kid

Manu was inspired to do the walk after reading "The Grapes of Wrath" as a child and developing an interest in Route 66 then. He is from a part of France where foresting was done on stilts, and it's a tradition that people like Manu are trying to keep alive among the young people in that region. He has been stilt-walking since he was 9 years old, and I'm telling you he walks on those things more comfortably than I walk on my own two legs! Amazing! By the way, I sent him to the Chelsea Motor Inn tonight, where Frank and Trudy will be treating him to a restful night. Then tomorrow, Manu and Patrice will be coming to Tulsa where I'll be hosting them.

Ron M. was with me today, and my friend Josh Bowen from Fayetteville stopped in and took the aforementioned video. Always nice to see Josh! Betty W. arrived just in time to meet Manu. We had guests drop in from Wilmington IL, Bolivar MO, Bartlesville OK, Greenville PA, Baxter Springs KS, Sharpsburg GA, Afton OK, and of course, France.

Another unique day at Afton Station! This has got to be the best job EVER!!!

And. . . Feast Follows Famine!

Wow, this was quite a day, highlighted by an unexpected car cruise, travelers from Finland, and a big storm and a rainbow on the way home. I'm kind of beat, but must get up early to be in Afton to meet the Frenchman on stilts tomorrow. I'm tellin' ya, there's rarely a dull moment at Afton Station!

Shortly after I arrived at the Station, a parade of T-birds pulled up out front and 18 people emerged. The Tulsa Thunderbird Club was heading for the Coleman Theater in Miami and stopped in Afton for 1) a bathroom break and 2) to see the cars (in that order... LOL). It was great to see them and have a look at their pretty cars.

Once they left, everyone else arrived. In all, we had 49 visitors! They were from Lexington MO, O'Fallon IL, Whitesboro NY, Valley Center CA, Fayetteville NY, Sapulpa OK, Irving TX, Dallas TX, Hudson NH, Grove OK, Ft. Worth TX, Lamar MO, Oklahoma City OK, and Finland.

The two couples from Lexington MO were having so much fun and really enjoyed the Afton Station experience.
An unfortunate lady from Irving TX, in Oklahoma for a square dance convention, found out this morning that her house was damaged last night by the tornado that hit that area yesterday. Fortunately, her son is a roofer and had immediately gone to her house and covered it with plastic. Not fun news when you're away from home!

The folks from Finland were traveling in rented motor homes. They came toward the end of the day and told Marly (who helped out today) and me that there were about 50 more people behind them. I waited until 4 p.m. and none of the rest of them arrived, but Marly said he'd wait until 5 to see if any of the others showed up. There may have been a language misunderstanding, because they were driving west-to-east, and I certainly didn't see 50 more rented motorhomes heading toward Afton as I was heading toward Tulsa.

Tattoo Man was with us for a couple of hours this morning, and Betty W. stopped in, too. Marly really helped out a lot with showing people through the car museum.

On my way home, I drove through a couple of major thunderstorms. There was an incredible rainbow near Tulsa as the rain was ending and the sun was emerging, but unfortunately it was behind me. I tried taking a picture of it in my rear-view mirror, and here's what I got.
Remember the field I'm photographing once a week in order to record the growth of a crop? Well, here's the photo I took this morning. The crop's up!

P.S. Saw a posting on the blog of the woman who's traveling Route 66 on a horse. She expected to be at Afton Station next week, but the posting simply says "No horse...no ride. Two weeks is the earliest I can ride again..." I do hope nothing awful has happened to the horse, but I haven't heard anything from her personally as yet.

Feast or Famine

Today was a bit famine-ish, particularly after a week of feasting on great visitor numbers and my (perhaps premature) comments about how the tourist season has begun. Today we had a mere four visitors. Once again however, quality topped quantity, as we had some great guests.

A couple from Escondido, CA, traveling from Chicago to Oklahoma City on the first of a two-part Route 66 trip, were somewhat at odds over how much time to spend stopping at various sites vs just driving and looking at Route 66 from the car. Although the husband was a bit reluctant to stop at Afton Station, after he'd looked at the car museum and perused the Route 66 memorabilia he became an instant fan and agreed with his wife that there were indeed stops worth making along the way. Score! They were taking their Mother Road tour in two parts because they were quoted a $1000 extra drop-off charge if they didn't return their rental car to the same place they got it. This seems so wrong!

A gentleman from Cleora, OK stopped in, and we were fascinated by his vehicle, a Subaru Mini-Truck. Although I'd never seen one before, he told us that they're fairly common. In our area, about 70 are imported from Japan each year. It gets 50 mpg, but it isn't street-legal on interstates. The steering and gear shift are on the right. It goes about 60 mph full out. Cute little thing. Subaru Japanese Mini Trucks - Mini Subaru Trucks, Japanese Compact Trucks & Vehicles

A woman who grew up in the Afton area came in, originally to sell web advertising, but she stayed a while as we exchanged stories of old Afton. I always quiz Afton natives about the history of the town, and it turns out that she is trying to compile a history, too. I hope to see her again and do a little more picking of her brain.

Ron M. was with me today (thanks, Ron, for cleaning my car interior!), Betty W. dropped by, and a surprise guest was Tattoo Man, freshly out of the hospital! He was looking good and seems to be ready to get back to normal life.

Are Ghosts Messin' With My Travelers??

In the same week, two people (independent of one other) showed me photos they'd taken of the Palmer Hotel across the street from Afton Station. Both people commented that they were the only "bad" pictures in hundreds and thousands they'd taken on their Route 66 trips.

This one, by photographer Gordo, appears to be woefully overexposed. . . or something??? Believe me, I've seen thousands of Gordo's images, and none have exposure problems except this one and another similar one taken at the same time.
Dan Rice showed me this one when we visited over lunch a few weeks ago during his pass through Tulsa on his Route 66 travels. He was astounded by it, since he said the light didn't look anything like this on the evening they drove through Afton and snapped the picture.

He then showed me this picture, taken in front of Afton Station at the same time. He was most interested in the blue spots, which he called "ghostly orbs" that appeared on the photo when there were no blue lights anywhere around, nor were there spots on his lens.

I have to admit that I do believe in ghostly goings-on, after having lived in a house built in 1825 in which multiple unexplained phenomena occurred. I'm willing to go along with the ghost theory for Afton, since I can't think of a better town to host spirits from another dimension.

Wooooo wooooo!

Variety

The 12 visitors to the Station today came from 7 different states and one foreign country. I love that kind of variety! They came from Calumet MI, Sedan KS, Miami OK, Richmond VA, Bemidji MN, Omaha NB, Deport TX, and Nantes, France. The folks from France took one of the last planes out of Paris last week, just before air travel was suspended as a result of the volcanic ash cloud. They have two weeks before they fly home, so they were quite confident the problem will be solved by then. I hope they're right. They were a charming couple. I told them if they had any problems, they could always drive back to Oklahoma and I'd put them up for a while. :-)

Once again, I took no photos of significant happenings today, and yet I wanted to spruce up my blog post a bit, so I took a few pictures of the newer displays at Afton Station. Here are a new display of her works arranged by Betty B. on Sunday, and also my new display of the beautiful postcards by Gordo.

Sunday in Beautiful Downtown Afton, OK

Although it was a nice day at Afton Station today, I have no pictures to show you. I guess I just never found much to photograph!

Betty B. came to bring me a Route 66 tablecloth she made for me (gorgeous, of course!) and ended up staying all day. She also brought me a bottle of delicious Limoncello which she makes herself. I do believe I'll have a dollop of it with my dinner tonight. :-) She's such a nice lady and we had a good time.

I had 12 visitors today, despite the fact that it was dark and rained off and on all day. My visitors hailed from San Carlos CA, Denver CO, Louisville KY, and Grove and Chetopa, OK. The longer-distance travelers are finally coming out of the woodwork and onto the Mother Road.

Photographer friend Michael Scruggs also stopped in on his way to Tulsa. Marly stopped in to do a little work, and David and his family made a quick stop there, too.

We had some fun watching the goings-on around town. Although it was very quiet in Afton today, we did get to see a fine example of multitasking -- a young man in a pickup who stopped beside the building next door and (figuring he wasn't being watched, I guess) managed to relieve himself on the side of the building while using the cell phone with his other hand. (OK, so it doesn't take much to amuse us. We freely admit it. LOL)

Miata-ville

When Ron M. and I left Tulsa for Afton on this gloomy, drizzly morning, I don't think we expected to have as great a day as we had! We had 47 visitors today! It's amazing how a full day like today seems to fly by, whereas a slow day is just that. . . a slow day. This one flew by like the wind.

Immediately after we opened, four cheery gentlemen from Gaule, Sweden came through the door. They are doing a full Chicago-to-L.A. Route 66 trip, but had taken a little side trip to Memphis to see Graceland -- an important pilgrimage for so many Europeans. They're a little concerned about getting back to Sweden in 11 days, as it will all depend on the dissemination of that gigantic volcanic cloud that's hanging over Europe.

The NW Arkansas Miata Club arrived next. This year, there were 14 snappy little Miata convertibles containing 27 people. I was impressed by this congenial group. They all seemed like such good friends. It turns out that they meet twice a month and take a cruise once a month, so they have lots of chances to get to know one another. Other car clubs should take note. These people are clearly good friends, not just people they see once or twice a year.

At the same time the Miata folks were here, some of the little kids from town came in to check out what was going on. That string of Miatas stretching for a whole block is an impressive sight.
And then, of course, there were all the other visitors. They arrived continually all day. They came from Bentonville AR, Wichita KS, Eugene OR, and Choctaw, Midwest City, Tahlequah, Miami, and Langley, OK. We ended the day with a first visit from the pastor of the 1st Baptist Church of Afton, who hasn't been able to visit previously due to caring for his disabled wife. He's a car collector himself and was most interested in seeing our collection.

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The roof of Bassett's Grocery across the street collapsed, virtually destroying the interior of the building. This is such a sad development for the 1911 Pierce-Harvey Buggy Company building. It's VERY fortunate that the grocery is closed and no one was harmed in the collapse.

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Tattoo Man called to report that he's feeling much better (just bored!) but will have to stay at the hospital for several more days while he's receiving intravenous antibiotics.

Kindness

"The everyday kindness of the back roads more than makes up for the acts of greed in the headlines." -- Charles Kuralt

Under Starry Skies

I'm enjoying a fairly restful morning here at Afton Station. It's a perfect weather day, the door is wide open with no need for the a/c. I am being serenaded by the sound of power tools as Marly works in the back of the Station. I've had three visitors so far this morning, a couple from Hattiesburg, MS heading fora photographers' convention in Kansas and a local man who collects and restores old cars of his own. There have also been a number of "stop and shoot" folks, people who take pictures of the exterior but don't stop in for a visit.

Gordo is due here soon on his way home after 3 weeks of shooting photos on Route 66. He stayed at my house last night. Well, sort of. After we partook of some exceptional tequila liquer -- straight up -- he decided he'd sleep on his air mattress under the stars in my back yard. Mind you, in my back yard "sleeping under the stars" is more like sleeping under the glow of the McDonald's which is just over my back fence. Since the all-night drive-thru was a few yards from his head, I suspect he woke up asking himself if he wanted fries with that.

I had already left for Afton when he took this picture of himself. Looks like he got to see a gorgeous sunrise!

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The afternoon brought several more visitors, including a family of four from Durant, OK, a local Afton man, a couple from Fowlerville, MI returning from a trip to Arizona, and a trucker from Minneapolis, MN. The clouds are gathering, so I suspect there'll be rain tomorrow.

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Our dear friend and volunteer Tattoo Man is in the hospital for a while while receiving intravenous antibiotics for a serious infection. Get well soon, Tattoo!

A Field Finally Plowed

Today's sunrise

In the late winter, I decided to start snapping weekly photos of a certain field I pass on my way to Afton Station, just to document the process of crops growing. But, while all the other fields around it were being plowed and seeded, "my" field remained fallow and untouched. Finally, this weekend it was plowed and so I can continue my growth journal. I hope it's corn, but it could be soybeans or sorghum. All three are prevalent around here.

April 1 -UnplowedApril 13 - Finally plowed

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The nice guys who work for the Town of Afton met me at the door this morning with a stack of magazines from 1935. They sometimes bring me cool things they find around town that they think I'd enjoy. They also found an old Avon perfume bottle shaped like a '30s era Packard. They also let me know that there had been some break-ins in town over the weekend. So far, we've been lucky. Our extensive security system must be working as a deterrent.

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Betty, Marly, and David were all at Afton Station today, but the only actual guests were a lovely 88-year old gentleman who was born and raised in Afton (whose brain I picked for a while before he finally revealed that his wife had just passed away three days ago), and another gentleman who came in just to get some directions.

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This curtain suddenly appeared in a window across the street and blew around all day. It eerily resembled something ghostly, or perhaps a woman's dress. The ghostly aspect of it were heightened by the knowledge that Dan Rice from Santa Monica has some photos he took of Afton Station at night a few weeks ago. They reveal some "ghostly orbs" which are indeed quite mysterious. I've asked him to forward the photos to me so I can show them here.

That's all for today.

"Miss August"

Here's the August photo in the new Route 66 Vintage Iron calendar. The bike is a 1965 Matchless G-12 CS. The background is. . . well, if you're reading this, I guess you know. I think they compliment one another, don't you?

http://www.route66vintageiron.com/

That's all for now.

Missouri Day at Afton Station

I just went over my visitors list today and realized that 9 out of the 14 visitors were from Missouri -- 4 from Carthage, 3 from Kansas City, 1 from Grandview, and 1 from Freeman. These two fellows from Freeman and Grandview were returning from a trip to the Gun Show in Tulsa and decided to take a spin on Route 66. Since Betty B. was visiting for the day, we double-timed them into buying a couple of the very cool do-rags which she makes and sells, as well as some other merchandise. It was a fun visit.
One of the Kansas City folks was repeat visitor Dave Eames. You may remember him from last year, when he brought me a wonderful metal mobile which now hangs in the front window of Afton Station. It was good to see him again. Non-Missouri folks who visited today came from Coopersville MI, Ottawa Canada, and Afton and Miami, OK.

Ron M. took it upon himself to wash all of the windows.... and we have a LOT of windows! Wow, I didn't realize how dirty they were. The sun was shining much brighter after he finished. Thank you SO much, Ron!

It was fun having Betty B. visit today. We changed some things around and made room for another shelf of her great merchandise. I meant to snap a picture of it, but I forgot.

Overnight last night, my number of blog hits went over 40,000. Thanks so much to all who continue to read the blog. I hope you enjoy reading it at least half as much as I enjoy writing it.

I think it's time for a cow picture, don't you?

Ups and Downs

Saturday morning, birds chirping, door open, gentle breeze, sun, silence broken only by passing vehicles and an occasional train. The roars of semis are like background music to me now. I hardly hear them any more. There aren't many big rigs out on Saturday mornings anyway.

A quick trip up to the Buffalo Ranch before opening Afton Station today rewarded me with a bison right up near the gate in photo position. Usually they're way back in the field where you can't see them. There was also an awesome old Greyhound SceniCruiser, now privately owned, in the parking lot. Have I told you lately how much I love vintage buses?

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Betty spent part of the morning with me and her sister Marlene stopped by for a while, too. It's 1 p.m. and I've only visited with one traveler. He was a good one, though. Steve, from McLoud, OK was worth a busload! He's a passionate roadie and a long-time collector of roadside postcards and other ephemera, so we had much to talk about. We both got our love for road travel as children with our parents, and we both feverently hope to keep the Mother Road alive!

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At 2 p.m., I'm beginning to think they'd closed off the town at the borders. Traffic is light and the vehicles driving past don't look like tourists at all. In this job, you get to knowing which cars will stop, even before they pull into the driveway. There are very few of those today. One gentleman from Catoosa, OK stopped briefly, but those two are all so far. I'm stunned by the lack of visitors today.

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Apparently the best way to lure travelers to Afton Station is to start turning off the lights and closing the door. That happened today, and I'm so glad I was able to receive these last minute guests. A couple from Australia, traveling with a lady from Surrey, England came in right at 3 p.m., and at the same time the two guys from Vintage Iron Motorcycle Museum down in Miami roared in on their gorgeous bikes to present me with one of their calendars, in which Afton Station is Miss August! I'll try to scan and show it to you when I get the time. It's a great picture of the Station with a vintage motorcycle parked in front. Here are those guys.

It turned out to be a good day after all. And tomorrow will be even better!

2 1/2 days

I'm 2 1/2 days behind on blogging, and I don't really have a lot of time even now. It's been quite the whirlwind, and it will continue for the rest of the weekend.

On Wednesday, I wasn't in Afton, but Marly was there and had 13 visitors from a variety of places which I forgot to write down. Oops!

On Thursday, it was another good day, with 14 visitors who came from Stockton CA, Mesquite TX, Pryor OK, Albuquerque NM, Green Bay WI, Afton OK, and Farmington Hills MI. I had my first native Hawaiian visitor, although now he and his wife live in Mesquite, TX. The Albuquerque folks were three generations of men who were traveling to Missouri to unearth some family history and see some long lost relatives. The grandfather is the great grandson of Kit Carson, so they were also going to attempt some genealogy study of the Carson clan. Grandpa and I had a wonderful chat while Dad and Son explored the cars in the showroom.

I left Afton in the very able hands of Marly at 2:30 so I could get home in time for my evening dialysis session, which I scheduled so that I could have today (Friday) free. Due to a few problems, I didn't get out of dialysis until about 10:45 p.m. and got in bed at around midnight.
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And then, up early again to go to Afton this morning. I was in a bit of a fog today, but Ron M. and I had some down time in the morning so I was able to recuperate for a while. Our guest list for today included folks from Haysville KS, Baxter Springs KS, Joplin MO, Montreal Canada, Tamaqua PA, and our very special guests of the day -- and the reason we altered schedules in order to be there today -- were a group of 16 intrepid travelers from all parts of Australia. This tour has been arranged for a while, and tour leader was disappointed when they arrived in Chicago to find that the 8 rental Mustang convertibles they'd ordered in advance weren't available! They made the best of it, however, and they've been promised delivery of the Mustangs tonight in Tulsa. Until then, they were traveling in an array of cars and one motorcycle. They didn't arrive in Afton until after 4 p.m. due to a flat tire on one vehicle and one member of the tour needing to be hospitalized in Missouri (he's ok, just needed a day of rest before returning to the tour). They were a jolly group and I'm glad I was able to meet them.

Aussies browsing the Station and the merchandise

Marly chats with a couple from Haysville, KS who are traveling some of Route 66 on their motorcycle. Beautiful day for it!

Back to Afton early tomorrow. If all is going well with her, the lady riding her horse across Route 66 will be in Afton either tomorrow or Sunday. That should be really fun!

5 & Diner meets 66-to-Cali

What a lovely way to spend the afternoon! Met up with Dan Rice and his fiance from Santa Monica, CA. He's the fellow who founded and owns 66-to-Cali (http://www.66tocali.com/) on the Santa Monica Pier, a fabulous (but way too small) booth that sells ONLY Route 66 items made in the U.S.A. Just like me! He's traveling Route 66 right now, and Jim Conkle suggested we meet when they got to Tulsa. Jim also set Dan up with a meeting with Larry Wofford of Route 66 Harley Davidson. Since I know Larry well and so does Ron, I invited him to join us, too. We had a nice lunch at the 5 and Diner (thank you, Larry!), then went upstairs to Larry's wonderful Route 66 museum above the Harley store. Route 66 is just one big strung-out family, and I mean that in a good way. :-) It was great to meet Dan and Jessica for the first time and see Larry, whom I haven't seen for way too long. Here are some photos from the event. .
Larry, Jessica and Dan at lunch at the 5 and Diner


Larry, Dan and Jessica with Route 66 Harley t-shirt


One of the showcases in the museum. The Buffalo Ranch painting is a reproduction of a painting done for us by Jerry McClanahan. That's our '48 Packard in front of Buffalo Ranch.
View from the museum down to the patio of the 5 and Diner. It's a beautiful repro stainless steel diner... and the food is great!

P.S. -- No blog tomorrow. I have to go straight from Afton Station to dialysis, since I can't go on Friday due to a couple of tours coming through. Back on Friday.