I suppose I should have guessed it. The first lovely day after a miserable 6 weeks or so of cold, snowy, icy winter weather would, I now admit, be tempting to those who wanted to get out and enjoy fresh air, sun, and relative warmth. But I had no idea that so many people would show up at the door of Afton Station! After all, I had only agreed to open for a church group from Tulsa which had made an appointment for a visit about a month ago. I was very excited that they were coming but I never imagined that 14 other people would be traveling, too. What a very pleasant surprise!
Here are some of the 15 visitors from the Eastland Baptist Church in Tulsa. There were more women when their outing began, but all but one of them chose to hang back in Vinita after their lunch at Clanton's and go shopping at the many collectibles stores there. One intrepid lady decided to check out tour vintage cars instead. I admire her!
Other folks started coming almost as soon as we arrived. Ron M. was with me and Marly had come in earlier so he'd turned up the heat in advance. Bless you, Marly! (By the way, the newly polished floors looked even better in person than in the pics I posted recently!)
Our first visitors (above) couldn't have been a better way to start our first day back after the long winter. The two couples from Burlington, KS were great fun! The gentlemen, Terry and Harry, are business rivals in Burlington because they both own auto body shops, and yet they are best friends in their personal lives. They frequently travel together and, along with their wives, were having so much fun that I threatened to go along with them on the remainder of their 4-day Route 66 tour.
This couple from Neosho, Missouri had no idea that they were on Route 66 when they walked through our door. They were hoping to attend an auction in Afton had the wrong day of the week. I'm glad they made the error because I certainly enjoyed meeting these two, and introducing them to our beloved Mother Road.
Our other visitors came from Ottawa KS, Hawk Point MO, Joplin MO, Nowata OK, and Grove, OK. Also, Betty came and kept us company for a couple of pleasant hours and Dean "Crazy Legs" Walker from Riverton, KS stopped in briefly, too. Wow, it was such a great day!
Anticipating that tomorrow might also be busy, I have asked Robin to work so I can take another day off to deal with things at home here in Tulsa. So, if you plan to take a little Route 66 jaunt tomorrow (predicted to be another lovely day), feel free to come and say hello.
3 comments:
Happy 2014 Tourist Season.
Thank you, Susan. I've really been anticipating a big year, and so far I'm not wrong. When will YOU be paying us a visit?
Soon, Laurel. I'd like to see that shiny floor while it's still shiny, which might be for long if you continue to have the increased number of travelers. Scuffed floors--the kind of problem you want.
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