The Spice of Life

If variety is really the spice of life, then we had a very spicy day at Afton Station today. Quite exciting, actually.  This was my day off, but I wanted to go to Afton to  meet up with Dries Bessels from the Netherlands and of course Ron M. wanted to go, too.  Dries guides Route 66 tours every year but  his regularly scheduled stop in Afton is always on a Wednesday when I'm unavailable.  This time, however, he was on a personal holiday with his wife, sister, and brother-in-law and made sure they could come when I was there.  Seeing Dries was well worth the extra trip, and there were many bonuses as well.

 Dries and his family.   Extremely delightful people!  We were sorry to see them move on to their next stop!

Tattoo Man came to visit with Dries, too.  Here he is chatting with them.

This was Sue's regular day to work, so we had the added pleasure of being with her.  These two fellows from Namur, Belgium were already at the Station when Ron M. and I arrived.  They were also wonderful visitors, cheerful and so easy to talk to.

Next came a couple from Lincoln, Nebraska.  Is it my imagination, or is everyone bubbling over with enthusiasm today?  These two are no exception.    (Plus, when Sue and I told her she had a great haircut, she told us she does it herself!  Yes, I'm impressed...)

This couple from Sand Springs, OK escaped damage from this week's tornado which landed in their town. He's a bit of a sign collector and told us he'd like to bring  us a neon Route 66 sign he was once given.  How great of him!   Once again, a thoroughly enjoyable couple.

Finally, this is Rhys Martin from Tulsa.  He has an infectious interest in Route 66 and takes some great photos of it.  I hadn't met him before despite seeing him on various Route 66 Facebook groups.  He's had quite a life for such a young man, including nearly a  year traveling through Asia by himself. 

Additionally, he's a great photographer.  Here's one of his shots from today.

There will be more photos from this new friend in the next few days.