At the end of a long weekend. . .

. . . I'm feeling a little tired tonight.  Since I'm still recuperating from my recent ailment, I hope nobody will care if I make this short and sweet.  Our Sunday at Afton Station was very sweet, but not short.  We had another busy day, with people traveling Route 66 for many reasons.  Those who dropped in at the Station included this group of six friends from nearby Langley and Vinita, Oklahoma....

We especially appreciated the bumper stickers on one of their saddlebags.  He is a true roadie!  "Its not the destination, it's the journey" is my very favorite.  "So many roads, so little time" is so very, very true.

This couple from Solon, Ohio arrived via Paris, France.    They were using Route 66 as their preferred pathway to Tulsa, where they will stay all week and enjoy  Tulsa's many, many Mother Road attractions.

Other visitors included folks from Anchorage, Alaska, Chandler OK, Adelaide Australia, Carbondale IL, Perth Australia, and Quinton, OK.  The Adelaide (Australia) couple is embarking on a great adventure.  After three weeks exploring Route 66 and the rest of the U.S., they will end up in New York City where they will board a cruise ship for a 35-day trip back to Australia.

The Fourth Plus One

Since I didn't blog yesterday, allow me to take this opportunity to assume you all had a festive Fourth of July, filled with fireworks, picnics, families and friends, and beer.  This year the calendar afforded us a glorious three day weekend to celebrate and I hope you are all continuing to do so.   Quite a few people chose today to drop in to Afton Station, and we were there to greet them.   Ron M., Betty, Tattoo, Scott, and I were the official greeting committee.  Also, our friends from Tulsa, Joe and Jim, came to visit at noon and spent most of the afternoon with us.  

We had visits from some very cool cars as well.

This couple from Claremore, OK along with their cute doggie named Trudy, enjoyed chatting with Tattoo
Man about their mutual love of '56 Chevys.   This neat wagon belongs to the couple from Claremore.  Photos of Tat's red, white, and blue beauty can be found elsewhere on this blog.

Three gentlemen from Joansun, Finland arrived on motorcycles.   Nice guys.  People west of Afton should be on the lookout for them, as they plan to traverse all of Route 66.

This '65 Buick Riviera was being driven by Rob Norland from Winnetka, California and his young nephew from Kewaunee, Wisconsin.  They are seeking information about ghostly occurrences on Route 66.  I told Rob to be sure to check in with Jim Hinckley when they're in Kingman, Arizona because Jim  has similar interests.  Rob's blog is about the trip can be found at www.route66riot.com.  There are some very fine Route 66 photos there.

Other visitors came from Omaha NE, Grove OK, Wisconsin Rapids WI, Bargersville IN, Van Buren AR, Dallas TX, Daytona Beach FL, and Tulsa OK.

Ron M. and I stopped at the tiny Chelsea Farmers' Market this morning and scored a quart of gorgeous blackberries and some mighty good looking tomatoes.  Yum!    See you tomorrow.  That picture makes me hungry!

Oh, What a Beautiful Day.....

This was the kind of day that causes almost everyone to remark about its perfection.   The morning was cool and the afternoon heated up, but never became stifling.  At Afton Station, we had the door open and the A/C off all day.  Nineteen travelers came through that open door, some doing major Route 66 trips and others just out for the long Fourth of July weekend.  Here is a sampling of some of those folks. . .

This couple came from Cassville, MO and were our first visitors of the day.

Then came this intrepid bicycle rider from Utica, Michigan who is pedaling his way across Route 66,and a whole lot more.  He started in Michigan and was anticipating a 60-mile leg today.  He was certainly enjoying the coolness of the morning.

These folks are from Shawnee, OK.  I loved his enthusiasm... and his t-shirt.  

Here are a couple of bikers from Palmyra, Indiana.

P.J., our frequent visitor and primo videographer, dropped in to check with me about the scheduling of groups who will be visiting Afton Station in the near future so  he can be here to immortalize them on CD.  I'm sure that the videos he produces will be available right here in the future.

There were also visitors from Sarnia, Canada,  Idabell OK, Fort Wayne IN, Ponca City OK, and Wichita, KS.   Ron M. and Betty were present to do the heavy lifting, a huge help since I'm still not particularly mobile.  Using a walker is kind of a bummer, but I should be rid of it soon.   See  you all on Saturday!

The Writing on the Wall, Part 2

Yesterday, Ron M. spent a little time snapping photos of a few of the signatures Route 66 visitors have left on the walls of the work room.  Please note that I said "walls" and not "wall".  That's because the autograph explosion has moved on to another wall due to lack of space on the first one and soon might migrate further to a third wall.  Some folks prefer to just sign, but others like to express their personalities by leaving small cartoons, funny sayings, etc.  Here are a few.  Unfortunately, the plaster on the walls doesn't make for the most user-friendly canvas, but people do the best they can and we love each and every one of them..  

Happiness is . . .

. . .sitting at the computer, fresh-from-the-farm ear of corn in one hand, deciding what to say on my blog about the wonderful visitors we had today without running over at the mouth or using too many superlatives.  I guess I'll just munch on this heavenly ear of corn and plunge right in.

Today there were 34 visitors smart enough to make the pilgrimage to Afton Station.  Some were taking long Route 66 trips and some were just taking in a bit of the Mother Road for the weekend.  They came from Memphis TN, Edgewater WI, Middleburg FL, Columbia MO, Checotah OK, Lakeville MN, Hartford SD, Alexandria VA, Lexington KY, Paris France, Dallas TX, Springfield MO, Sacramento CA, Anaheim CA, and Afton, OK    Quite a varied group from all over the USA, with a couple from France to add to the  international flavor of Route 66.

When Ron M. and I arrived at the Station, a car was just leaving.  We gestured to them to please not leave because it might take us a few minutes to open up all the rooms, but they should come in anyway.  I'm so glad we did that.  It was a great couple I've met before, from Memphis, TN and real veterans of the road.  He kept telling me that he's been waiting to meet me after I wasn't around for the last couple of his visits to the Station.  He also said something like I was the  highlight of his trip, but I think he was just trying to make me blush.  Here they are, practically newlyweds after a two year marriage.

This mother, father and son are visiting Route 66 from just outside of Paris, France.  

This family from Checotah, OK was mesmerized by the pressed penny machine.

Toward the end of the day, these two lovely '55 Thunderbirds pulled in right in front of the Station.  They were two friends, one from Sacramento, CA and the other from Anaheim, CA who are traveling together to the International Tbird Convention coming up in Springfield, MO.  The cars were painted in warm and eye-catching colors -- mint green and coral -- and they looked beautiful in front of the Station.    Coincidentally, a couple from Springfield was also visiting at the same time, and they have a white '55 Tbird!  Copious Thunderbird chat ensued as would be expected.

Betty came by and showed us the neat airbrushing she just had done on her brand new Jeep Latitude.  I like the shield so much that I'm seriously considering getting one on my Subaru.  The airbrush artist did a nice job on Betty's name as well.

 I wish I had photos and write-ups on each and every traveler who visited us today, but there just wasn't time.  Needless to say, they were all interesting people... because aren't ALL Route 66 fans interesting and special?

Back to Work, and Play

When I refer to Afton Station as work, please correct me and remind me that I have more fun there than anywhere else on earth.  Today, after over a month's absence, I was back behind the counter greeting visitors and enjoying every minute of it.  It was a busy day and I'm kind of tired tonight, so I'll try to make this as short as I can, considering that do tend to run on when I'm writing about Route 66 and the Station.

We had a group visit from the women of Markartplace in Catoosa, OK.  I've told you about these talented and crafty  ladies before, and today my friend LaSandra Nickson, who is the member of the cooperative herself, brought 8 of the gals to the Station.   Here they are in a group photo with me.
 Betty arrived and was a big help when needed.  She's very good at crowd control. She also brought a huge strawberry cake, a hot-out-of-the-oven rhubarb pie, and a large bouquet of lovely orange roses for me.  She is just the best baker ever, her goodies always from scratch and delicious.  Robin, Tattoo Man, and of course Ron M. were all there today and we wolfed down those goodies in about two minutes.  We actually had enough cake left to give some to our guests.

There were 20 other visitors today, too.  The guest of honor was Joe Paul, the tech who takes such good care of me at dialysis.  He's visited before, and he stayed all afternoon today.  Like Betty, he's always willing to step in and help with the customers, too.  Other visitors were from Raleigh NC, Miami OK, Guatemala, Carthage MO, Overland Park KS, Wichita Falls TX, Big Rapids MI, Rockford MI, Anderson IN, and Rogers AR.

The gentleman on the right, from Big Rapids, MI happens to know a dear friend of mine who also used to live in Big Rapids.  Quite a coincidence!   He's an old pro at Route 66 travel, and on this particular trip he was accompanied by one son on the first leg and then a second son in the return trip!
 I'm running out of steam, so I'll quit while I'm ahead.  I know I've missed something, but it can wait until tomorrow.  I'll be back in Afton then, ready for more action.

P.S.  I'm getting around with a walker now, and I'd forgotten since the last time I needed to use one, how hard it is to do small everyday things while using it (like hefting it in and out of the car, unlocking my back door, which is one step up from the welcome mat,  carrying things while still needing both  hands to manipulate the walker, tasks I've always just taken for granted.  I'm doing fine, though.)

Potpourri

I'm finally going home from rehab tomorrow, and I have a few loose ends to clean up in the way of "orphan" photos I've taken or accumulated in the past couple of weeks.  Be warned.... except for one image, these have nothing to do with Route 66 whatsoever.

Here is the medal that was given to those who finished the Route 66 Blue Whale Ultra on Saturday.  Pretty cute, I think.

I found this on Betty Wheatley's Facebook page.  It's a fantastic old picture of an oil derrick "farm" in Oklahoma.  Oil as far as the eye can see.  There were lots of panoramas just like this in the early part of the 20th century That's a lot of black gold being pumped out of the ground!

I snapped a coupe of photos today to remember my weeks here at The Villages rehab.  Here's my cozy room. . . 

. . .  and here are my two therapists, Jennifer and John, who have been extremely helpful in my recuperation and are, additionally, really nice people whom I'm proud to call my new friends.  

My next post here will be this weekend, after I'm back at Afton Station, and I'm sure I'm going to have a lot to talk about.  See you then!