Breakfast at KOA is always enjoyable. Kathy has been gone for two weeks for her grandson's graduation, so it was great to see her again. I caught Don talking here.
When we got back from KOA, we saw Bill had gotten the doors on his camper. So we walked back to the pavilion after we parked at our site. The rain clouds were gathering.
All three doors are now on, complete with louvered windows and curtains, made by Bill. Front door?
Next, Bill will paint the frame and fenders black, attach the fenders and it will be finished. Back door?
Inside the doors are stickers depicting all the places Bill has been in his travels. (Not in this camper, yet)
Bill raises the back door of the kitchen for me to take pictures.
He will also install hydraulic or spring hinges on the back door.
We weren't under the pavilion very long when it started pouring rain. The sound of the rain beating on the metal roof of the pavilion was nice.
Bill proudly poses beside his "baby" as he shared more stories with Don and I.
Stories like the time he "installed" a toilet in his living room because he didn't like it when people talked about him when he left the room to go to the bathroom. You know, everyone talks about that person that leaves, some good but mostly bad... human nature being what it is. He actually photographed himself sitting on "it" reading a magazine, with his trousers around his ankles, just to "prove" he had a toilet, complete with water tube attached to the wall and floor to make it look real, in his living room. Hilarious and famous story. Word got around and people would stop him and ask him if he was the man with a toilet in his living room.
And stories about the fake bullet holes that he sticks to his cars, motorcycle, helmets, TV's, etc. Whew, he made a fast get-a-way. 
His wife worked at a hospital and she would stick a bullet hole on doctor's cars in the parking lot. Quite the fun guy, that Bill. This is the car he will pull the little yellow camper with. Won't that be too cute?
Notice his license plate... there's another interesting story, especially if you are a fan of the National U.S. 66 Association.
The plate originally stands for William Edward Elwell - member of the Route 66 Association of Illinois. It' also means "Weeee, I'm having fun on Route 66" and I added "wee" little car driven by a man born on Route 66 in Illinois.
From the website:
Formation of Associations
With the removal of federal Route 66 highway signs and the lack of any designation on maps, many Americans thought the road no longer existed. In government terms, this was true. But while parts of the old road had disappeared under the interstate's path, most of its 2,448 miles of pavement still existed and could be driven - if one knew where to look! By 1984, when Interstate 40 bypassed the last stretch of Route 66 in Arizona, a movement was already developing to resurrect the old road, put up new road signs, and restore it to the maps and atlases of the world. It might not be the great commercial artery that it once was, but it could still be a road - a road that people could use to enjoy a slower and more relaxed way of travel. The first state Route 66 association was formed in February 1987. On March 5, 1989, 15 people met in Pontiac. From there a core group of Illinois Route 66 fans began meeting to form an association in Illinois. That association was formally established in October 1989 in Dwight, Illinois. At that Founding meeting, the association elected officers and adopted bylaws to govern its operations."
William "Bill" Edward Elwell was a member of that original group. Today, the full length of Route 66 has been preserved and protected by each state's government, all except the strip that runs through the Texas Panhandle... c'mon, get with the program, Texas!
When Bill moved to Missouri, he also joined the Missouri Route 66 association. Every state, including Texas, now has a Route 66 association and it is growing more and more everyday. I always notice Route 66 memorabilia, but I will pay even closer attention now that I know someone who was instrumental in preserving this wonderful part of our American history.
Thank you to Bill and all the other charter members of that founding association!
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