Our Route 66 Daily Journal: September 11, 2026

Today we arrived in Chicago.

Our first Route 66 stop was to play mini golf at Douglas Park, which has a bird themed mini golf course I have been wanting to try out for several years.

After mini golf, we drove to Mom's condo. We then walked to the original start at Michigan and Jackson (now where the end sign is as it is one way heading east).

For dinner, we got a pick up order from The Berghoff, which is the oldest restaurant in Chicago.

See full list of Our Route 66 Adventures here and Google map here.

Mini Golf Adventures: KOA Renfro Valley Mini Golf

Date of Visit: September 10, 2026

Location: KOA Renfro Valley, Mount Vernon, KY

We got to the KOA around 7pm, which we thought would be too late to play mini golf as the office was closed. However, they have the putters and balls right by the course so you can play anytime. As we had waited to have dinner until we got to the KOA, only I played the mini golf while Dad made dinner. Well, really he only started unloading the car to get the stuff to make dinner while I played because it was only 6 holes.

I do not expect much from the KOA mini golf, but it was rather disappointing as being so run down and neglected that there were weeds growing on the green of some of the holes. There was also a side of one hole that had fallen off. I guess it gave it some extra obstacles and challenges.

Hole 1

Hole 2

Hole 3

Hole 4

Hole 5

Hole 6

Final Scores

• Kj - 24

See full list of our Mini Golf Adventures here and Mini Golf Adventures on Google Maps.

Our Koffee Trail: Kentucky Signature Coffee

Date of Visit: September 11, 2026

Location: Kentucky Signature Coffee (Richmond, KY)

Rating: ❤️

We did not originally have a coffee stop planned this morning as we were getting on the road at 5am and our first stop was 6 hours away at a coffee shop in Chicago. We almost just went to Buc-ee’s, but I decided to see if I could find something along the route and found Kentucky Signature Coffee was not too far off the interstate and it was already open.

We were glad to have happened upon this coffeeshop as we discovered they air roast their bean, which is different than usual.

They have three different roasts - Brazil, Ethiopia, Colombia - and you can choose which you want used for a latte.

Dad got a Columbia drip coffee, which he ended up getting free because for September 11 instead of their usual discount for military and first responders they were giving them a free cup of coffee. I had a Maple Brown Sugar Latte made with Colombia as that is the roast they have available in a decaf option.

I also had a delicoius Nutella croissant.

See full list of Our Koffee Trail stops here and Our Koffee Trail Google Maps list here.

Ranger Dan: 36.3 Blue Ridge Parkway - Visitor Center & Folk Art Center

Date of Visit: September 10, 2026

We stopped at the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center to get the America 250 stamp.

As there was not much to see here and I wanted to do a sketch on the Blue Ridge Parkway page in my National Park coloring book, we ended up also going to the Folk Art Center.

Only ended up with some flowers to sketch, but got another America 250 stamp and there was a wide variety of interesting arts and crafts to see there.

See full list of Ranger Dan's National Parks Visited here.

Previous Visits to this Unit:

• 36.1 Blue Ridge Parkway
• 36.2 Blue Ridge Parkway

Ranger Dan: 122.1 Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

Date of Visit: September 10, 2026

Our first stop on our way to Chicago to start our Route 66 trip was at Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site.

To get to the Carl Sandburg Home, it is a short, but STEEP hike.

We got there a little before the first tour of the home at 11am.

My favorite part of the house were the books. They have like 10,000 books.

After the tour, I did a sketch of the house in my sketchbook that I am collecting the America 250 stamps.

We skipped checking out the goats and more of the property as it was lunch time and we had to hike back to the car for our sandwiches. Definitely a place we need to come back to see more of it.

On the way back to the car, we stopped to take photos in the chair on the  rocky outcrop.

See full list of Ranger Dan's National Parks Visited here.

Our Koffee Trail: Stella Blue

Date of Visit: September 6, 2026

Location: Stella Blue (Mytle Beach, SC)

Rating: 👍

We've been watching for Stella Blue to open for months. Yesterday, Mik wanted to do a last coffee outing before Dad and I leave for Route 66 this week and it was the one weekend I did not check to see if Stella Blue was now open, so we ended up at Forest Brew Company. While doing errands later in the day, we noticed that it looked open, but it was just after their closing time. Thus, we decided to do a second coffee outing this weekend and try out Stella Blue on Sunday.

I got a Salty Dog Iced Coffee (salted caramel w/ Vermont maple foam). Salty Dog is actually a latte on their menu, but they do not have decaf espresso and it was made with decaf coffee instead.

Mik choose a Cherry Jerry (chocolate, cherry, whipped cream). He also got some chocolate covered bacon. He also thinks think lunch menu looks good and wants to come back to eat lunch here sometime.

Dad got a Pistachio Joe Latte (pistachio, almond, whipped cream) and we got Mom a Happy Hippie (chocolate, salted caramel, whipped cream).

See full list of Our Koffee Trail stops here and Our Koffee Trail Google Maps list here.

Our Koffee Trail: Calming Goat Coffee Co.

Date of Visit: August 11, 2026

Location: Calming Goat Coffee Co., Point Pleasant, WV

Rating: 👍 (Like)

On the way home from cottage, Mom and Dad had to get coffee since there was no real breakfast at the Travelodge in Gallipolis, OH. Dad found this interesting coffee shop in Point Pleasant, WV on the other side of the Ohio River with intriguing story about how a goat discovered coffee.

The place did not disappoint. Mom had a Sugar Cookie Cold Brew.

Dad had an Oatmilk Flat White made with their Cass Railroad Espresso Blend.

See full list of Our Koffee Trail stops here and Our Koffee Trail Google Maps list here.