Our Route 66 Daily Journal: June 26 & 27, 2026

As we ended up with an unscheduled few days in Chicago, I took the opportunity to go find the different Route 66 signs in Chicago and check it off my list of Route 66 things to do.

On June 26, Mom and I walked over to Navy Pier to see the newest start sign to make it a pier to pier route from Navy Pier to Santa Monica Pier.

On June 27, Mom and I walked over to Adams and Michigan Avenue to the various begin/start signs in that area.

On our walk we also got some coffee at Fairgrounds Coffee on Michigan Avenue.

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

Our Koffee Trail: Fairgrounds Coffee

Date of Visit: June 27, 2026

Location: Fairgrounds Coffee (Millenium Park), Chicago, IL

Rating: 👍 (Like)

Mom and I ended up at Fairgrounds Coffee when we walked to the Route 66 start signs on Adams St.

We both got Peach Cobbler Lattes.

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

Ranger Dan: 121.1 Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park - Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center

Date of Visit: June 26, 2026

We visited the Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center to get the America 250 stamp for the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. We enjoyed the exhibits, especially learning about the Wright Brothers printing press business.

Wright Flyer

Helicopter Toy

Frank B. Hale Groceries

Frank B. Hale Groceries

Wright Brothers Gliders

Aviation Trail Parachute Museum

Aviation Trail Parachute Museum

Aviation Trail Parachute Museum

Bench from Wright family home

Composing Room

Printing Press

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

Ranger Dan: 120.1 Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument

Date of Visit: June 26, 2026

Because it was raining, Mik did not want to get out of the truck when we visited Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument. Thus, Dad and I just quickly went through the exhibits inside the house and got the stamps.

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

Our Koffee Trail: Blue Sky Coffee

Date of Visit: June 26, 2026

Location: Blue Sky Coffee, Fairborn, OH

Rating: 👍 (Like)

Usually when in Ohio we end up at a Winan's as I like to stock up on their decaf flavored coffee beans, especially the Maine Blueberry. We did end up at one later in the day, but we started the day trying out Blue Sky Coffee.

I had a Berry Cobbler Latte (white chocolate, blueberry, strawberry, brown sugar).

Dad had a Flat White.

Mik had a Strawberry Sunset (strawberry, peach, tea, lemonade).

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

Ranger Dan: 119.1 Hopewell Culture National Historical Park

Date of Visit: June 25, 2026

As this was our first visit to Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, we planned to spend time really exploring it. However, we found the visitor center rather lacking with no real exhibit and the sidewalk to the mounds did not even get to the first info sign. We were not surprised that it was not accessible for Mik (Wheelchair Travel Adventures post) to go through the mound side, but we had expected there to at least be some sort of exhibit about the site in the visitor center. Mik did at least let me quickly walk through the mound area to the various signs and take some Ranger Dan photos.

Visitor Center

Shawnee Tribe Flag

Mound 7

Elliptical Mound

My Sketch

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

Our Koffee Trail: Forest Brew Company

Date of Visit: July 15, 2026

Location: Forest Brew Company, Surfside Beach, SC

Rating: 👍 (Like)

Forest Brew Company is a new coffeeshop in Surfside Beach. I originally planned to check it out as our weekend coffee outing this upcoming weekend with it being the first weekend Dad (Mom and Mik, too, but Dad being the driver is key to our weekend coffee outings!) was back home. However, Dad and I were out doing a bunch of errands that took us almost out this way and I was thirsty, so we decided to try it out today.

We enjoyed the forest/National Park vibe of the coffeeshop, which is refreshing change from all the beach vibes you get in our area.

I had a Smoky Mountain Turtle.

Dad had a Pacific Crest.

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

Check out some of our other Myrtle Beach area posts:

• Be Known Coffee & Roaster ❤️
• Benjamin's Bakery & Cafe ❤️
• Grand Strand Coffee ❤️
• Liberty Brews Coffee ❤️
• Rustic Roast ❤️