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.

Our Koffee Trail: Bully Brew Coffee

Date of Visit: July 3, 2026

Location: Bully Brew Coffee, Dunseith, ND

Rating: 👍 (Like)

On our way to the International Peace Garden, we spotted Bully Brew and I asked Kirsten if we could turn around to grab some coffee.

They had several appealing options on their summer menu as well as on their regular specialty drink menu (would have got the Salted Nut Roll if I had noticed before I ordered). I ended up getting the Captain Hook Latte (cherry, white chocolate, mocha, coconut soft top).

Mom got the LandShark from the summer menu. It is a cold brew with salted caramel, spiced chai, cream, and coconut soft top.

I also picked up a bag of decaf coffee.

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

Our Route 66 Adventures: Route 66 Begin Signs on Adams St

Date of Visit: June 27, 2026

The last two Route 66 begin signs we walked to were the ones on Adams St.

On the north side of Adams St a little west of Michigan Ave, is the classic brown Historic Route 66 begin sign.

In a park on the southeast corner or Adams St and Wabash Ave, there is another colorful Historic Route 66 Begins sign. Unfortunately, this one has ended up with a lot of sticker vandalism like the Start of the Trail sign.

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

Destination Info:

Adams St just West of Michigan Ave (brown Historic Route 66 Begin Sign)

Adams St & Wabash Ave (colorful Historic Route 66 Begin Sign)

Chicago, IL

Our Route 66 Adventures: Route 66 Start of the Trail Sign

Date of Visit: June 27, 2026

On Michigan Avenue near Adams St, there is a Route 66 Start of the Trail Sign. Instead of trying to take photos of the sign when we start our trip on Route 66, I walked over to them so we could really see them and take photos.

Sadly, the side facing the sidewalk has stickers on it, although not as bad as the sign on Adams and Wabash. The side facing the street is then hard to take a photo with because it is close to the street.

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

Destination Info:

122 S Michigan Avenue

Chicago, IL 60603

Our Route 66 Adventures: The Road Starts Here - Navy Pier

Date of Visit: June 26, 2026

Seeing the sign on Navy Pier was not on my original plan for our fall trip of Route 66 because it did not exist when I was making the schedule last summer. Of course, I had since added it to the schedule. However, I also keep finding other new things to add, so when I ended up with a few unexpected days in Chicago, I decided to go check out the different Route 66 begin/start signs and check them off our to do list now.

The Road Starts Here sign at Navy Pier is rather misleading in that Route 66 never went to Navy Pier, but it also never went to Santa Monica Pier where the End of the Trail sign has been for years.

Mom and I walked over and found the sign on our way to get some pizza for dinner at Navy Pier.

Inside Navy Pier there is a Route 66 themed souvenir kiosk, but I found it disappointing because it was pretty much just generic Route 66 things. Actually, overall I found the Chicago souvenir stores disappointing in that most of the Route 66 things were generic and not specific to Chicago or even Illinois. I could not find any Chicago Route 66 themed postcards at the Navy Pier shop or the two places we looked at on Michigan Avenue. I did finally manage to find some Illinois themed Route 66 postcards at a souvenir store on Illinois St.

Above is from when Mom and Dad walked over to check out the sign shortly after it was revealed in March.

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

Destination Info:

Navy Pier - Route 66 Ceremonial Start

700 E Grand Ave

Chicago, IL 60611

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.