Date of Visit: June 24, 2026
As we had previously visited Guilford Courthouse NMP in 2017, this visit was just a quick one to get the America 250 stamp.
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| A Heroine of ’76 - Mrs. Keren Happuch Turner |
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| 1776 - America 250 stamp for Guilford Courthouse NMP |
Previous Visits to this Unit:
Date of Visit: June 24, 2026
Location: Our Coffee Shop, Winston Salem, NC
Rating: 👍 (Like)
We started our day in Winston Salem and got our morning coffee at Our Coffee Shop.
I got a Warm Spices Latte.
Dad got a Chai Latte, which the barista called Heaven in a Cup.
See full list of Our Koffee Trail stops here and Our Koffee Trail Google Maps list here.
Date of Visit: June 23, 2026
Location: Lula's Coffee Co., Florence, SC
Rating: 👍 (Like)
Mik and Dad saw Lula’s Coffee Co. when they had lunch next door when they went to Florence for the initial appointment with his new pump refill doctor and decided they would try it out when they went for his refill. Thus instead of getting coffee as we left Myrtle Beach, we allowed for time to get coffee here before his pump refill. We all enjoyed it and Mik plans for it to be a regular stop when he goes for his refills.
Mik and Dad got drinks off the June Specials menu. Mik got the Golden Delight (cold brew, toasted marshmallow, honey cold foam). Dad got the Ronaldo (mocha, banana, espresso, milk). I had a Rose Latte.
In a park nearby, we found The Lorax.
See full list of Our Koffee Trail stops here and Our Koffee Trail Google Maps list here.
Date of Visit: June 20, 2026
Location: The Cloak and Wand, Myrtle Beach, SC
Rating: 👍 (Like for non-coffee drinks) 👎 (Never Again for coffee)
We didn't plan on do a coffee outing this weekend as we are about to hit the road again, but Nora, Mik, and I really wanted to check out The Cloak and Wand that opened earlier this month. The Cloak and Wand is a wizard theme store, but it also has a potions bar with a wide variety of drinks including coffee.
The coffee drinks cannot be done decaf, so only Dad got a coffee based drink. He got the Black Cat's Curse (raspberry, dark chocolate, griffin whipped cream, raspberry drizzle). He liked the flavor, but it is just coffee and not espresso and with the flavor you could not even tell there was coffee in the drink. Thus, we rated this place a rare Never Again rating for coffee, but we certainly plan to visit again for the other drinks, especially since they mentioned having ciders in the fall.
I got a Frozen Wizards Beer (butterscotch, vanilla, topped w/ caramel cold foam).
From the Summer Mocktails part of the menu, Mik got Rhyme & Coconut (key lime pie, coconut, vanilla, unicorn cream, griffin whipped cream, maraschino cherry). Nora got a Frosted Flame (frozen hot chocolate w/ griffin whipped cream and chocolate drizzle).
In keeping with the potion bar theme, each drink has magical properties, which are listed on the label. Dad's said it would give him good luck for 13 seconds. Mik's was a Bard's Spell that makes you speak in limericks. Nora's said it would make her magically toasty and slightly unstoppable. Mine gave icy courage.
Date of Visit: June 16, 2026
Location: City Mini Golf, Chicago, IL
Dad here …. Kathrin and I went on a mini golf adventure without Kjersti today. Thought we played a new course and would someday need to bring Kjersti. Alas, I found Kjersti played this course in 2022 with her cousins.
City Mini Golf is located in Maggie Daley Park a short walk from our Chicago condo. The view alone from the park is worth playing this course.
The course contains some rather challenging holes featuring iconic Chicago landmarks. I managed to shoot four hole-in-ones (holes 1-13-15-17) and Kathrin had one (hole 1), too!
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| Hole 1 - Chicago Theatre |
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| Hole 2 - Sears Tower...Willis Tower? |
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| Hole 3 - Chicago Cubs |
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| Hole 4 |
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| Hole 5 |
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| Hole 6 - Chicago Bulls |
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| Hole 7 - Chinatown |
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| Hole 8 |
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| Hole 9 |
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| Hole 10 - Chicago White Sox |
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| Hole 11 |
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| Hole 12 |
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| Hole 13 |
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| Hole 14 |
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| Hole 15 |
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| Hole 16 |
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| Hole 17 |
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| Hole 8 - Portillo's/Chicago Hot Dog |
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| I did it! — Kathrin |
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| Cravin’ a Chicago Dog |
See full list of our Mini Golf Adventures here and Mini Golf Adventures on Google Maps.
Date of Visit: May 4, 2026
We have visited the Indiana Dunes several times including when it used be a National Lakeshore and not a National Park. Thus, this visit was meant to just be a quick stop for the America 250 stamp. We discovered there was a Indigenous Cultural Trail at the Visitor Center that is new since our last visit and ended up exploring that, too.
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| Sign at Visitor Center |
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| Buffalo Statue in front of Visitor Center |
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| Indigenous Cultural Trail |
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| Indigenous Cultural Trail - Miami Lunar Calendar |
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| Indigenous Cultural Trail - Miami Lunar Calendar |
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| Indigenous Cultural Trail - American Elm |
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| Indigenous Cultural Trail |
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| Indigenous Cultural Trail - Potawatomi Lunar Calendar |
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| America 250 stamp |
Date of Visit: May 4, 2026
On our way home from the Route 66 Centennial Kick Off in Springfield, MO, we didn't originally plan to do any Route 66 things, but we ended up going home via Michigan and decided to get off the interstate to at least eat an early lunch at Cozy Dog Drive IL. We ended up also driving a bit of Route 66 through Springfield, IL and visited the Lincoln Home National Historic Site.
Cozy Dog Drive In is the home of the original hot dog on a stick, which they call a Cozy Dog.
I had Cheese on a Stick.
I also had a Road Side Route 66 Root Beer.
See full list of Our Route 66 Adventures here and Google map here.
