Our Route 66 Daily Journal: September 16, 2026

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Today was mostly spent in Springfield, IL, but we also had to go to Girard to try their Whirl-a-Whip today as it is closed tomorrow when we plan to really do that part of Route 66.

We got our first cup of coffee at Brezie’s Roasted Beans.

We then went to the nearby Mel-O-Cream for some donuts.

Next we headed to downtown Springfield to see some of the sites on the trail for the Springfield 1908 Race Riot NM. We also got the Historic Route 66 NPS stamp for it at the Lincoln Home NHS (had got the stamps for here earlier this year, but this one is new and we also discovered a new version of the Lincoln Home NHS for Historic Route 66).

 

We then walked in circles to find the Springfield Visitors Center. Similar to our experience in Springfield, MO, earlier this year, the Springfield, IL Visitor Center just moved locations and it is currently like their soft opening back at their normal location near the Old State Capitol.

Next we visited the Lincoln Depot.

We had planned to get another coffee on our way driving to our next stop, but instead grabbed one at Arrowroot Coffee Co while walking back to the car.

We then drove to see the Lauterbach Giant.

Our next planned stop was mini golf, but it was too hot and humid, so instead we went and got lunch at Maid-Rite, which is supposedly the first drive thru in America, but I thought that is what they said about Red's Hamburg in Springfield, MO, so who knows...

We then headed to Ace Sign Co Museum ahead of schedule by over an hour, which ended up working out good because we had the wrong info about their tour times. They only typically do tours at 10am, but they had a scheduled bus group arriving soon that they said we could join.

We had planned to do the Auburn Brick Road on the way back to Springfield, but as we headed to towards getting a Whirl-a-Whip we ended up on it when we were following the Historic Route 66 signs.

Before we got to Girard, we also stopped at The Sly Fox Bookstore in Virden, IL.

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At Whirl-a-Whip in Girard, IL, we got Whirlwinds (their name for Whirl-a-Whips). They are and they are not the same as the Whirl-a-Whip we are used to in Stanley, ND.

On our way back to the KOA, we stopped at the Sugar Creek Covered Bridge.

At the KOA, Dad and I ended the day with a 9-hole round of mini golf.

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