Our Route 66 Adventures: Rock Cafe

Date of Visit: June 22, 2025

On our drive of Route 66 from Tulsa to Pops 66, we stopped at Rock Cafe for lunch. I was most interested in checking out Rock Cafe because I had read that their fried pickle slices inspired the dill pickle popcorn in Cars Land, which is my favorite Disney Parks food.

The Rock Cafe was one of the places Pixar visited when researching Cars and the owner inspired the character Sally. There is now a lot of Cars decor and memorabilia inside and out. We ended up in a corner booth next to what seems to be the most popular item as every few minutes it seemed someone came over to take a photo of the movie poster signed by John Lasseter.

Of course, I had to have the fried pickles, which were good fresh and also heated up the next morning for breakfast.

One of their other specialties is späetzle (german style noodles). I had enjoyed the Späetzle & Cheese and Dad had the Rock Cafe Späetzle (noodles w/ onions, bell peppers, and tomatoes).

After eating we also checked out the gift shop, which reminds me of the gift shop in Cars Land at Disney's California Adventure. We got a sticker for our Route 66 journal and a pin that is a fun addition to the Cars Land lanyard I have.

Before leaving we walked over to the park next door, which has a veteran's memorial and a Route 66 Centennial sign.

See full list of Our Route 66 Adventures here.

Destination Info:

Rock Cafe

114 W Main St

Stroud, OK 74079

Mini Golf Adventures: Pixar Putt Wharf DC

Date of Visit: July 19, 2024

Location: Pixar Putt, Washington, DC

Several years ago we were going to do Pixar Putt in Chicago and even had bought tickets, but then we did not end up going to Chicago and when in Chicago later that summer we had heard it was not that great and did not want to pay for it again. At $30 a person, I was kind of hesitant to do it in DC, but Dad and I got done with organizing the storage unit with several days to spare before the U-Haul truck rental and the weather was actually not to bad (warm, but not so humid). Since it was right there by the marina and we could just go back to the boat, we did not worry about making reservations because it cost extra to book online and we ended up a few more bucks with the senior/military discount.

Overall it was fun Pixar theming and do not regret doing it, but we do agree with the impressions we had gotten before that it is not really worth the high cost. The holes are definitely interesting, but they are also very challenging. Part of the challenge is that it is not all turf, but some of it is the playground rubber surface that really affects the way the ball rolls. What was most annoying, though, was that there were several holes that there just was not enough space to stand to hit the ball. This happens at times at many mini golf courses, but usually it is only when you end up hitting your ball to an odd spot and here the issue was at many of the starting spots. There were also several holes where there was not enough room for the ball to go in from certain angles because the pin was not centered on hole.

Hole 1: Toy Story

Hole 2: Turning Red

Somehow a Par 2, but you have to first get it through the angle between the feet and then opening to hole is off to side

Hole 3: Wall-E - encourages you to hit it hard to go around, but that just leads to it bouncing totally off course

Hole 4: Monsters Inc

Hole 5: Toy Story 4

Hole 6: Finding Nemo - I got it in with it stuck between pin and edge of hole, but then Dad had a lot of trouble because there really isn't enough room on backside of pin for ball to go in.

Hole 7: Incredibles - This one was interesting in that there were four different holes you could go for (one under each claw).

Hole 8: Ratatouille

Hole 9: Toy Story - This hole was kind of weird in that you dropped the ball in the hole instead of putting to start.

Hole 10: Cars - This one had a loop to go through the 95. Dad could not get it to go around even after several tries (no one was behind us and we had to wait for the next hole).

Hole 11: A Bug's Life

Hole 12: Coco - This hole was complex with you first going down the neck of the guitar and then having to come back around to go over the guitar to where the hole is. 

Hole 13: Inside Out - This is another hole you drop your ball to start. There are two different ramps it could roll down as well as two other openings at the bottom. Dad ended up with it going down one that made the ball bounce off course.

Hole 14: Onward

Hole 15: Lightyear

Hole 16: Soul - This one you put the ball at the top of the stairs and tap it to go down. Tap too hard and it will probably end up off course. The change to the turf around the hole totally brings it to a stop, though.

Hole 17: Luca

Hole 18: Up - This one is quite hard to get the ball in the house and not bounce out. The staff then cranked the house up and over to drop the ball down the falls towards the hole.

Final Scores

• Kj - 62
• Dad - 67

See full list of our Mini Golf Adventures here.

Mini Golf Adventures: Disney's Winter Summerland Miniature Golf - Summer Course

Date of Visit: December 13, 2023

Location: Disney's Winter Summerland Miniature Golf,  Lake Buena Vista, FL

Course: Summer Course

After playing the Winter Course, we did the Summer Course. This one has all the holes with a sand theme instead of snow. There are a few similar holes such as there being a sand castle instead of snow castle on this course and the end with a computer, although the Summer one seemed broken and did not give a message like the Winter one.

There were also some different features on this course to go with it's summer theming such as a hole with surfboards standing in the "sand." One of the funniest is with Santa asleep in the sand and you aim to hit your ball to go over him. Hole 17 with trains going around under the tree is also interesting, although the balls seemed to get really stuck up there if you did not manage to get it through between the trains.

Final Scores

• Kjersti - 42
• Dad - 41

See full list of our Mini Golf Adventures here.

Mini Golf Adventures: Disney's Winter Summerland Miniature Golf - Winter Course

Date of Visit: December 13, 2023

Location: Disney's Winter Summerland Miniature Golf,  Lake Buena Vista, FL

Course: Winter Course

We have played the courses at Disney's Winter Summerland at least once before, but that was before we started tracking the mini golf courses we have played. Since it was the holiday season, it seemed a good time to do this trip. We started with the Winter Course, which has a variety of snow themed holes.

Two of the most interesting for the theme are the ski moguls and ski slalom holes. There are also some fun holes with things that happen such as the cooler opening when your ball goes under it and trying to get under Santa's feet that move slightly up and down in a chimney. The end of the computer is also fun with it giving you a message from Santa.

Final Scores

• Kjersti - 41
• Dad - 42

See full list of our Mini Golf Adventures here.