Our Route 66 Adventures: Gary's Gay Parita

Date of Visit: April 29, 2026

Gary's Gay Parita is a recreation of the Gay Parita Filing Station that was originally opened as a Sinclair service station in 1930. It no longer has fuel, but there is plenty of things to look at as you wander around including license plates from all 50 states, some Canadian provinces, and a few other countries. We probably spent almost an hour looking around and also chatted with the owners.

There were several old cars on display around the grounds and in the garage.

In the garage, there was also a bunch of random old things including a bottle collection.

Several dinosaurs were around related to connect to its history as a Sinclair station.

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

Destination Info:

Gary's Gay Parita Filing Station

21118 Old 66

Ash Grove, MO 65604

Our Koffee Trail: Rustic Roast - Spring 2026 Seasonal Drinks

Date: May 16, 2026

Location: Rustic Roast (Conway, SC)

Rating: ❤️ (Love)

For this weekend's coffee outing, we decided to go Rustic Roast to try out some of their Spring Seasonal drinks (and just some coffee for Dad).

I had a Banana Bread Latte.

Mik had an Iced Strawberry Cheesecake Latte.

Mom had a Debry Pie Coldbrew (chocolate, nutty, brown sugar).

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 ❤️

Our Route 66 Adventures: Best Western Rail Haven - Staying Where Elvis Stayed

Date of Visit: April 28-29, 2026

When we arrived at the Best Western Rail Haven, a significant hail storm had just come through and the power was out in half of Springfield including at the hotel. Thus, we had to check in by filling out a paper form rather than the usual electronic check in. Dad joked that it was just how Elvis checked in when he stayed here in 1956.

Before heading to our room, we checked out the old car outside the office.

At the Best Western Rail Haven, we stayed in the Elvis room, which is the room Elvis stayed in here in 1956. It is not how it originally was, but has been decorated with an Elvis theme.

While there was a break in the rain and we were waiting for power to be restored, we walked around the motel and found they had some of their old signs on display between the buildings.

It was interesting to find the power was back because the taillights in bed all of the sudden lit up.

We did not use it, but there was a jacuzzi tub in the Elvis room.

After the power came back on, we went and checked out the sign by the road again to see it lit up.

Overall we enjoyed our stay at the Best Western Rail Haven and, in particular, it was fun to stay in the Elvis room. Not sure it is worth it's normal cost as the shower, tub, and bathroom in general were rather worn, but it was a fun use of my points to stay there for one night for free.

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

Destination Info:

Best Western Rail Haven

203 S Glenstone Ave

Springfield, MO 65802

Check out our other Springfield, MO area Route 66 posts:

• Brick & Mortar Coffee 👍
• The Coffee Ethic ❤️
• Trailer Perk Coffee ❤️

Our Koffee Trail: Milk & Honey Coffee Cafe

Date of Visit: May 10, 2026

Location: Milk & Honey Coffee Cafe, Surfside Beach, SC

Rating: 👍 (Like)

For our Sunday family coffee outing, we decided to find somewhere new to try and ended up at Milk & Honey Coffee Cafe. We found they have a decent variety of different house made syrups. We only got coffee, but I was tempted to also try their cruffins (croissant muffins). 

I had a Maple Sea Salt Latte. Mom had a Lavender Vanilla Latte. Dad had a Rosemary Vanilla Latte (don't recommend as you cannot even taste the rosemary). Mik had an Iced Banana Foster Latte.

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 ❤️

Our Koffee Trail: Coffee With a Twist

Date of Visit: May 6, 2026

Location: Coffee With a Twist, Nitro, WV

Rating: ❤️ (Love)

Today as we travelled through West Virginia, we found Coffee With a Twist not far off the interstate. Ended up with some good coffee and a great pretzel. Next time we are in the area with Mik, we should stop here as they also had a variety of dirty sodas options.

Dad had the Blondie (caramel and white chocolate). I had the Lavender Honey Latte.

I enjoyed an Everything Bagel Pretzel.

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

Our Koffee Trail: The Electric Brew

Date of Visit: May 5, 2026

Location: The Electric Brew, Elkhart, IN

Rating: 👍 (Like)

This morning we got coffee at The Electric Brew in Elkhart before getting an oil change and heading up to the island to open the cottage for the season.

I had the Honey Bear Macchiato (hazelnut, butterscotch, honey).

Dad had Lyn's from the Barista's Favorite menu (Chocolate Banana Bread Latte - banana puree and mocha).

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

Our Route 66 Daily Journal: May 4, 2026

We didn’t originally plan to do any Route 66 on our way home, but since we were headed to open up the cottage in Michigan, we ended up near Route 66 from Springfield, MO until we neared Chicago and headed east to Indiana. Thus, we decided to at least stop at Cozy Dog Drive In in Springfield, IL. We also made last minute decisions to stop at Lincoln Home NHS and Wally’s.

The Homestead Rest Area/Welcome Center had some Route 66 art on their wall. We also picked up some Illinois Route 66 maps and magazines. As I flipped though the Springfield one, we learned about some passport programs that we could pick up at the Lincoln Home NHS.

We had an early lunch (or brunch?) at Cozy Dog Drive In as we went through Springfield, IL.

We decided to make a quick stop at Lincoln Home NHS for the 250 stamps and pick up the Springfield passports so we could plan if we wanted to do them when we come through Springfield later this year. While we didn't stay long, we did make sure to get some Ranger Dan photos as this is where we got the original Ranger Dan almost exactly ten years ago in 2016.

Our final Route 66 stop was at Wally’s. I had heard about it, but did not put it own our plan for our Route 66 trip this fall as it is a bit off the Route 66 alignment we plan to follow in that area.

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