Missouri Route 66 - Springfield

I arrived at dusk in 2010 to find the truckers parked all the way out to the Rest Haven neon

Steakburgers! From 2010

Hammons Field and Springfield Cardinals Baseball, 2007

Rest Haven Court Neon, 2010. Black and White

SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI. The Rest Haven's neon may draw the truckers, and Route 66 travelers seeking a completely authentic experience would probably want to spend the night there, but this baseball fan and lover of steakburgers always lodges in the center of Springfield. There is a Holiday Inn Express on St. Louis Street - one of the old 66 alignments through the city - in just the right spot, with Hammons Field, home of the Double A Springfield Cardinals, on one side, and an original Steak N Shake restaurant on the other. Back home, I have to drive to Queens on the crummiest roads in the nation to see a noisy Mets game, and you can't get a Steak N Shake burger in New Jersey unless you drive out of state for at least 600 miles. With the Cardinals in town and with plenty of Route 66 sites to explore, I could happily spend a week or two in Springfield. This would, however, require some explaining to family and friends back home as to why I would spend so much time in this little Midwestern city. But baseball fans and 66 roadies understand.