Chasing the warm weather west

Back out on the Interstates, heading from Long Island to Scottsdale Arizona, for a CPO Instructor School, and the World Aquatic Health Conference. Got a nice early start on Wednesday, as I cranked up the Bluecuda and pulled away from the curb right at 5 am. If you're going to make any time in the NY area, you've got to beat the majority of the rush hour traffic. Which, by the way, is a hell of a lot longer than 'an hour'! Especially since it was raining on Wednesday, which always slows things to somewhat less than a crawl.
Over the GW Bridge and onto I-80 I went, nice light traffic, and good tunes on the XM 60's channel. Had spotty rain most of the way until I stopped for the night, which is no fun to drive in, but what can you do?
I wanted to get to Columbus Ohio for the night, that's a decent run of about 575 miles. But I was doing so well, I pushed right on and made it to Springfield, just outside of Dayton. Found a nice clean motel, and settled in for the night. Nothing exciting to report on the food front, I skipped lunch, and had a frozen dinner in my room.
Thursday dawned much nicer, sunny and bright. Got on the road at 7, with a goal of getting to the Rolla/St. Cloud MO region; I had a hotel reservation in St. Cloud, so that was an easy drive.
Stopped for gas in western Illinois, and lo and behold, right next door to the gas station was a Jack In The Box; it must have been fate! Grabbed a couple of tacos and a drink, and back on the road I went. Fought a very strong urge to stop off (again) at Meramec Caverns, one of the great Roadside Attractions that we stopped at 50 years ago on our trip to Dallas. As I'd been there 3 years ago, I passed it up and kept going.
When I got to the hotel, I was done for the day at around 3 pm. Answered a few emails, took a couple of calls, then just relaxed a while. Realized that 3 pm was really 2 pm, as I passed into Central Time at some point late this morning. Nice big room, a suite, this is near Ft. Leonard Wood, and I think a lot of military families stay here when they are relocated to Ft. Wood, at least until they can arrange for more permanent housing.
It's been more than a bit chilly the last two days, and, of course, I didn't take a jacket of any sort with me - I'm going to AZ, and it's always warm there, right? Right. But it isn't always warm in Ohio, or Missouri. So off to the local Wal-Mart I went, to pick up a couple of things, and a light jacket. On the way there, I considered my choices for dinner; Ruby Tuesday; Chili's; McDonald's; Cracker Barrel; the usual suspects. And then, off in the distance, I spotted this:

The "Route 66" Diner. A real chrome and vinyl "Gulfstream" diner, the kind we used to have all over the place on LI until they all started expanding them into huge 'restaurants'. Decided that I had to stop in and eat here. A little closer up:

On the front door, this sign; "We proudly serve those who serve". And there were more than a few military types inside, usually a good sign, sort of like the old line about truck drivers eating at good places.
Good menu, lots of dinner specials, from salads and soups, to comfort food, such as meat loaf, roast chicken, chicken noodle soup - good diner food. I opted for the "Route 66 Burger", which, my waitress explained, was the special of the day. I saved .50c because of that! And here's the meal:

Nice burger, big, juicy, and cooked exactly right, as I ordered it. Topped with lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion and 'garlic mayo', which, of course, I had them hold. Didn't put the tomato on, as it just wasn't ripe looking. Squirt of ketchup, dollop of cheap yellow mustard, and dig in. Good burger! The roll was toasted, but soft, and had a hint of garlic, sort of like the ones that we used to get at Dempsey's in East Meadow (which, sadly, closed).
The fries appear to be hand cut, the skin is still on, and they came out properly hot. But.....they were 'once cooked', and ended up soft and squishy instead of crispy, and the larger ones were not quite cooked through. If you're going to go to the trouble of hand cutting the fries, you need to double cook them. Blanch them at 300 or so, take 'em out, let them rest a few minutes, then finish them off at 350. That way you get fluffy insides and crispy outsides. Still with ketchup on them, they were pretty good.
The Diner was built in 2001, and it's obvious that the owners care about the place. It's spotless inside, and a real reflection of the 50's. Black and white tile floor, red and white vinyl booths, a counter with stools, and chrome everywhere you look. The table tops had that nice formica with the flying triangles on it, and the sound system was playing really good 50's and 60's music. Definitely worth the stop, and recommended to anyone who's passing through this area of Missouri!
And for those who are interested, yes, the old Route 66 does run right through here. I'm on a pretty tight time schedule on the westward trip, as I must be in AZ on Sunday. But on the way back, I just might take a day and wander along the Mother Road for a while.
Back to the hotel, and time to do a little editing on tomorrow's drive. I was aiming for Elk City OK, but if I can get out early, I may hold out and try for Amarillo TX. We'll see how the weather, traffic, and back do.
Stay tuned for more!