• SIMPSONS PICKS: Faux-founder Jebediah Springfield would appreciate John Polk Campbell, the 26-year-old who established the town and scratched his initials in a tree. The trunk is now gone but the Grey/Campbell Farmstead (2400 S. Scenic Ave., 417-581- 8081; free) still stands as the oldest home in town . . . Santa's Little Helper is not among the 225 species at the Wonder of Wildlife Zooquarium (500 W. Sunshine St., 417-490-WILD, www.wondersofwildlife.org; $9.95), but he'd certainly have fun chasing the bobcats. . . . For Snake and other roadsters, Route 66 was born here, and traces of the Mother Road can be tracked around town
• DOUGHNUTS, BEER, ETC.: A doughnut shop for every day of the week, plus some: Gold-N-Glaze Donuts (2933 E. Chestnut Expy.), Baker's Dozen (2005 E Kearney St.) and Daylight Donuts (various locations). For a bit of the brew, try Springfield Brewing Co. (301 S. Market Ave.) or Fox and Hound (2035 E. Independence St.).What could be more fitting than Cartoons Bar and Grill (1614 S. Glenstone Ave.) for steaks and seafood?
• INFO: Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, 800-678-8767, www.springfieldadventures.com.
Springfield, Vt.
• WHERE: About 30 miles north of Brattleboro, in the southern region.
• GO BECAUSE . . . It's New England by the book, with a Main Street listed on the National Register of Historic Places, winding rails-to-trails paths, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing at the country club, even a skating rink in the Commons. There are also art studios, apple festivals and a B&B with dairy cows in the yard.
• SIMPSONS PICKS: The town is known as the "Cradle of Invention" (take note Homer, of the "Flaming Homer," armchair toilet, etc.) . . . The free James Hartness Russell Porter Astronomy Museum, in the Hartness House hotel (30 Orchard St., 800- 732-4789, hartnesshouse.com; reservations required), highlights telescope inventions. For Principal Skinner, a good field trip would be to the state's oldest one-room schoolhouse, the 1785 Eureka Schoolhouse on Route 11 (free). And as a final nod to the Simpsons and Springfield townsfolk, the Toonerville Trail is a three-mile bike path that links downtown to the Connecticut River -- and is named after a trolley that was named after a popular early 20th-century cartoon strip.
• DOUGHNUTS, BEER, ETC.: Mmm, Dunkin' Donuts (50 Clinton St.). But also, mmmm, sticky buns, scones and chocolate chip muffins at Morning Star Cafe (56 Main St.). The townies hang out at K.J's Place (3 Main St.) or knock one back at the Black Bear Pub (814 Charlestown Rd.), part of Howard Johnson's restaurant. For upscale, the Victorian dining room at the Hartness House (see above) serves quail, and Vermont cheddar and walnut ravioli.
INFO: Springfield Chamber of Commerce, 802-885-2779, www.springfieldvt.com.
