We found that we were in upstate New York farming country, something we had not anticipated.
There are a number of small villages scattered about, with Cooperstown being one of them. Each town has a collection of wonderful old houses.
After setting up in a quiet part of the park, we settled down for an evening of preparation for the "Big Day" at the Hall of Fame! Our site was situated away from the seasonal campers, and had a beautiful view.
However, the wifi left something to be desired! D thinks that it's because of the high-tech antenna in the bushes next to our site! We are basically camped by ourselves, so the upside is that we can let Sasha play off the leash for a bit without bothering other campers. The downside is that we don't have a sewer connection, cell service, or usable wifi. But it was worth it for three nights!
Keep Shadow Brook RV in mind if you are ever in the Cooperstown, New York, area.
Our visit to the Baseball Hall of Fame was definitely a Bucket List item. Housed in an unassuming building at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, a village and county seat of Otsego County at the south end of Otsego Lake. it was founded in 1785 byWilliam Cooper, the father of James Fenimore Cooper, the author of "The Leatherstocking Tales", a series of historical novels that includes "The Last of the Mohicans". The current population is about 1,800 souls, but that swells to tens of thousands at the peak of the summer tourist season.
We were advised to start our tour on the third floor, where an exhibit aptly named "Sacred Ground" is the focus. Devoted entirely to ballparks and everything about them, with the first item a tour of Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.
Being a Dodger fan, I had to get a photo of an opening day souvenir from Dodger Stadium.
And a look at the silver shovel used by Walter O'Malley at the groundbreaking ceremony for Dodger Stadium!
Along with thousands of other artifacts, the Records Room has charts, statistical analyses, and a whole lot of "Most", "First", and "One of only….."
On the Second floor, the emphasis is on the game, starting with baseball's beginnings and ending with today's game. A timeline shows how the game has changed and matured over the years. An interesting special exhibit is the Babe Ruth Room, where many items from The Babe's career are on display, including a signed baseball.
The Babe's uniform:
When Babe Ruth moved to New York, he was lured away with a huge salary!
Some of the most famous comments made over the years are displayed.
When the Dodgers played the Cardinals in 1963, the Dodgers swept the series. Dodger announcer Vin Scully made one of his signature observations.
And the opposing manager, Yogi Berra, followed suit.
The First Floor is devoted to the honored inductees, with the Plaque Gallery containing bronze induction plaques of all members.
The Hall of Fame was established in 1936 by Stephen Clark, the owner of a local hotel in an effort to bring tourists to the area after the Great Depression and Prohibition devastated the local economy. He fostered the erroneous claim that U.S. Civil War hero Abner Doubleday invented the game. Today the HOF is operated by private interests with the motto "Preserving History, Honoring Excellence, Connecting Generations". With thousands of artifacts and over 315,000 annual visitors, it has become a central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond.
As we left the HOF, we drove along Lake Otsego, admiring the view.
And admiring the rolling hills and farmland of upstate New York.
The roads are dotted with vegetable stands, and D had to stop at most of them! We dropped another chunk of the kids inheritance at this one.
We had been told that the village of Richland Springs was home to a bunch on stately mansions, and it did not disappoint. These examples were located adjacent to NY20, a major east-west artery.
As the day ended, we scooted home just as the rain began to come down in serious amounts!
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