Cooperstown

Yesterday, we took a day trip to Cooperstown, NY -- about and hour and a half's drive from home. We were motivated by my husband's desire to see the baseball hall of fame.

I'm not much into baseball. The website said that a serious baseball fan could spend 2 days in this museum. The less than 3 hours we spent there was more than enough, in my opinion. It was okay, but I can't see spending even a full day there. There were lots of things to see. First, the big hall with a plaque for each hall-of-famer, organized by the year they were inducted. Then you go a half-flight up and there are some exhibits and a bookstore. Then you realize that you can't go up the seemingly open staircase in the atrium outside the bookstore. The stairs are for staff only and lead to offices. In order for a visitor to get to the 2nd or 3rd floor, they must retrace their steps thru the main hall back to the entrance where there is a stairwell.

At the top of that stairwell is a cute little theater made to look like the inside of a baseball stadium. We watched a short movie about the history of baseball. Then we walked around and looked at the exhibits. The museum provides you with a sort of scavenger hunt with 10 questions based on various exhibits. If you get all of the answers right, you get a free set of baseball cards. This motivated my younger son to pay attention to some degree.

My older son was mostly bored, till we came to a TV that was playing Abbott & Costello's Who's on First comedy sketch. Suddenly we couldn't tear him away.

After the museum, we walked around the little town and looked in the shops. Most of them had a baseball theme -- lots of souvenirs and more personalized bats than all the professional baseballs teams in the world could ever use. One shop was called Rivalries and was devoted to Yankees and Red Sox merchandise. A lot of high priced stuff in all the shops, new and old. One shop had old equipments supposedly used by famous players. A bat that belonged to Lou Gerig was listed for $395.

The town itself is very picturesque. Beautiful houses and old buildings, a beautiful lake and beautiful countryside. We parked on the outskirts of town and took a "trolley" into the main business section, and then back again at the end of the day. I'll have pictures in a little while.