Today’s narrative is much more straight forward, and has some contrast to it. Our bus left the hustle and bustle of mid-town Manhattan at about 9 AM and drove for four hours through the Catskills and on to Cooperstown, New York, population roughly 1700.

It was a very pretty drive through rolling hills covered in trees that would have looked at home in Rose Valley. Dairies, corn fields, small towns, and little creeks caught our attention. Eventually we came into Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame.

First off, I couldn’t have told you that the Cooper in Cooperstown was James Fennimore Cooper. There were plenty of roads and business names that made the connection…at least one Mohican campground. At least it wasn’t the “last of the Mohicans.”

The village was hopping, as we arrived during induction weekend. Lots of crowds, street vendors, and activity. I spent the afternoon exploring the museum and the neighborhood. It was fun seeing so many familiar names in displays and on plaques.

The Main Street ended up being closed at six PM for a parade. Hall of Fame members rode up the street in the back of pickups along with their wives, all having been led by a local high school marching band. The parade was rather sweet, in a small town way (since it is a small town). Again it was great to see baseball players we saw on television over the past 40 years; the oldest HOF member present was Juan Marichal, a SF Giant from the 60’s and 70’s.

Our bus returned after the parade, and we had a 90 minute ride to a hotel in Albany, NY. Tomorrow we come to the end of our trip; we drive to Boston for a tour of Fenway Park and Boston vs NY Mets in the evening (it’s the ESPN Sunday night game). More then…