Iceman Celebration Day 2016 - The Road to Cooperstown

 

I already mentioned that the Mohican Motel had a mini fridge, but it also had a microwave, bed and a shower. What more did I need? How about ice? That is essential to an Iceman Celebration day. Their machine was broken, so I had to get my own from a local convenience store like a commoner and not a knight of the royal guard who hath bestowed himself before the throne. Ice should lay before me as I walk upon this hallowed ground. But this ice came in a bag and some of it went into a glass with duty-free Canadian Whiskey & Whatever. I ate some pizza, drank a few drinks and watched "A League of Their Own" on my tablet. Life was good.

I had the top down for the drive today, but I do want to remind you that it was still early May. It wasn't that warm today, but you think that I cared? Heck no! What is the point in having a Celebration Day if you aren't going to go balls to the walls until the wheels fall off?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At some point in my voyage, I crossed over the Erie Canal. As everyone knows, it was built in 1821 (completed in 1825) to create a water route from New York City and the Atlantic Ocean to The Great Lakes. But anyone who went to St. Catherine's Catholic Church Grade School would know this by the song. "I've got an old mule and her name is Sal. 15 years on the Erie Canal. She's a good old worker and a good old pal. 15 years on the Erie Canal. We've hauled some barges in our day, filled with lumber, coal and hay. And every inch of the way I know Albany to Buffalo. Low bridge, everybody down. Low bridge - we're coming to a town. You can always tell your neighbor. You can always tell your pal. If you've ever navigated on the Erie Canal." If you didn't sing while you read that, then I feel sad for your childhood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The drive along I-90 East was very uneventful. I don't care which freeway it is in any part of the country. They are really all the same. But when I exited and took Highway 28 South towards Cooperstown, NY, I realized that I was in a very beautiful part of the country. For my money there is no better way to spend my time than driving down some country roads with no traffic on a nice summer day with the top down and the radio up. This is what I wanted to do for my Celebration Day adventure and also why I drove out here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I approached Cooperstown, there were a few signs welcoming me to their tiny village in mid-state New York. And I felt welcomed too. This was the first time that I would be visiting this place with the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum being the obvious draw that brought me here. But little did I know at the time that it was the town, and not the baseball, that made a bigger impression.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are no chain hotels (like Marriott or Holiday Inn) in Cooperstown. This would be one of my favorite things about this small town in that it was charmingly stuck in the past. I booked a place called The Mohican Motel that was walking distance to the Baseball Hall of Fame. But that is what I would be doing tomorrow. Tonight I wanted to sit back and relax. It had been a long couple of days.

 

 

 

I also passed by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and found that it was easily within walking distance from my motel. The goal tomorrow was to spend as much time here as I needed to fully experience this time honored place of tradition.

 

I drove around a little bit to get a lay of the land so that I knew how to get to all of my destinations on foot tomorrow. I found historic Doubleday Field, named after Abner Doubleday, who claimed to have invented the game of baseball. I would be back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that I had my shelter taken care of, the next thing that I sought out was sustenance. Since I was in New York, I was looking for some pizza. There was this place called New York Pizzeria Cooperstown (NYPC) and they had pizza that was bigger than my head. This is very typical of slices of New York style pizza, so I was fortunate to have a mini fridge in my motel so that I could save some for breakfast and dinner tomorrow. There was no way that even with the most monstrous of appetites that I could finish all of this tonight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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