Cousins Round III

5595 - 5742

I discovered I was quite close to Cooperstown, and find it hard to believe I had not planned going to the National Baseball Hall of Fame from the start. I am so pleased I had the opportunity.

First, I had "Bonnie" (my TomTom voice) keep me off the interstates, so I had some lovely drives through the picturesque rolling farmlands of New York, complete with red barns and rolls of hay. I passed tractors going the other way, but lucky did not get behind any. I skirted the Catskills approaching the village of Cooperstown, and had no trouble picturing summer communities like the one in Dirty Dancing.

The Hall of Fame was marvelous, though smaller than I had pictured. Here I am at the "Impossible Dream" display, the 1967 Red Sox, the team that began my love affair with the sport. That is Carl Yastremski's jersey, my favorite player.

I had to hunt a bit for the Writers/Announcers display, which features the Mariner's voice, Dave Niehaus, who was inducted last year. He is the last one, at the bottom.

Could not resist a couple of oddities. First is this VW on top of an old smokestack, in Amsterdam, NY.

Next is the Kirk Douglas Park, also in Amsterdam. I expected the stone to have a huge cleft.

I spent the evening with my cousin Doug Mills, in Saratoga Springs, New York, as well as his wife Meg and their 9-year old daughter Egan (and Max the bishon). Not only did I get a grand tour of Saratoga Springs in all its Victorian grandeur, Doug and I had a chance to catch up on family news and trade philosophies on life. He is a recently retired judge for the city. I also know more than I ever dreamt about Webkinz via Egan.

Tomorrow I head across Vermont and New Hampshire to see my godmother Jane Vincent McIlwaine.