Journey to Cooperstown
Day 1
In June 2008 my son and I made our first trip to Cooperstown, New York to see the Baseball Hall of Fame. We've been wanting to go for a few years and we finally went.
We live just off of US Route 20 in Westfield, Massachusetts so decided to drive on it since we have seen the Massachusetts Turnpike and New York Thruway many times.
Our first stop was in Becket, Massachusetts to see a cairn called "A Monument to the Automobile Age". It commemorates how "Jacob's Ladder Trail has evolved over many centuries".
Next we went to President Martin Van Buren's house in Kinderhook, New York. We've been to his grave four times now, but this was the first time we've ever been to his house.
When we left Van Buren's house we went to the middle of town to visit his grave yet again.
Lunch Time! 
We went to
a nice restaurant called The Kinderhook Diner which was actually
located in Valatie.
On our way to Albany we stopped at a fruit stand/bakery called Golden Harvest Farms. We picked up some peaches, cheese, and apple cider. I also got an apple turnover and my son got a cinnamon bun.
While we were driving to Albany we ran into a pretty big downpour. There was some minor flooding, but the storm didn't last too long and the sky was pretty clear by the time we got to Albany.
We went to the Empire State Plaza to see The Egg up close. We've seen it a few times while we were driving but we've wanted to see it up close for a while now. The Egg is a performing arts center that has a unique architecture. We also saw some cool sculptures around the plaza.
In Duanesburg we finally saw our first sign for Cooperstown.
Next we went to Canajoharie to see a "Dummy Light". I'm not sure what it is, but supposedly there are only three in the U.S.
Our motel was in Palatine Bridge which was right across the Erie Canal. Unfortunately, the bridge was being fixed, so we had to take a detour to the next bridge in Long Plain, but we were lucky and found a lock on the canal.
Day 2
The next morning we discovered that one lane of the bridge was open for traffic. On the way over the canal we spotted Riverfront Park and decided to take a look. It's a nice place, except they need to clean up after the dogs.
Our last stop before reaching the hall of fame was The Tepee Gift Shop in Cherry Valley. The day we went there was Tuesday and guess what? It was closed on Tuesday. Next time we won't go on Tuesday.
When you go to Cooperstown from the north you drive by Otsego Lake which is really pretty. We made it to the Baseball Hall of Fame! Yay! We liked the exhibits and learning more about the history of baseball.
The Hall of Fame recommends starting your visit on the second floor. There is a multimedia display called The Baseball Experience to get you in the mood (if you aren't already). This floor is dedicated to the history of the game and has most of the artifacts that are on display.
After finishing with the second floor displays, we went down to the first floor to see some plaques in the gallery.
and then we went to a place called Lake Front Restaurant. I had French onion soup and chicken Caesar salad and my son had chicken tenders and french fries.
After lunch we went see the lake and the beginning of the Susquehanna River.
When we got back to the Hall of Fame we looked at the rest of the plaques and went up to the third floor where we saw some more displays.
We were about to leave when we took a last look at the Hall of Fame map and noticed the library. The entrance is through the Plaque Gallery and easy to miss. The first section is called Famous Documents, and has blown up copies of just that, including Babe Ruth's first offer from the Yankees. There are also some displays devoted to the press, including a special section called Baseball at the Movies.
Finally, we went to see some statues that were at the side of the building.
After leaving the Hall of Fame we went to get some ice cream at Carmen Esposito's Italian Ices on Main Street. Then we went to Doubleday Field.
Our last stop was to take a picture of Schneider's Bakery, which you might recognize from some certain shows on Nickelodeon, such as Drake & Josh and iCarly.
After a very fun and informative day we drove home, this time using the interstate instead of US-20.