Russ & Nancy Jakes

The colors continued to be beautiful as we travelled to Cooperstown. We developed a new appreciation for upstate New York.

When we arrived at our campground, Hartwick Highlands, we found it to be outstanding.

We knew about the Baseball Hall of Fame but there were many other sights to visit.

The Farmers' Museum

Neighborhood monument to Cooperstown veterans who served in WWI.

Doubleday Field where the first baseball game was supposed to have been played.

There was actually a game going on.

I have waited a long time to get to the Baseball Hall of Fame. To my surprise, Nancy was excited about going as well. Although it was a little different than we expected, it brought back lots of memories. In 1951, at the age of 9, I had an accident that caused me to spend that entire year in bed, missing the 5th grade. During that year I became obsessed with baseball, reading all of the magazines and listening to the "Game of the Day" on the radio. The fact that my grandfather was a catcher for the Yankee farm system made me love the sport and the team even more. For you young ones, 1951 was the year Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle were rookies. Below are some of the displays.

Babe Ruth and Ted Williams - everything in both statues is carved out of wood, even the clothing.

Dizzy Dean, a Phoenix resident after his playing days.

Babe Ruth

Stan Musial

Hank Aaron

Willie Mays

Mickey Mantle, my favorite player. I was so nerous that I couldn't keep the camera still.

Yogi Berra

A visual presentation of the game of baseball. Nancy said this was the closest she has ever been to home plate!

D-back booth with memorabilia from Randy Johnson, Luis Gonzales and others from 2001 - the year we won the World Series!

On our last night in Cooperstown we had an exquisite multi-course dinner at the exclusive Otesaga Hotel and Country Club.

View from back porch of lobby. As Russ would say..."anything that beautiful must be a golf course!

It was a dress up affair and the guys had to wear suits or sport coats. Some of them hurried out to shop at Goodwill since they didn't have a coat in the motor home! Of course the ladies came prepared - everyone looked beautiful.

We were somewhat disappointed to be leaving VT, but in the end, found upstate NY to be very beautiful as well.

Fort Ticonderoga

On the way to Lake George, NY we stopped for a tour of Fort Ticonderoga. The Fort, located at a strategic point between Lake Champlain and Lake George, was used during both the French and Indian Wars as well as the Revolutionary War.