Days 3 and 4: Exploring the Empire State

Part 1: After conquering Canada (on second thought, maybe our Northern Neighbor won...at least the War of the Wallet) we embarked on the next step of our Northeast Tour by pointing ourselves towards New York. But first we had to weather an encounter with a surly Border Guard (great, we get the one who didn't have his coffee this morning) to re-enter the United States. He examined our passports and gruffly asked what we were bringing back into the country. "Just a t-shirt!" I said brightly, in what I hoped was a winningly non-criminal kind of way. "One t-shirt?" he shot back suspiciously. Law-abiding citizen that I am, I quickly confessed to additional souvenirs: 2 squishy footballs with maple leaf logos, and one Christmas ornament, which I'd felt totally silly listing a second ago, except that apparently this guy performed his job with excessive seriousness and a healthy dose of Tourist Harassment. But it all turned out okay, and no one was detained or searched for either purchasing cheesy mementos or failing to declare them.

From there, it was just routine driving--although the HEAT counted as a bonafide event in-and-of itself. For now, let's just note that around 9 a.m. when we vamoosed from Canada, my car's thermometer was already reading 87 degrees. I don't know what percentage of humidity there was, but from a purely anecdotal standpoint, I'd say approximately 175%. (Yes, I know that's impossible, but trust me, the only way the air could feel wetter...is if it had actually been raining. Stay tuned for more meteorological news later in our broadcast.) Our eventual destination for the day was Cooperstown, but along the way we had the opportunity to stop and visit some old friends near Rochester. We happily made the small detour, in order to enjoy a delightful lunch, catch up on the respective family happenings, and introduce the kids to each other. As a special bonus, J led us to Lake Ontario, just a few miles from her house, so we could experience and appreciate yet another spectacular body of water on our vacation. Up close, Lake Ontario resembles the Atlantic Ocean: sea-green with waves lapping at the sandy shore. With the wind whipping around us, and wavelets bouncing over the rocks to sprinkle us with a refreshing mini-shower, we could almost forget that it was the hottest day on record in Rochester since 1955. Now I ask you: do we have impeccable timing, or what?

Then we bade farewell to our friends and tackled the next leg of the journey. We logged lots of winding, up-and-down, tree-lined miles (and let me just note how grumpy my little Subaru got when asked repeatedly to climb hills, with 4 passengers and luggage, in 100-degree heat, blowing air-conditioning). After about 97 turns (required to continue following the same State Road, which evidently loses its way quite often...even the crisp Australian-voiced female programmed to speak directions on the GPS started to sound a bit peevish...or that could have been my imagination...coupled with heat exhaustion) we spotted the Bay Side Inn on Lake Otsego, our home-away-from-home just outside of Cooperstown. After the Radisson, I would describe it as "quaint", but clearly I'm working the Wi-Fi, so it can't be all that rustic! However, it does lack two things that we really needed: laundry facilities and food. (Of course, after all, Derek hadn't eaten in four hours or so...the horror!) So we drove along the lake for a couple of miles to venture into the adorable little burg of Cooperstown for dinner. It was a quick...recon if you will, since we'll be spending the better part of tomorrow wandering the town (all 4 blocks of it) and absorbing the Baseball Hall of Fame. Thus ended our first day as victorious, returning Americans. Tomorrow we brave the thronging crowds that will gather to celebrate our National Pastime! (Whew, sounds rigorous, I'd better get some sleep...)

Part 2: The first thing remarkable about Friday is that it dawned noticeably cooler--big yay! Yes, we're here to see "record-breaking feats"...but NOT of the climatalogical kind, thank you very much! So, we aimed for Cooperstown after breakfast, not sure what kinds of teeming masses to expect right before the annual Induction Weekend begins. And we were oh-so-pleasantly surprised; not only did we find parking (10 bucks for the day, which we counted as a true bargain at this premium time), but we strolled right into the Hall of Fame with no line, and had oodles of time and space to read and gawk at and photograph whatever we darn well pleased. Things in the tiny town (literally one stoplight, I kid you not) were hopping, but not out-of-control just yet, since the actual ceremonies take place on Saturday and Sunday (after we bail...we are geniuses, right?) Even though Husband and I had been there once before, we enjoyed revisiting the historical exhibits on Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and the Negro Leagues, and discussing them with Derek and Riley. (Fun...and educational...shhh!) However, the last time he and I went, Cal Ripken Jr. hadn't been inducted yet...so seeing all the articles related to his career with the Orioles--and particularly The Streak--was awesomely nostalgic for us. And of course we spent a good deal of time perusing the rows upon rows of inductees' plaques, pondering the amazing athletes and their stellar careers. But as luck would have it, we also happened to be there when a well-known artist was presenting a workshop, and creating a special picture to hang in the Hall of Fame. This guy uses paper cutouts to create colorful 3-D designs, and for today only, anyone who wanted to could stop by, draw something, and glue it onto the matting that will go around his finished piece. So we all used the Sharpies to draw something baseball-related, and now our contributions will reside in the Hall of Fame...forever! How freakin' cool is that? After that, the boys' brains were packed full-to-overflowing with baseball trivia and such, so we meandered around the streets of Cooperstown (all...2...of them) for a bit. Then we paid a brief visit to Glimmerglass State Park (across Lake Ostego from our hotel) for a short hike and a toe-dipping. When we returned to "our side of the lake", the boys borrowed a canoe from the hotel while I chose the exciting...nap option. (No, I do not need to try yet another mode of transportation in which I'm trapped in a close space with my children.)  Finally, as the sun dipped and the temperature dropped nicely, we ate an alfresco picnic dinner on the deck overlooking the water. Aah...who knew Life on the Road could be so relaxing and peaceful? (At least until tomorrow, when we invade the bustling metropolis of Boston!)