Cooperstown, NY

Sunday and Monday we spent a packed two days in the quaint and beautiful little village called Cooperstown. Known as the baseball capital of the world, it was a perfect trip centered around this American pastime. My friend Mariah's little brother Walker was playing in a tourney at the Cooperstown Dreams Park, and we trekked up toward Albany to be a part of the action.

Our first stop of the trip was Brooks House of Bar-B-Que. We called ahead and grabbed take-out to eat on the picnic tables while Theodore continued to nap in the car beside us. I normally don't eat chicken off the bone, but this was excellent stuff. I liked that it was a dry barbeque, without the sauce, though Brian and I both agreed it would be good to have a little sauce to dip the breast meat in. This was one of many places we visited that Rachael Ray suggested in her Aug 09 magazine. That article alone was enough to get me up to Cooperstown.

Our first stop in Cooperstown itself was the National Baseball Hall of Fame. It seemed like we had to look all over town, but we eventually found a parking spot right behind the museum. I would definitely suggest looking into the park and ride trains or trolleys to avoid the parking issues next time. We had an enjoyable time here, as anyone who knows Brian knows how he can read every article in a museum and spend the whole day soaking up information. I had to drag him out of there so we could get to Cooperstown Dreams park for one of Walker's games. When we got there they weren't doing too hot, but they soon put Walker in to pitch and the Wizards won a great game.

The next day, after an early morning game, we headed to Brewery Ommegang to have a tasting of the Belgian brews, and enjoy the scenery. A free tour accompanied the tasting, though I was disappointed they didn't actually have the bottling going. I would have loved to see that. After trying all the brews, I was able to finally get a handle on just what kind of ales I like (and don't). I always end up asking Brian if I'll like something, because I can never remember all the different kinds. I of course liked their lightest beer Witte, but also enjoyed Rare Vos as a great drink, and appreciated the quadruple Three Philosophers, though that may be partly because she had us try it with a side of dark chocolate. I wasn't a big fan of the BPA or the Abbey Ale (maybe the licorice turned me off?), but would love to try their Hennepin with some roasted chicken.

From here we followed Rachel Ray's advice to Alex and Ika where I agree that the BST (bacon, spinach, tomato) is a great sammy, and the fingerling potato fries live up to their praises (the Chipotle Aioli Dip was to die for). The last establishment we visited was The Penguin, an ice cream shop that boasted "custom ice cream". They basically take regular hard ice cream and blend in your toppings, more like a DQ Blizzard than a Cold Stone Mix-In but still being hard ice cream, not soft. I had a cone with butter pecan though and thought it was pretty great.

We enjoyed one last game before we headed back from an awesome trip.

Little Pond State Campground, Catskills

One of the downers about Delaware is that we don't get a Fall Break (compared to the week or two that Arizona gets). However, this year we got a 4-day weekend for Columbus day due to furlough days that were originally professional development days. As soon as that schedule change was announced, we started planning for our annual autumn camping trip.

Brian has been wanting to get a little farther away, so we made New York the fifth state we've camped in by heading up toward the Catskills. Brian found a nice little campground called Little Pond State Campground, and reserved site number 3.

We left Saturday morning, and drove about four and a half hours to find the red and gold colors of fall in New York state.

Brian cooked great food all weekend, and kept a good fire to keep me warm. We went for a very, very long hike on Sunday, and paid for it with cramping legs in the cold tent in the middle of the night, but other than that it was pretty enjoyable. It was our first time camping with Cori, and she did a great job. It was pretty amusing when she whined to get in to the empty tent so she could take a nap on the blankets. We spent a lot of time enjoying our alone time, and talking about this little babe that is going to change our lives very, very soon.

The weekend went by way too quickly.

We stayed at Little Pond until the last seconds of our reservation, and then headed back home taking a more scenic route. We just used the atlas and the straightest lines possible, rather than the mapquest directions that got us there. We visited a few covered bridges, and found a good cafe to stop at for lunch, Chrissie's Corner Store in Matamoras, PA. Brian was dieing for coffee, and I had been wanting ice cream for days, so we spent a good hour looking for a place that would serve both. We finally stumbled across the Inside Scoop, where Brian was very excited to get teaberry ice cream. Apparently, he loves that flavor.

Day Trip: New York City

When I was younger, I developed a real fascination with NYC. I have no idea where it came from (Felicity-maybe?), but it was so serious that I actually applied to (and was accepted to) NYU. I would have gone there had I not decided between following the man who was to be my husband to ASU, or my friends to Purdue. However, up to this day, I have never set foot in the city. We finally remedied that situation.

We took a shopping trip today.

New York City is about 135 miles from our house. It is actually a quick jump away; about two hours (and $8) on a swiftly moving Jersey turnpike put us within sight of the city. Brian was very disappointed that I didn't scream when I saw the Empire State Building (as I did when we saw the Hollywood sign), but that has never been such an icon for me.  But seeing the city for the first time was memorable.

We then exited before the London Tunnel (the only bad traffic we got into) and parked in Hoboken, New Jersey (a very-very cute little neighborhood). We paid $7.50 each way to take an 8 min ferry ride across the Hudson River, and we were finally on Manhattan soil (well, concrete).  A bus/train would have been cheaper, but not as scenic.

For once in my life I wore comfortable shoes, and it was for very good reason. We walked many miles across the town, mostly window shopping throughout the borough. We saw so much in such a short time-Times Square, Broadway, all the high-end stores on 5th Ave, the tree in Rockefeller Center, and the horse-and-buggy carriage rides in Central Park. It was so crowded, but it didn't really bother me that much.

Interesting sights and sounds included: the smell of roasting nuts on every other street corner, the guy in Central Park who offered us a map and illegal substances, and the very tall "woman" with a surprisingly deep voice working at Macy's.

One of the interesting parts of the holiday season is all of the elaborate store window displays that all the stores put up.

*I was very proud of my husband, when he visited all 10 floors of Macy's (both buildings). Without complaining!*

Walking back toward the dock, we spotted this little place in the Garment District. Of course it intrigued Brian, so we ate their for dinner. It was pretty good.

We took this picture back across the river in New Jersey, with the Empire State Building right behind us. We will definitely be back to take in more sights... the Guggenheim, MET, Statue of Liberty, and seeing a play on Broadway are on my list for next time.