July 11, 2016 New York

Monday, July 11

A delightful 58 degrees at 6:30 AM when we drive the loop through the Montezuma National Wildlife Preserve.  Lots of mist on the water, many swallows scooping up bugs, dew-bespeckled spider webs and more.  

These two fawns seemed confused as to what they should do, but eventually disappeared into the brush, following their mother.

 Apparently the geese like to sleep on the road – probably because it holds heat.

We continue east through Skaneateles and are definitely in apple country, with many orchards and stands.  The corn fields here are only about a foot high – it was 3-4 feet in Lancaster.  

We decide to take a short detour to the Remington Arms & Ammunition company in Llion, which includes a museum.  Begun in 1816 by Eliphalet Remington, it is America’s oldest gunmaker and displays a range of styles and types as they evolved.  Interesting to gun collectors, I'm sure.

They also made bicycles briefly.

From here we head south on 28 towards Cooperstown and yet another Hall of Fame (Baseball).   But first, we stop for some Cider donuts at Fly Creek Cider Mill.  A popular spot, they sell all sorts of jams, spreads, salsas, etc. as well as apples, cider and whatnots and geegaws.  They also have a nice display of old time presses, apple corers and peelers.

Various apple peeling machines

 Cooperstown, founded in 1786, is next.  We decide to park in one of the remote lots and take a trolley to the the Hall, which is right downtown.

 We discover that baseball is much older than football, going back to the mid-1800’s.  Consequently, there are many more displays, records, famous players and such.  It begins with a small display on each current team, then delves into history.

 There are films and photos of amazing plays, and statistics for every possible baseball-related event.  Nearly everyone, it seems, holds the record for SOMETHING.

Babe Ruth

This one is for Mom

There are areas on Women in baseball, and another for Hispanics in baseball, and quite a lot on the Negro leagues and integration of the major leagues. 

Rather than busts, the Hall of Fame here has a bronze plaque for each player.  This year’s inductees are Ken Griffey Jr and Mike Piazza.

This one's for Bryan :)

Tonight we find a spot at the Cobleskill Walmart, which has a separate area for overnighters that is quiet.  There are three of us spending the night.  Tomorrow we will head into MA.