Today we awoke to pouring rain. Decided to sleep another hour. After breakfast at the restaurant, we decided to go for a drive around the lake. It’s 9 miles long and 1 1/2 miles wide at it’s biggest point. Then, onto the Farmer’s Museum. We were quite impressed by the set up. They have 30 buildings on 120 acres that depict what life as a farmer would have been like in the mid-1800’s. Joe even got excited because they have the actual Cardiff Giant Hoax on display. After more pbj sandwiches for lunch, we drove across the street to the Fenimore Art Museum. The mansion that stands on this site now is the former spot where James Fenimore Cooper lived. It now houses artwork done by many different cultures. There is even a room dedicated to Cooper and the many stories that he wrote about the region around Otsego Lake (Leatherstocking Tales). Joe and I really enjoyed the Rome paintings. We found James Fenimore Cooper’s grave and monument at a cemetary right outside of town. Back at the hotel, it stopped raining. Went for another walk around town and then back for some reading in our adirondack chairs. Tonight we’re packing up for our return trip home tomorrow.

Ate breakfast this morning at the restaurant located at our Lakefront Motel. It was really good. Off to the Baseball Hall of Fame Museum as it opened. Enjoyed walking through the entire museum. Especially the stuff on the Orioles and Babe Ruth. Even Joe enjoyed himself. We found Cal Ripkin’s induction plaque (but not Harold Baines). Ha ha Dad! Walked back to the hotel (1 block away) for lunch- out of the car again. Then, we took a 1 hour boat cruise of Otsego Lake on the Glimmerglass Queen. Saw incredible views of the lake and surrounding areas.Very sunny today too. Thought we might get a tan on the boat. The Susquehanna River’s headwaters start in Coooperstown, and go all the way to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland (444 miles away). We walked over to the plaque that shows where the Susquehanna starts so Joe could get pictures. Walked around Main St. again and saw Doubleday Field. We drove out of town for dinner at a steak house restaurant. Not great, just local stuff. We’ve been spending our evenings reading out on the adirondack chairs by the lake. Tomorrow, we’re planning on the Farmer’s Museum.

Left Toronto early this morning and drove about 5 1/2 hours to Cooperstown, NY. Now for those of you who aren’t as into baseball as I am, Cooperstown is where baseball was founded and where the National Baseball Hall of Fame is located. Growing up, all I heard about was baseball and the Orioles. I watched games with my dad and knew I could only talk during commericials. We had season tickets and I knew I could only talk at the end of an inning . I love everything about the game. Especially players like Cal Ripkin. He was my favorite. I’m looking forward to going to the hall of fame and seeing his induction items. Got to our hotel around 4:00. We decided to walk around Main St. which is a typical small town street. Most of the stores have baseball memoribilia that they sell. Today we just were window shopping. Ate dinner at The Pub on Pioneer St. Walked back to the hotel. We have a very, very small room. But it’s incredibly clean. Found out though that we don’t have internet service (it’s down in the whole town) and no cell service. Tomorrow, we’ll be going to the Hall of Fame!

Up early again today. Did I forget to mention that there is a union strike here with the garbage people. The garbage bins have filled up and overflowed all over the city. It looks gross and smells even worse. Walked to the largest book store in the world (no kidding) this morning. This bookstore has 12 miles of shelves. Joe said they have an awesome history section. He found 3 books on Poland. I found the book that I’m currently reading and sat down and read about 100 pages. We didn’t leave there till about lunchtime, so we walked across the street and ate our bagged lunch at the mall. Then, hopped on the double-decker bus (our tickets were good for the entire time we’re here) and went to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). Not as impressive as the British Museum or the Louvre but still very interesting. Afterwards we walked about 45 minutes to Little Italy where we ate dinner at Fraschetti’s. Joe had spaghetti (they didn’t have meatballs) and a moretti (beer) and I got manicotti. Then, another hours walk back across town to our hotel. Relaxing now and getting ready for our trip to Cooperstown tomorrow. Back in the states- yea!

Woke up today to pouring rain. Decided to go the Eaton Center, which is a very large 4 story shopping mall. We just walked around and window shopped, but did stop in the book store for an hour and found some good books on tape for the car ride. After lunch we got back on the double-decker tour bus and went to Casa Loma. This is the biggest home in Canada (Biltmore in Asheville, NC is twice as big). Casa Loma has been in several movies including Cocktail, The Pacifier and most recently X-Men- It was the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. Back on the bus through the historic district and then to the entertainment district. Ate dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. This cafe was the first in North America (it was originally called the Roadhouse and was the first place Bob Dylan ever played at). It’s been there for 31 years. Our waitress was great and the food was awesome. Back at the hotel now. We’re going to see a movie tonight. Not sure what, but I’m taking Joe out to dinner and movie/popcorn for our anniversary. Not sure of our plans for tomorrow yet. More to come.