Next stop on our vacation was Cooperstown, New York … home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Our home base was the amazing Landmark Inn. We enjoyed our lodging, our dining, and the company of the owners and staff. And the art throughout the home was amazing including this lovely mantle top display.
We loved breakfast each morning two (with two different dining seatings, which was a nice touch since often at B&Bs that breakfast is much too late for our liking).
And there were S’Mores at 7pm every night in their lovely back yard that backed-up to a gurgling creek. I was certainly in my happy place.
The location of the Inn was perfection. It allowed us to walk to almost all of our destinations, which included the laundromat.
At the Baseball Hall of Fame, the suggested order was to go to the top floor and work your way down. Rod wanted to instead start on the first floor, which turned out to be a magical decision. We had the room with the plaques completely to ourselves for over an hour … it was magical and perfect after we had both gotten teary-eyed watching the movie.
It was fun seeing artifacts from so many of our favorite Cardinals players, including Rod’s favorite player Curt Flood.
And of course, it’s not baseball without the San Diego Chicken.
We really enjoyed this experience.
And I loved that there was a room of baseball-themed art.
We also loved visiting the Fenimore Art Museum, where we were completely blown away by the fact that they had the Linda McCartney photography retrospective – From the Light … and Faded Elegance: Portraits of Havana by Michael Eastman. Such an unexpected treat (that allowed no photography).
And there was no shortage of delicious dining. We loved our meal at Norbu, where I tried Rasmalai for the first time … so refreshing.
We also had two delicious meals at Toscana … the first time for perfectly cooked duck & steak and the second time for Pasta (the servings are absolutely huge).
I also went to a juried art show that was at the Cooperstown Art Association Galleries … there were some truly lovely pieces including this one by the talented Leslie Yolen.
Upon leaving Cooperstown, we made one more New York stop in Hyde Park at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. I didn’t realize he built the first Presidential library on his property when he was still in office, and then ultimately donated it as a National Park.
Despite having read quite a bit on my idol Eleanor, I still learned some things from the Exhibits.
And I loved that there was an exhibit on all of the things Eleanor accomplished after FDR’s death (including her suitcase).
Remember, if you want to see more photos of our adventures, you can find them on my Instagram account @smilynstef.