We were staying less than an hour from the Baseball Hall of Fame, so Eric figured we should take advantage of the proximity since when would we be in central NY again? Indeed.

We visited on a Thursday in the late afternoon and I was pleased at the small town feel of Cooperstown. As the town wasn’t very busy, we managed to snag a parallel parking spot practically right across the street from the museum (in the shade, so nice and cool for pup) and within walking distance of several restaurants on Main Street.

Inside the museum, I was surprised to discover that all the items in the extensive collection are donated; the Hall of Fame doesn’t purchase any memorabilia. To my relief, there was plenty of history and interesting items to keep us busy for close to three hours. One of my favorite things was a Ladies ONLY ticket to a Cubs game and we even saw a pair of girls take a photo of themselves flicking off the LA Dodgers team locker.

Of course, I took tons of photos of Chicago Cubs stuff. :)

We were running out of steam by the time we got to the Hall of Fame inductee room, but found a few of our favorites.

Something to note is that your admission gets you in for the whole day, so you can visit in the morning, take a break for lunch and come back in the afternoon. Plus, it’s not a requirement, but almost everyone was wearing their favorite team gear, and it was highly variable, not just Yankees fans!

After her shady nap, pup needed a walk, so we strolled around town checking out restaurant menus and enjoying the view of Lake Otsego.

We finished the evening with a lovely dinner at Nicoletta’s Italian Cafe on Main Street.