Camp Joan - Day 3 - Sluggers and Sheep

Theo's obsession continues.
Today we went down to Cooperstown, New York, the home of baseball and, more famously, the Hall of Fame. The hour long drive was totally worth it.
We stopped about two blocks away and headed in. The line wasn't very long, which was good. All four of us walked upstairs to the second floor and went down the hallway. The old equipment was very primitive (strangely enough). The gloves were literally gloves, and the catchers masks were so wirey. Theo and I both agreed that a ball could probably slip into one of the gaps in the masks.

The second floor was mostly about the evolution of baseball. There were some special sections, like ones for Babe Ruth, women baseball players (Go Chicks!) and colored ballplayers. However, I found the Viva Baseball! section the best, mainly because of the upbeat music and highlights of Latino athletes.

Now, we get into modern baseball. We saw an entire locker room with all of the team's uniforms (According to Theo, Mile's favorite room. By the way, Miles, we will fufill your request: Theo will get more screen time. Also, Dad, there was some Pete Rose gear.), World Series victories, retired numbers (Apparently, all the teams have had Jackie Robinson on their team, since that was retired on every single team.) and some other stuff. Chase Utley's cleats and the sunseed barrel were my favorite.

More membroilla and jerseys and whatnot, and we were on the third floor. The third floor was dedicated to the experience itself - the stadiums, the cards (Yes, any collecters out there, we saw the Holy Grail - The Honus Wager T-whatever.), the mascots, the signs that people bring to the ballpark, stuff like that. Then, we lugged our way downstairs and looked at all of the plaques (I took video of walking down the hallway and whatnot. It'll be posted soon...). Naturally, Theo had to see all of the players on the plauqes, so we waited for 5 minutes while he observed each one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adq4PhZ38ew - Hall of Fame Plaques

We exited and went down to the docks off of Lake Idon'tknow. We ate our PB&J sandwhiches and watched as some boats came in and out. There was a HUGE carp roaming the lake floor, and Theo took a picture of it. I don't know if it came out good or not. Anyway, we went up to DoubleDay Field, the first baseball field ever. EVER. The first of all-time. We all watched the bottom half of the fifth inning. Apparently, the DD field isn't home to the first baseball field - also to the Cooperstown Hawkeyes (Who?). I have no idea who they played. We left after the third out and went down to the car. About 2 minutes worth of driving later, we stopped at the Farmers Museum.

The Musuem far exceeded my expectations. For starters, the Cardiff Giant was there (For those of you who don't know the story...Google it. I'm not telling you!). I expected the bathrooms to be like an outhouse, but I was wrong. They did not reek of feecees stench.

I also expected it to be, well, like a museum. Like, all of the tools that a farmer has used over the years, the first tractors, stuff like that. I was TOTALLY wrong. It was a real farm! There was even a village from the 1840's. The first place that we went was the part that was like the State Fair. There was a fake cow to milk, and plenty of games. After that, we went to the farms. First, we went behind a barn where a bunch of (rowdy) goats were horsing around (no farm pun intended). There were some tree stumps in the middle of the fenced-in area that Molly, Theo and I decided to stand on. Well, the goats wanted in, too. We were forced off by the goats, and we continued on our way, where we went into another barn and milked a cow. I thing Uncle Len took a video of me doing that. If so, it'll come...it'll come...



We went across the rocky road to see the sheep. Apparently, the people who owned the place needed the sheep to get from Point A to Point B. And who volunteered to help? Yours truly. The gate opened and Molly, Theo, and I chased after the sheep, to make sure they went in the barn. They rounded the corner instead of going in the front way, and Theo and I accelerated after them.

Let me just point out that I am not a very fast runner. I always finish last in the relay races, and the thought of me being on the trach team makes me shudder. However, I somehow managed to run almost as fast as Theo, and both of us were near the sheep, and those sheep were very, very fast. It turns out they weren't planning to escape-they went in the back way. Do'h!
After looking at most of the animals, we decided to head back to campgrounds. It was probably the best day we have had so far at Camp Joan.


Quote of the day:
"It feels so wierd!" - Dan, while milking a cow.


PHOTOS: