Play Ball!

It’s Day 7 and we take a break from the canal to visit Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame.

We share our ambitions with new friends at a bar in Herkimer the night before. Their eyes roll, “you’re gonna ride your bikes up there?” It’s quite an uphill climb apparently and I already know I don’t have the gears for this ride, so we call a cab and ask for a van to pick us up at 8:30 and drive us half way up the mountain to Richfield Springs.

Lest you think we were taking it too easy with this cheat, there was plenty of uphill still ahead on the remaining 12 miles to Cooperstown. We knew the ride back would be easier, but we’d be working hard nonetheless; that took a little off my enjoyment of the Baseball Museum. We had 26 miles to get to Canajoharie and it would be mostly downhill, yes, but a lot of work, too.

Not a lot of hotel choices in Canajoharie, so tonight we’re paying $175 for 2 bedrooms in a very nice B&B, the Window Box Guest House; it’s our most expensive night on the trip. Last night’s Herkimer Motel for $85 was the best value; we took advantage of the washer-dryer to freshen up. Each night we’re washing clothes in the sink, but getting everything dry is the challenge; half the time we wake up to socks still damp.

Lot’s of dinner choices within walking distance; lot’s if you’re out for pizza, that is. We were directed to Mercato’s Pizza Restaurant and the pasta was fantastic.

After dinner it’s barely 7:30, but I’m exhausted. I have the right combination of privacy and cellphone connection to call home. Several days on this trip were so busy that a call home would be cut short, but as the trip winds down I’m looking forward to reconnecting. By 8 o’clock I can’t keep my eyes open; it’s my earliest of a week of early bedtimes, one of the benefits of all this exercise.

The problem with going to sleep at 8, of course, is waking at 3:30am. My ear was tuned to the outside — no sound of rain, so with a little effort I drift off again only to wake at 6 to pouring rain. It’s Day 8 and we’ve got only 70 miles to get to Albany by Friday night. As we approach the city we’ll have several hotel choices and can get out of the weather wherever we must. The rain will keep us on the roads again where the travel is a bit faster; based on the forecast, we’ve seen the last of the Erie Canal trail.