Cooperstown, NY (USA)

[I had planned a trip to visit Carolyn several days ago, but the snowstorm yesterday nearly put a damper on a potential trip north - what a Winter so far! - when I got up this morning (0700L), there was a little bit more snow on our driveway (after hours of shoveling yesterday...) - but I quickly packed and made it out of our neighborhood by 0800L - filled up the tank and headed out on I-95 - saw several accidents as I drove north (jack-knifed tractor trailer truck and half buried cars) but had no problem getting to I-695 and I-83 - by the time I was out of the Baltimore area, I encountered some of the prettiest scenery I've seen in many years - snow covered farms and conifer trees along the (well plowed) interstate highway - hardly any traffic made my drive enjoyable - I spent nearly the whole morning on the phone with people from work (many who claimed they could not get to work - that seemed ridiculous by the time I had entered Pennsylvania) - took a break at the PA Welcome Center and got a road report that speeds dropped to 45 MPH near Hazelton - so I made escape plans (in order: I-78, I-84, I-81 to Syracuse, I-88) - after passing through Harrisburg (got a little off track but found I-81), it became evident that the roads were all passable and the sun was melting snow, so I kept going on my planned route - only slowed down once (near another accident north of Scranton) - when I finally got out of my car again, I was several miles past Binghamton on I-88 - everything working well by that point but I didn't have any wiper fluid left - when I got gas in Port Crane (New York), I began to wish I had another pair of shoes (slush, mud, etc.) - got wiper fluid and continued east - by now, I had heard from Carolyn that she had Valentine's Day plans and might not be able to meet with me before 2200L, so I told her I would find a place to stay - this also allowed me to change plans to visit Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame (on the Bucket List!) - ate lunch (Nicky made) in the car - I got off the interstate at NY-28 and had no trouble finding the town (pretty streets, snow covered lake, quaint homes) - the museum, on the other hand, was not easy to locate... - when I finally found a place to park and walked a bit, I located the HOF (1500L) - my Navy retirement came in handy again and I found I was one of the only people who had come for the day (great time of year for a visit) - what an experience! - I saw all my old heroes (and those of my family and friends) - took lots of pictures and soaked up the whole thing - highlight was the memorial hall with plaques for each member - bought some souvenirs and then got back on the road - had to stop soon after to replenish the wiper fluid - it was getting dark by this point... - I remembered that my co-worker, Rakesh, was "stuck" in Albany from some work he did earlier in the week - I called him and he was still staying at hotel near the Airport - made plans to meet Rakesh for dinner and we ended up going to Carrabas in Latham - the funny part was that we (like many other people) didn't have reservations on one of the busiest "date nights" - we ended up at a table with all the people waiting for two hours to get a booth - we were able to order food and spent the whole night talking to complete strangers about the local area, weather, work, family - what fun! - before we left dinner, I managed to make a reward night reservation at a nearby Holiday Inn Express - after saying goodbye to Rakesh, I drove over to find it and got a bit lost ("Old Loudon Road" vice "Loudon" in it threw me...) - by the time I checked in, I had problems with the room door lock - fortunately, I was rewarded with some food and complimentary beer at the hotel bar, "On Tap" (which was really hopping!!!) - I had a local IPA and then went to my room - watched some TV before bed - off to sleep around midnight...]