Cooperstown 2018

The only good thing about being SO LATE with updating my blog with my 2018 trip recaps is that I get to reminisce while going through all the photos. So many fun memories- I love it.

So, last July some friends and I went to Cooperstown to the Baseball Hall of Fame for Induction Weekend. Cooperstown had been on my bucket list since I was a kid so I was BEYOND excited to go. I lucked out that not only did I get to go during Induction Weekend (probably the best weekend of the year there), BUT I got to go when Chipper Jones was being inducted into the Hall of Fame. He is my second favorite Atlanta Braves player. If it wasn't for Steve Avery (who stole my heart first), y'all would know me as Chipperfan. Lol.

I made the trip with my friends John, Corina, Rodger, and Irene. They were amazing travel buddies, we had such a good time. I wasn't sure I would be able to go on the trip until a few months before we left, so by the time I purchased my plane ticket, there were no seats available near them. Part of my 40 Through 40 list was to fly first class at least once, so I splurged and bought a first class ticket (pinkies out). This proved to be a big mistake because now I'm a plane snob and want to fly first class all the time. Lol. 

They gave me a Dr Pepper before we even took off

We flew into New York City and rented a car to make the drive to Cooperstown (which is about three hours from the NYC). We flew in on a Thursday and arrived in Cooperstown about 5pm. The Hall of Fame had extended hours for the Induction weekend, so the museum was still open when we arrived. Everyone else had been before, so they decided to hit up some shops while I went to the museum. I lucked out because it wasn't that crowded, so I got some great photos of the exhibits without a ton of people in the background.

Fun story. When I got to the front door an older gentleman was walking up the ramp with a walker. I decided to wait and hold the door for him. He thanked me as he walked in and I thought to myself, that man looked a lot like Rod Carew. I decided I would check out the gift shop before touring the museum and as I walked over to it, I noticed the older gentleman sitting on a bench with a small crowd around him. I was like, okay, that's DEFINITELY Rod Carew. He was happily talking to everyone, so I walked over to him (I'm not shy). When he saw me, he was like, "it's the young lady who held the door for me." We made small talk (because of course I just make small talk with a Hall of Famer). When I said I was from Dallas, he was like, "My heart doctor is from Dallas, I like people from Dallas." He was a sweetheart and he even took a photo with me.

Hall of Famer Rod Carew. I didn't notice his shirt until I sat down to take a photo with him. It literally says Rod Carew. Lol.

The Hall of Fame was amazing. I honestly felt like little kid at Disneyland or something- I was that giddy. I spent a few hours in the museum on Thursday night (because I'm the person who has to read everything in a museum). I only got through the first floor and half of the second floor on Thursday, so the next day I went back to finish my tour. It was a little more crowded then, but that was okay. The best thing about Cooperstown is that everyone there is a baseball fan. You don't care what team people around you like, you all are fans of the same sport. Cooperstown is a place where even Yankees and Red Sox fans get along. :)

The street that the Hall of Fame is located on has a ton of gift shops and sidewalk sales. It has a small town feel and I loved it. During Induction Weekend they closed off part of the main street so visitors didn't have to worry about cars driving up and down the road. That weekend there were a ton of former players at different locations signing autographs (for a fee, but some were fairly inexpensive). And most of the players took a photo with you after the autograph. I lucked out and ran into a few players just walking around the town, and got photos with them that way.

Top (l-r): Darryl Strawberry (for the record, he approached me and my friend and started talking. We just asked if we could have a photo and he said yes); Bert Blyleven (he played for the Rangers in 1976-77); Frank Thomas (he calls himself the original Frank Thomas. He was a peach-he played for the Pirates in the 50s and I mentioned meeting Phil the usher when I was in Pittsburgh. He said he was good friend with Phil); Bottom (l-r) Pedro Sierra (he played in the Negro League); Dan Gladden (he played for the 1991 Twins, who sadly beat the Braves in the World Series that year); Pete Rose (who isn't in the Hall of Fame, because well, you know why) 

In one of the shops, an artist named Justyn Farano had set up a bunch of his paintings to sell. He's an amazing artist- check out his website here. His paintings were great, but were out of my price range (and also it would have been impossible to get on an airplane), so I opted to buy a print of three of his paintings (which were MUCH cheaper, and easier to put in my carry on). 

He said he almost didn't bring the Beltre prints because he didn't think they would sell, but he almost ran out of them (granted me and my friends purchased four of them). Lol. And of course I got the Chipper print and the Class of 2018 print. 

Saturday was parade day but we had a full day of autographs and sightseeing before the parade that evening. We purchased lawn chairs at a local Dollar General so we could mark our spot for the parade. That's another great thing about Cooperstown, people respected other people's property. We set up our chairs on Friday night and no one had touched them or moved them on Saturday morning. 

Saturday was also Braves day for me, mainly because I had an autograph session with former Braves manager Bobby Cox. I wore my Steve Avery shirtsey and received SO MANY COMPLIMENTS from other Braves fans who passed by me. 

The guy in the photo made these amazing baseball signs (it was out of my price range for that trip, but maybe one day I'll get one). When I walked by and he saw my Avery shirt, he was like, Steve is a good friend of mine. He asked if he could take a photo to send Steve. I said sure but was like, oh, he knows who I am. Lol. I think I've mentioned before on here that Steve and I are Facebook friends. :)

My friends and I once again split up (because they had autograph sessions that I didn't), and I walked around checking out the various booths. I passed by the booth of Dan Schlossberg. He has written many books, including one about the Braves of the 90s and early 2000s (that caught my attention). He complimented my Avery shirtsey as well and said he knew Steve too (EVERYONE KNOWS STEVE AVERY HERE- I HAVE FOUND MY PEOPLE). I opened the book and the page I happened to turn to had a photo of Steve Avery. SOLD. 

There was another book booth set up next to Mr. Schlossberg's (because I'm the girl who goes on vacation and buys books). The book was about the legacy of Babe Ruth. Since I visited his museum in Baltimore a few months earlier, I stopped to hear more about it. I made small talk with the author and then he introduced the gentleman sitting next to him- that man was Babe Ruth's grandson, Tom Stevens. Of course I had to buy the book. I'm gonna need a bookshelf for just my sports books at some point. 

The man standing next to me is Babe Ruth's grandson Tom Stevens. Next to him is the author, Jerry Amernic

It was almost time for my Bobby Cox autograph session so I made my way to the shop where he would be signing. The ticket information said he would be signing outside on the sidewalk in front of the card shop. When I got there it was organized chaos. Pedro Martinez was also signing at that same shop, on the same sidewalk. No one knew where lines were beginning or ending. I saw some guys wearing Braves shirts so I assumed they were there for Bobby Cox. We made small talk (yes, I tend to do that with everyone). They were from New York but grew up watching the Braves on TBS (like me). We joked that we were the TBS kids that ESPN did a story on a few years ago. Anyway, Bobby Cox was outside for about 3 minutes when they realized it was just going to be too hot for him (the man is 78 years old after all). So they moved him inside. So they had to move the autograph line inside. My new friends and I made a conga line so we didn't get separated and made our way inside the shop. They were nice enough to take my photo when Mr. Cox was signing for me (they weren't allowing posed photos with him). We decided to celebrate surviving The Bobby Cox Autograph Signing of 2018 with some beverages, so we went to a restaurant across the street. 

I spent the rest of the day hanging out with my new friends. They decided to get Leo Mazzone's autograph (former pitching coach for the Braves), and they offered to pay for mine. When Leo saw my Avery shirt, he was like, I love Avs (same Leo, same). John Smoltz (former Braves pitcher and Hall of Famer, for the non baseball people reading) was sitting at a table next to Leo. Smoltz was charging $199 for an autograph so I had passed on that opportunity. I just wanted a photo but you had to buy an autograph in order to get a photo. Smoltz didn't have a line at that moment (I think he was on a break), so I took the opportunity to just walk up and say hi. He was very nice. I apologized for bothering him (he said it was no bother). I rambled on about growing up watching him play and thanked him for being there that weekend. I then asked if I could just have a photo, and he smiled and said absolutely. Boom. Free photo with Smoltz.

My new friends. And some former Braves. :)

At this point, it was almost parade time. I took video instead of photos during that, so I don't really have photos of the parade. I'm having issues getting a video to post on here, but just trust me when I tell you that Chipper waved at me as he went by. :)

After the parade ended, our time at Cooperstown was sadly coming to an end. I said goodbye to my new friends (after becoming friends on social media, so we could keep in touch), and my peeps and I headed back to our AirBnb (which was about 40 minutes from Cooperstown). It was a super cute place in the middle of nowhere, but during Induction Weekend, rooms are hard to find near Cooperstown.

My baseball peeps!!

We left the next day for New York City, which is where we parted ways. My friends were going to head on to Cleveland from there and I was going to stay in NYC for the week visiting some friends. I'll post my NYC trip recap in another post. :)

XOXO!