Cooperstown suggestions

[HC]

JR and I are going to Cooperstown, NY next weekend for the Avett Brothers concert at Ommegang Brewery and I figured this would be the best source for what to there AFTER the Baseball Hall of Fame. Whadda ya got?

 

[Huggy]

I enjoyed my time at the Doubleday Cafe. Still use the beer glass I got there.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

There are a couple other museums, such as the Farmer's Museum, which is what it says, and the Cooper Museum, which is an art one.

There is also the lake, which can be used for boat tours.

Also, paying a visit to Doubleday Field is pretty cool, even if there is no game of any sort. It's down the street a few blocks from the HOF.

 

[Monday Morning Sportswriter]

Quick lunches at Manny's, a great sandwich shop and market across from the hof.

My favorite restaurant, Alex and Ika, just closed but it's owners opened a Mexican restaurant in its place. No doubt it's excellent.

Avoid the Cooperstown Diner. Cramped and the food and service aren't very good. It's nowhere near as charming as it looks.

Lots of free sampling at Fly Creek Cider Mill about 5 minutes west of town.

 

[casty33]

There is no other breakfast buffet better than the one at the Otesaga Hotel. Enjoy the bran muffins.

 

[Amy]

There's the Glimmerglass Opera and grounds The Glimmerglass Grounds: Picnics, Walking Trails and Summer Opera in Central NY

and the Fenimore Art Museum Fenimore Art Museum

Back when my division at work was much smaller, we had annual meetings in Cooperstown. Sitting in a rocking chair on the porch of the Otesaga, looking out at the lake, is lovely any time of the day. I've gone canoeing on the lake but I'm sure there are other boating options.

There used to be two bars in town, right across from each other. It was very inexpensive to drink at both. One had an awesome jukebox.

 

[HC]

Sadly, none of my friends are at Glimmerglass this year. The Otesaga looks beautiful but out of our league. We stay at the kind of motels where you park in front of your door.

 

[Amy]

Sadly, none of my friends are at Glimmerglass this year. The Otesaga looks beautiful but out of our league. We stay at the kind of motels where you park in front of your door.

I bet if you walk in the main entrance and walk on back to the porch, no one will ask for your room key.

I never knew there were walking trails, etc at the Glimmerglass. Wish I had.

Also, I think the our impressions of the quality of the jukebox were directly related to the amount of alcohol we consumed in those bars.

 

[RedCanuck]

I second Doubleday Field, it's a really fun place to visit. There's a wax museum on the main street that my wife and I enjoyed when we were there last and it's fun to check out some of the many memorabilia shops in town. The farmer's museum looked like quite a sizeable place too. We would have liked to have checked out the lake and some of the recreational opportunities offered there. There was pro ball down in Oneonta, but I think it's gone now. Also, if you're into Civil War history, there's an impressive monument by what we thought was city hall.

Food-wise, we really liked Sal's Pizza on the main street and we really didn't like the All-American Cafe - we found it really overpriced for what you get. If you're looking for inexpensive lodging, we stayed at the Major League Motor Inn in Fly Creek. Our room was nice, it was considerably less than the hotels in town (many of which were booked for baseball tournaments) and it was about a five-minute drive to the hall.

 

[EStreetJoe]

Howe Caverns is pretty cool, but unfortunately it's 45 minutes from Cooperstown.

 

[Monday Morning Sportswriter]

If you're coming to Cooperstown by way of I-88, stop at Brooks BBQ. Exceptional chicken, served very quickly and inexpensively. They have other stuff, like rubs and sausage, but the chicken is always excellent. www.brooksbbq.com

 

[Baron Scicluna]

I second Howe Caverns. If you just want to go for a scenic drive in the country, it's a good destination, and the tour is fun. Just bring a sweatshirt or a light jacket because it gets cold down in the caves.

 

[Smallpotatoes]

There's a place sort of across the street from Doubleday Field that had the best pancakes I've ever eaten.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

There's a place sort of across the street from Doubleday Field that had the best pancakes I've ever eaten.

Would that be the Shortstop Diner (been decades since I went there) or are we thinking on different places?

 

[I Should Coco]

I'll post on this thread just to get a "like" from HC ...

Seriously, hope you and JR have a good time in Cooperstown. That trip is on the bucket list for me.

 

[HC]

I'll post on this thread just to get a "like" from HC ...

Seriously, hope you and JR have a good time in Cooperstown. That trip is on the bucket list for me.

I'm not a big baseball fan but I LOVE The Avett Brothers so I'm pretty psyched. I'm telling JR he needs to do the Hall of Fame because it will mean something for him. Really looking forward to some serious driving through pretty scenery too.

 

[Small Town Guy]

Went there for first time last week when my parents came to NYC to visit and we rented a car to drive up there. Beautiful drive. We stayed in Holiday Inn just outside of town and when we went to Hall took the trolley into town. That was fun. When we caught it on way back, we were only three on the thing and the driver gave us the little tour part of it. We didn't explore much beyond that, though, but just driving around the next day in our car was fun. My parents loved looking at the huge houses. Although dad was, like, offended that there's a Farmers Museum there. "How can that thing not be in Iowa? They don't know farming here." When we visited the Hall, we got there about 3; it's open till 9 in summer. So by 7 or so we were about only people in the entire place, at one point I walked around third floor and no one else was there. So that could be good time to go, seems like crowds thin out as day goes on.

 

[HC]

We are staying at the Red Carpet Inn and Suites which is almost exactly halfway between the Hall of Fame and the Ommegang Brewery where the concert is being held. Place looks cheap but decent which, coincidentally, is what I thought about JR on our first date.

 

[Smallpotatoes]

Would that be the Shortstop Diner (been decades since I went there) or are we thinking on different places?

Doesn't ring a bell. I think it was TD's or something like that. I haven't been there in 15 years so I can't remember myself.

 

[novelist_wannabe]

Concert and the Hall of Fame are a strong weekend. I wish I'd had time to go to the farmer's museum while I was there, but really, the HOF gives you plenty of bang for your buck. Lake Otsego is beautiful.