We ended out vacation at Normandy Farms in Foxboro, MA. It was a perfect ending. It was our 35th anniversary, as well. I had called for a restaurant recommendation and they suggested Sky in nearby Norwood. It was a very nice restaurant - great for a special occasion - and their Chocolate Cake dessert was fantastic!!
Normandy was clean and pleasant as always. We spent some time at several of the pools - just relaxing. We enjoyed the downtime very much. We will be back at Normandy over Thanksgiving weekend. It is always easier to get reservations in the off season. We will have to try harder next summer!!
Monday, August 27, 2007
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Cooperstown and The Fields of Dreams
Cooperstown is a small, sort of out-of-the-way place; but if you are a baseball fan it is a place to be. The ride from I90 exit 31 to Cooperstown is somewhat more than an hour on some nice country roads.
We stayed at Beaver Vally Campground; getting in late in the afternoon, so the trip to Cooperstown itself would wait until morning. After getting settled in we went for a walk and found that the campground had two baseball fields. One of which was very very nice and was being prepped for a pair of games the next day. This particular campground uses these fields for instruction and tournaments.
Well Thursday morning we drove to one of the Cooperstown shuttle parking lots and took a very nice trolley ride into town. The driver told us that down town had one stoplight, 2 banks some number of restaurants and 47 baseball stores in addition to the Hall of Fame. I think she was off on the number of baseball stores; there must have been more. There was also Doubleday Field at which there seemed to be some little league playoffs in progress this week.
Well the Hall of Fame is just something else. At this time of year it is open 9 to 9; we paid our admission and got a hand-stamp (a baseball of course) to allow us to go out and come back in. From the front it looks like a small building, but it goes "way back" and there are 3 floors. I certainly can not do justice in describing what is in there, but it has everything. The baseball history is incredible; from original teams and rules; the beginning of the modern day baseball to various player stats that are updated weekly. Barry Bonds' hats from his tying and breaking of Hank Arron's home run record were there and the Home Run stats display had been updated to include his most recent home run. Roger Clemens holds a number of current day pitching stats and considering some of the all-time stats it is my belief that no current pitcher has a chance of ever breaking some of these.
We went out for lunch and to visit some of the shops. We went into a Christmas-Tree shop which had an incredible number of baseball related ornaments and gifts; in addition to some more traditional things. Next to it was an art gallery that had 3D type items that were absolutely fantastic; including the prices. There was a small restaurant where I had a hot dog (what else would one have) that was a few minutes walk from Doubleday field; we could hear that a game was going on.
After lunch it was back to the 'Hall to do the areas we missed. While walking to the broadcasters wing we were passed by Larry King. We are not sure why he was there, but he is an avid baseball fan; and they had his book on sale at the bookstore.
All-in-all if you are a baseball fan you should try to make it there, it was a Home Run of a stop for us. BTW, I did buy something in one of the stores - a Red Sox jacket.
We stayed at Beaver Vally Campground; getting in late in the afternoon, so the trip to Cooperstown itself would wait until morning. After getting settled in we went for a walk and found that the campground had two baseball fields. One of which was very very nice and was being prepped for a pair of games the next day. This particular campground uses these fields for instruction and tournaments.
Well Thursday morning we drove to one of the Cooperstown shuttle parking lots and took a very nice trolley ride into town. The driver told us that down town had one stoplight, 2 banks some number of restaurants and 47 baseball stores in addition to the Hall of Fame. I think she was off on the number of baseball stores; there must have been more. There was also Doubleday Field at which there seemed to be some little league playoffs in progress this week.
Well the Hall of Fame is just something else. At this time of year it is open 9 to 9; we paid our admission and got a hand-stamp (a baseball of course) to allow us to go out and come back in. From the front it looks like a small building, but it goes "way back" and there are 3 floors. I certainly can not do justice in describing what is in there, but it has everything. The baseball history is incredible; from original teams and rules; the beginning of the modern day baseball to various player stats that are updated weekly. Barry Bonds' hats from his tying and breaking of Hank Arron's home run record were there and the Home Run stats display had been updated to include his most recent home run. Roger Clemens holds a number of current day pitching stats and considering some of the all-time stats it is my belief that no current pitcher has a chance of ever breaking some of these.
We went out for lunch and to visit some of the shops. We went into a Christmas-Tree shop which had an incredible number of baseball related ornaments and gifts; in addition to some more traditional things. Next to it was an art gallery that had 3D type items that were absolutely fantastic; including the prices. There was a small restaurant where I had a hot dog (what else would one have) that was a few minutes walk from Doubleday field; we could hear that a game was going on.
After lunch it was back to the 'Hall to do the areas we missed. While walking to the broadcasters wing we were passed by Larry King. We are not sure why he was there, but he is an avid baseball fan; and they had his book on sale at the bookstore.
All-in-all if you are a baseball fan you should try to make it there, it was a Home Run of a stop for us. BTW, I did buy something in one of the stores - a Red Sox jacket.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Niagara Falls US and Canada
We have totally enjoyed Niagara Falls. We have been there 3 of the 4 days we have been in the area. The only thing that took us away from the Falls was a baseball game in Toronto. We are avid Red Sox fans and the idea of seeing a game in the stadium of a team in our AL Division was too much to pass up. Admittedly, it was the Blue Jays vs. the Orioles and not as grand as if the Red Sox had been in town. (But, if they had we would not have been able to just walk up and buy good seats, day of game!!) The game was great and we enjoyed the stadium - it is a great place to watch a baseball game. I think when we came back into they US, the custom's agent was a Yankees fan - he asked who we had rooted for - and we said it was hard to decided because we are Red Sox fans. He than said that "we all have our down sides". Sounded like a Yankees fan to me!! Anyway, I tried to root for the Blue Jays - they were the home team. But, I found myself rooting for Kevin Millar and Jaye Payton - both ex-sox players and currently Orioles. In the end the Blue Jays won in the 10th inning and it was a great game.
Back to the Falls - we have seen the falls at night from the US side and the Canadian side. They are spectacular with the illumination. We rode the Maid of the Mist which is a boat that takes you along the bottom of the American Falls and to the base of Horseshoe falls (CAN). It is impressive to feel that much water surging into the boat. Makes you realize that nature and its forces are just spectacular. Taking pictures is difficult; when you rais your arms to take the picture a torent of water runs down your arms. If you forget to roll up your paints; well you can guess what happens.
We ate lunch one day on the US side overlooking the American Falls and one day overlooking the Falls on the Canadian side. We did the Cave of the Wind attraction on the US side. It has walkways that allow to walk to the base of the Bridal Veil Falls. It is just amazing to be in the midst of all of that water. And the wind created by the water is impressive. We then went over to the Canadian side and did the Journey Behind the Falls, which takes you behind Horseshoe Falls. You can look out into a wall of water that roars and looks more like sheets of watery Mylar that Disney might use than tons and tons of water. But, they are both superb attractions.
So can we answer the question - which is better the Canadian side of the falls or the US side? Absolutely not. They are both fantastic. But, they are very different. On the US side the falls are surrounded by an National Park - the first one ever. There is lots of open space and lots of opportunities to see the head of fall, the rapids approaching the falls, and all sorts of wonderful things. The Canadian side seems more commercial. But, very well maintained. The view of the falls from that side is spectacular and provided a more panoramic view of all of the falls. But, I still can't say that one is better than the other. Try them both. We did.
You can drive from the US to Canada and back over the Rainbow Bridge. Cost is about $3.50 US and about 25 minutes or more in traffic. You can walk to Canada from the US in about 25 minutes. But, you do have to pay $.50US to return. And if you don't have change, the change machines seem not to want to make change. So you have to visit the Duty Free Shop. And, unless, you are well disciplined, who can resist. So, the cost to get back into the US is about $30US.
During our 4 days here, we visited Canada almost every day. On entering Canada, the question was always "Why are you visiting Canada." Why did it seem so obvious that I wanted to see the Falls!! The typical question on returning to the US was "How long have you been in Canada?" Why was I always embarrassed to say 2 hours?
If any of you are going to visit the Falls, here are a few pointers. Realize that you WILL get wet. You may not want to; you may wear those very stylish ponchos. But, you will get very wet. Enjoy it. And if you are planning to do the Cave of the Wind and The Maid of the Mist, do the Cave first. They provide you a poncho and some very comfortable waterproof sandals for the tour. Use these for the boat, as well. Then you feet, shoes and socks will be dry. Ours were not!!
We are off to Cooperstown tomorrow. We will write more.
Back to the Falls - we have seen the falls at night from the US side and the Canadian side. They are spectacular with the illumination. We rode the Maid of the Mist which is a boat that takes you along the bottom of the American Falls and to the base of Horseshoe falls (CAN). It is impressive to feel that much water surging into the boat. Makes you realize that nature and its forces are just spectacular. Taking pictures is difficult; when you rais your arms to take the picture a torent of water runs down your arms. If you forget to roll up your paints; well you can guess what happens.
We ate lunch one day on the US side overlooking the American Falls and one day overlooking the Falls on the Canadian side. We did the Cave of the Wind attraction on the US side. It has walkways that allow to walk to the base of the Bridal Veil Falls. It is just amazing to be in the midst of all of that water. And the wind created by the water is impressive. We then went over to the Canadian side and did the Journey Behind the Falls, which takes you behind Horseshoe Falls. You can look out into a wall of water that roars and looks more like sheets of watery Mylar that Disney might use than tons and tons of water. But, they are both superb attractions.
So can we answer the question - which is better the Canadian side of the falls or the US side? Absolutely not. They are both fantastic. But, they are very different. On the US side the falls are surrounded by an National Park - the first one ever. There is lots of open space and lots of opportunities to see the head of fall, the rapids approaching the falls, and all sorts of wonderful things. The Canadian side seems more commercial. But, very well maintained. The view of the falls from that side is spectacular and provided a more panoramic view of all of the falls. But, I still can't say that one is better than the other. Try them both. We did.
You can drive from the US to Canada and back over the Rainbow Bridge. Cost is about $3.50 US and about 25 minutes or more in traffic. You can walk to Canada from the US in about 25 minutes. But, you do have to pay $.50US to return. And if you don't have change, the change machines seem not to want to make change. So you have to visit the Duty Free Shop. And, unless, you are well disciplined, who can resist. So, the cost to get back into the US is about $30US.
During our 4 days here, we visited Canada almost every day. On entering Canada, the question was always "Why are you visiting Canada." Why did it seem so obvious that I wanted to see the Falls!! The typical question on returning to the US was "How long have you been in Canada?" Why was I always embarrassed to say 2 hours?
If any of you are going to visit the Falls, here are a few pointers. Realize that you WILL get wet. You may not want to; you may wear those very stylish ponchos. But, you will get very wet. Enjoy it. And if you are planning to do the Cave of the Wind and The Maid of the Mist, do the Cave first. They provide you a poncho and some very comfortable waterproof sandals for the tour. Use these for the boat, as well. Then you feet, shoes and socks will be dry. Ours were not!!
We are off to Cooperstown tomorrow. We will write more.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Arrived
We have arrived at Fourmile Creek Campground. It seems quite nice. Very quiet and the sites are very "outdoorsy". Lots of tents and popup - and Motorhomes as well. We are off to see the Falls at night. It should be interesting.
We are big baseball fans - particularly Red Sox!! I had checked the Toronto Blue Jay schedule and determined that they were out of town. Well, we just checked again - and I was wrong!! So, tomorrow we will try to see the Blue Jays and Orioles at Rogers Center. Then we will try to see the fireworks at Niagara Falls tomorrow night. That should be a full and enjoyable day. We'll let you know.
We are big baseball fans - particularly Red Sox!! I had checked the Toronto Blue Jay schedule and determined that they were out of town. Well, we just checked again - and I was wrong!! So, tomorrow we will try to see the Blue Jays and Orioles at Rogers Center. Then we will try to see the fireworks at Niagara Falls tomorrow night. That should be a full and enjoyable day. We'll let you know.
Niagara Falls or Bust
We are off again!! For our 35th anniversary, we decided to visit Niagara Falls. We have never been there and thought it was about time. We are travelling down the NY Thruway and should reach Four Mile Creek this afternoon. The weather is fine - a bit cool but bright and sunny. Last night was very windy and rainy. We decided to pull of the highway just in time - we were settled in the Denny's parking lot when it started to rain and the wind really picked up. So, for once, our timing was excellent!!
More to come later.
More to come later.
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