The last week of July the Bumbles are taking a vacation. We are headed out on the road from Boston to cover Cooperstown, Niagara Falls and Toronto in the course of a week.
This whole trip started off as a weekend jaunt over to Cooperstown, NY for Jim Rice's induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Jim Rice was Andy's favorite Red Sox player growing up and he was finally elected into the Hall on his last year of eligibility. Since it is only about a 4 or 5 hour trip from Boston there will be plenty of Sox fans making the trip. The ceremony is free and held outside so it will be so packed. Since Cooperstown is a pretty small place, we got creative and made a reservation at a camp ground on a lake outside of town. We also decided to stay a day after the ceremony to visit the Hall of Fame after everyone else has headed home. We've been there before, but there's always something new to see - like Jim Rice's induction plaque and bust, and those Red Sox World Series rings.
Molly got to thinking about the trip she made to Cooperstown as a little girl when living in Upstate NY. In addition to Cooperstown and the Finger Lakes her family also took trips to Niagara Falls. When she realized that Andy had never been to Niagara Falls a road trip vacation was born.
Since the Canadian side of the falls is prettier, this means that the road trip will require passports. Staying amongst the tourist traps however isn't that tempting. Molly's mom, as well as a friend from Vancouver, recommended the town of Niagara on the Lake which is outside of the Falls and filled with wineries and spas. So now our weekend camping trip to Cooperstown has evolved into a full vacation across the border to tourist wonders and expensive resorts.
And since we've already stretched out the trip we figured that while we are in the area, we might as well take the short drive over to Toronto. Sadly the Blue Jays aren't in town while we plan to be there, but Candians care more about hockey than baseball anyway. And since Andy is also a big hockey fan it only makes sense that we visit the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto to complete the sports museum theme.
On the way back to Boston we will need to stop somewhere in NY to break up the drive and since a friend of Molly's dad has a restaurant in the picturesque village of Clinton (located in Central NY near Utica) it seems nice to end a long drive with friendly food.
We like to explore off the beaten path and ask the locals about their favorite spots. Have you been to any of the places we plan to visit, or any interesting spots along the way worth a detour? We are still looking for lodging in Canada and restaurant suggestions all along the way. So now we turn to you, dear readers, to help us plan our journey. Leave your recommendations in the Comments and if we're able to use your advice we'll provide a post about it upon our return.
5 comments:
Your road trip sounds like so much fun. I don't have any tips for you other than to tell you to have a great time, take lots of pictures and drive safely. I think that is the standard line.
Wish I could help, but I haven't been to that part of the world for a long time and, frankly, I'm still drooling over the idea of your getting to go to Cooperstown. I have never been, though both my sons have. It sounds like a wonderful trip! Enjoy.
When I was a kid we went to Canada and did not need passports, I guess they changed it? One of my favorite places in the Northeast is Lake Placid New York, I don't know if you could make that work, but it is a great little town to visit!
On another note... Jim Rice was an awesome baseball player! A true Yankee killer, on the same level as George Brett. He was putting up !00 RBI seasons year after year, when it used to be difficult to do! As a Yankees fan, I think that he had to wait way too long to go into the hall! Talent has to be rewarded, even if he was the enemy!
Sounds fun. I love Niagara Falls and yes the Canadian side is prettier and a better place to stay, the best thing to do there is on the American side. http://www.niagarafallsstatepark.com/Activities_CaveOfTheWinds.aspx We've done it 3 times and it never gets old. Have a great trip!
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