By Jake Fernung
It is now Sunday and we are all back from Cooperstown. The trip is officially over. Wednesday through Saturday many memories were shared, and being able to visit Baseball’s Hall of Fame was nothing short of an awesome experience, completely living up to and exceeding expectations. The Hall of Fame itself was definitely a sight to see. I was amazed at all the artifacts dating back to before baseball was known as baseball. It was also fun to see more recent artifacts and to re-live moments of my childhood. Listening to librarian Jim Gates and curator Erik Strohl was so cool, as both were incredibly knowledgeable and shared inside information and individual memories.
The location of the Hall of Fame is very interesting, being in the middle of Cooperstown, which is essentially in the middle of nowhere. The small downtown area didn’t take long to see, but the numerous baseball shops, each one somehow unique, were fun to explore. I bought some baseball cards and a hat as souvenirs. The food was decent but overpriced (as is much of the stuff in Cooperstown), and I ate a lot of pizza and cheeseburgers. After our days were done downtown, returning to the hotel and then proceeding to watch postseason baseball as a group was also a good time. Overall, the trip was a great time with a great group of people. I learned and saw a lot, and had a ton of fun doing it. I hope to return someday to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and be able to look back and remember all the enjoyment I had on this trip.
