The entrance welcomes us.

To start my week off from my great job at the Liverpool Public Library last week, my dear wife Karen and I decided to take a drive southwest to Cooperstown.

She had just this President’s Day off from her job at Advance Media New York, so we wanted to make the most of it.

We’d start early, hit the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in the heart of the quaint upstate New York village, then head to Brewery Ommegang on the outskirts for a beer sampling and some chow at the cafe. Lucky us. You’ll see and read all about it here, part by part.

Another entrance.

It was clear and crisp, a beautiful February day. Today I’ll let you share our outside poke-around.

There’s the lake.

Directly across the street from the Hall of Fame we saw a street corridor to the Otsego Lake.

Down we went to investigate.

Blue skies, clear water.

There were cars parked at the lakeside marina, but I eventually decided they were the vehicles used by workers doing upkeep.

No business today.

As pretty as it was, there was no there here.

Boats for better months ahead.

We imagined a bustling agenda in spring and summer.

Cold waters.

Mountain range.

More or less.

Majestic month of February.

Hover over a gallery photo for a description. Click on an image for an enlarged slide show.

The streets of Cooperstown are lined with toyed-with history.

The buildings have been there awhile. I felt like Andy and Barney could have been around the corner. Mayberry, you know?

Back in time?

Now these buildings are mostly filled with souvenir shops and eateries.

Sunny side up there.

We looked but did not go in, having gone through the store inside the Hall of Fame and still to make our stop at Brewery Ommegang.

Rub Dirt On It goes far in life.

Something for your squad.

No more movies here.

A new ism.

Cone, David?

Before heading back to the car parked on Main Street – the meters were covered on this holiday, making me presume the two-hour parking signs were waived – we had one more stop to make, considered that Karen had never before been to Cooperstown.

Little, old stadium.

I had to let her look at Doubleday Field. Yes, we know that baseball invented the myth of Abner Doubleday, not the other way around. Nevertheless, this pretty little park is a pantheon to what used to be.

Sun shines on the diamond.

They used to play a major-league exhibtion game here every summer.

It was too slippery around the gates to try to get inside, though. Ah, well. Maybe another time.

Tomorrow: Old time exhibits in the Hall of Fame

What is your favorite day trip, and why? What’s your favorite photo, and why?