Day 6: Frost, Family, and the Long Road to Cooperstown

I woke up this morning to find the temperature in the 20s. Twenty. Degrees. 🥶 When I got to my car, it was covered in frost like a glazed donut no one asked for. The back windshield was so frozen that my wipers just smeared the frost around like butter on toast.

Of course, my ice scraper was buried somewhere deep in my trunk — probably under three bags, two jackets, and my sense of optimism. Since my car is from Florida (and probably considering mutiny at this point), I figured I’d better let it warm up. After a solid defrost session, I finally had visibility again. Moments like that make me very thankful for Florida garages and much warmer mornings. 😎

The highlight of the day was seeing my cousins Mickey and Betty for the first time in over 15 years. We had such a great time catching up, laughing, and swapping family stories. I even learned a few new things about my grandparents, proof that family reunions can be both heartwarming and educational.

Then came the drive. Oh boy. The trip toward Fort Ticonderoga and Cooperstown was... an adventure in patience. Traffic through Stowe and a few other small towns was moving at a solid snail pace. Between construction zones, one-lane roads, and what felt like every leaf-peeper in New England hitting the brakes at once, I started missing the interstate like it was an old friend.

By the time I realized I wouldn’t reach Cooperstown until 3:00 p.m., Fort Ticonderoga got the boot. Then Cooperstown didn’t happen either.  I didn’t roll in until 4:00 p.m., and the Hall of Fame closes at 5:00. Classic road trip math. So, I’ll be up early tomorrow to make it happen before heading toward Canton, Ohio. Sorry, Corning, you’ve been benched.

It wasn’t all bad, though. Along the way, I passed what looked like a random castle (because, sure, why not?), a fascinating old cemetery, and plenty of trees showing off their fall colors. As I got farther out of Vermont, the reds and oranges faded into more greens and yellows — nature’s way of saying, “The party’s over.”

Tomorrow should be better — Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame are on deck ⚾, and Sunday will be awesome catching up with my friend Jeff while exploring Canton, Akron, and Cleveland. We’ll see how much we can squeeze in… or if the GPS has other plans.