I want to talk about vacations in New York State, but I’m going to cheat a little.
How?
Well, we’ll be in upstate New York, so I’m just going to duck over the border into Canada. Niagara Falls, that is.
Okay.
Good. Well, here we are in Cooperstown, New York. That’s the site of Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame and Museum.
Naturally, the portion devoted to the Dodgers was my favorite. They’ve got a large wraparound photo of Ebbets Field, where the team played. It has a three-dimensional feel to it.
I guess it would be impressive.
Right. And a nearby display holds uniforms and bats from three players.
Roy Campanella is 39 and Duke Snider is number 4. Do you know who 42 is>
Jackie Robinson. I remember the movie of that number.
Right.
One other photo. A couple of blocks from the museum is a small ballfield named after Abner Doubleday, who is generally credited with inventing the game of baseball.
It’s used mostly for exhibition games. Not for any one team. They figure the field belongs to all of baseball.
Okay.
Now here’s where we step over the border into Niagara Falls, Canada. From our hotel we could see both the American and Canadian waterfalls.
We took a bus side trip along the Niagara River.
That’s me, of course. There’s a boat called The Maid of the Mist that cruises past the foot of the falls.
And we suited up to take the cruise.
Before ending our visit we stopped really close to the falls.
That is close.
Okay. Now we’re back on U.S. soil. In New York City, to be exact. Around Central Park South, we found horse-drawn carriages.
Of course, we visited Times Square.
And why go to New York without seeing a show?
And in what other city could you find souvenirs of a team that left the area three decades ago?
That’s the same shirt I’m wearing in a group photo at an AARP meeting.
When did the Dodgers leave Brooklyn?
Their last season in Brooklyn was 1957. Then the owner moved the team to Los Angeles and I lost interest in them.
A lot of fans were disappointed?
I’ll say. And, as you can see from the shop selling this shirt, they haven’t given up their devotion to the team, even after all these years. You could say I’m still a Brooklyn Dodgers fan.
Anyway, another evening we saw another show. It was at the Imperial theater, and we saw Jerome Robbins’ Broadway.
What was that about?
It was a review. Robbins had choreographed many musicals and directed a few. This show was a series of numbers from his shows.
Like?
Like West Side Story. He was choreographer and director for that one. You may remember the creative dances from that one. By the Jets, for instance.
I remember they did that on TV when the show first opened.
Right.
And the next day we took a tour of the city. It included a cruise around the harbor on this ferry. That’s our tour guide in pink.
We cruised around the harbor.
And we made a stop at the Statue of Liberty.
Always impressive.
Sure is.
And we had some free time to walk around. Like, on Broadway, we came across these folks playing chess.
I see a bunch of kibitzers. Including a policeman.
Yeah. There was a chummy atmosphere to the place. Of course, there were some raunchier places, such as this scene. on 7th Avenue.
Did you take in the nudie show?
Hah! No, we passed on that one. I photographed it just to capture the flavor of the area.
Then we went on to Times Square.
A lot of people there.
Yeah. And a lot of pigeons.
I’ll say.
And, are you familiar with George M. Cohan?
I’ve heard of him. Didn’t Jimmy Cagney play him in a movie?
Right. Yankee Doodle Dandy. Well, Cohan also wrote the song, “Give My Regards to Broadway.”
So, to honor him — and Broadway — they put up this statue in Times Square.
Fortunately, the pigeons left him alone. At least on the day we were there.
Well, that wraps up our New York visit.
Thanks for the ride.