Baseball and Birthdays!

My parents came up for Jacob’s birthday, and were going to spend the day with Jenn while I went to work.  It was going to be gorgeous, with weather in the 70’s, no humidity, crystal clear skies and the leaves beginning to turn color.  They were going to head over to Cooperstown, with the ladies doing some shopping and Dad was going to check out the Baseball Hall of Fame for the first time.  The thought of my Dad going to this father and son museum alone was depressing, so I called into work to let them know I was going to take the day off, and we headed out for the day.

Cooperstown is a gorgeous small town at the southern end of Otsego Lake, and at times we felt like we were the only people on the road.  My Mom and Jenn dropped us off at the museum, and we headed to the second floor to take in some of the history of the game.  We are both Phillies fans (sorry Jenn, the Red Sox are a distant second), and I really loved hearing my Dad talk about the 1950 Whiz Kids.  That was a young team that took the National League Pennant, their first in 35 years (the Phillies are the professional team with the most losses in any major sports) and only their second since 1883 when they were founded (they’ve had 5 since, yeah).  Hall of Famer Robin Roberts was the opening day pitcher, and won their one game playoff against the Brooklyn Dodgers to make the post-season.  For me it was Mike Schmidt, the greatest 3^rd baseman of all time and his powder blue jersey (it would match Jacob’s hat if I could find one).  It was a great experience to spend with my Dad, but we were getting hungry and were on a schedule, so we headed over to Brewery Ommegang (http://www.ommegang.com/) for lunch. 

The opened a café at the brewery several years back, and Jenn and I love the food to go along with a great selection of beers.  I usually get mussels and Jenn normally gets crepes, but this time we were able try some other snacks since my folks were with us.  My dad got the Harvest Moules, mussels steamed in their Scythe and Sickle and Chipotle butter (quite the spicy kick) with frites (chipotle aioli anyone?).  My mom got the roast beef sandwich and Jenn got her Chicken Cordon Bleu crepe (a savory standard for her).  Me, I tried Chicken and waffles, fried chicken on a Liege waffle with vanilla sauce, pepper and strawberry jam (OMG was it good!).  Dad had trouble choosing so I ordered him a sampler, and Jenn and Mom got the Witte (a nice easy drinking Belgian white ale that got them both a bit happy).  I got the new Game of Thrones beer on draft, Take the Black Stout, a Belgian Dark Ale (I’m not sure why Beer Advocate can’t just call it a stout) with the hints of licorice that weighs in at 7% ABV.  It was a great lunch, but we needed to get home to see Jacob get off the bus (it was his birthday after all).  So Garmin took home over the mountains (literally) and we made it home with 5 minutes to spare.

We celebrated that evening with cake (mint), pizza (plain cheese, no sauce), and opened Jacob’s present.  And although I thought his phone with be his favorite present, it was actually the model car that he shared with Pop-pop and the quilt that he made with his Grammy that really touched his heart.  We were thankful that my folks were able and willing to make the journey to share the day with Jacob, and it meant the world to him. – 6327/14705

 
“Fermentation may have been a greater discovery than fire.” – David Rains Wallace