Day 3 (8/3): Keystone kids
WILLIAMSPORT -- Chad is a diehard Reds fan, so he has some emnity with the Baseball Hall of Fame over their Amish-level shunning of Pete Rose. But since I'm driving and we woke up 80 miles from Cooperstown, he dealt with it. (In fact, Pete Rose is mentioned several times within the museum's displays, just not in the Hall itself.) Again, I've been here before -- now, the third time -- but it still amazes me that a major sports hall of fame is in such a quiet community. And ultimately, Chad enjoyed his trip through the museum as well.
For lunch, Chad rolled and I drove down to the Lakefront, two blocks away along the southern end of Lake Otsego. Of course the place featured seafood, but Chad's tastes remained anchored in land-based creatures.
We turned back south, stopping off in Scranton so Chad could pick up a Railriders shirt. (We would be seeing them play tomorrow night in Allentown.) We arrived at the team store just before closing -- no doubt the sales clerk was tapping his watch as Chad searched the racks.
It was on to Williamsport and literally the closest hotel to the Little League stadium complex... across the street. However, the World Series is not for a couple weeks yet, so the hotel was not overrun with teenage boys. (But given the size of the hotel, it'd be a lot of teenage boys.)
It was a quick jaunt across the Susquehanna and through town to Historic Bowman Field, home of the Crosscutters, who we had just seen Monday night. ("Historic" because the field was originally constructed in 1923.) It was "Fill The Park" night; since we weren't the first to arrive, companion seating in the wheelchair sections were non-existent. I exiled myself to the far top corner of the third-base stands. And "stands" I did the whole game, though I had enough space to spread out my concessions, Walkman, and scorecard without impeding foot traffic. I also had the pleasure of watching a couple kids scaling the river levee just outside the park for foul balls. Alas, even in short-season minor-league baseball, the Yankees (this time from Staten Island) broke a 1-1 tie (and the fans' hearts) with a three-run sixth.
On the return to the hotel through downtown, we passed "Little League Boulevard," though, given my experience with boulevards, I found it lacking -- several additional lanes.
For lunch, Chad rolled and I drove down to the Lakefront, two blocks away along the southern end of Lake Otsego. Of course the place featured seafood, but Chad's tastes remained anchored in land-based creatures.
We turned back south, stopping off in Scranton so Chad could pick up a Railriders shirt. (We would be seeing them play tomorrow night in Allentown.) We arrived at the team store just before closing -- no doubt the sales clerk was tapping his watch as Chad searched the racks.
It was on to Williamsport and literally the closest hotel to the Little League stadium complex... across the street. However, the World Series is not for a couple weeks yet, so the hotel was not overrun with teenage boys. (But given the size of the hotel, it'd be a lot of teenage boys.)
It was a quick jaunt across the Susquehanna and through town to Historic Bowman Field, home of the Crosscutters, who we had just seen Monday night. ("Historic" because the field was originally constructed in 1923.) It was "Fill The Park" night; since we weren't the first to arrive, companion seating in the wheelchair sections were non-existent. I exiled myself to the far top corner of the third-base stands. And "stands" I did the whole game, though I had enough space to spread out my concessions, Walkman, and scorecard without impeding foot traffic. I also had the pleasure of watching a couple kids scaling the river levee just outside the park for foul balls. Alas, even in short-season minor-league baseball, the Yankees (this time from Staten Island) broke a 1-1 tie (and the fans' hearts) with a three-run sixth.
On the return to the hotel through downtown, we passed "Little League Boulevard," though, given my experience with boulevards, I found it lacking -- several additional lanes.