Malone (Rain Out) / Cooperstown

On an On-Time Departure

Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Queensbury, NY

Outside the Game:
It was another long day at work, coupled with a failed cooking endeavor on top of that (stupid rennet), but despite a deluge of work emails just as I was about to leave on time. Having booked my hotel the day before, all I had to do was grab my bags and head out on the road around 7 PM, and I enjoy quite a pleasant drive north, marred only by a blown out tire in the road that gave me a bumpy jolt.

I was able to successfully call my mother on the way, and the rubber band trick to hold the power cord into my phone worked, allowing the phone to recharge on the drive up, and the three hours passed quickly.

At about a quarter to 10 PM, I was able to take the exit for my hotel for the night, I was quickly redirected down a spooky, dimly lit road that led to an abandoned-looking building with no cars anywhere. Waiting for my eventual murder, I mustered up the courage to go inside, where I found a hotel lobby and a bored-looking receptionist waiting for me to check in. The parking lot would turn out to be out back, and the closed business next door just enhanced the Scooby-Doo energy of the place.

I got my key and drove around to the much more welcoming back of the building, where I parked and retrieved all my bags. I went to my room, unpacked, prepared for the next day, and settled in for some blissful sleep.

The Accommodations:

Baymont by Wyndham, Queensbury

The Baymont by Wyndham Queensbury was a dichotomy. It was cheaply priced and a little frayed at the edges, but it clearly had aspirations for better things, with upscale furniture and memory foam cushions.

The bathroom by the front door had a vanity sink before the bathroom proper. The bedroom had a bed, nightstands, and a pull-out couch on one wall, and a dresser, bench, and desk on the other.

It did its job.

On a Strategic Rain Strike

Veteran's Field, 2025

Thursday, July 3, 2025
Saranac Lake, NY

Outside the Game:
Having gone to bed around when I normally aspire to go to sleep, I was up early, and had to busy myself with plans for the morning while I waited for the breakfast buffet to open. 

I dragged myself down past the lobby to the restaurant, where I passed the failed businesses connected to the hotel that helped the spooky ambiance the night before. There was what looked to be some kind of toy store, the signs stripped away, but picture windows still holding an array of toys lost to time. The breakfast area was a defunct Bavarian restaurant. Poking around yielded old signage no one bothered to be taken down. The breakfast buffet, such as it was, was on the dais where the old restaurant buffet was housed, and it was a disappointingly bland breakfast offering at that. Equal parts let down and confused, I headed back to my room for a nap.

I showered, packed up, and checked out in time to burst out into the down pouring rain, a poor bellwether for the day. I drove the short distance to Lake George, a small lakeside village where my aunt and uncle used to own a vacation home. As I exited my car to go to Fort William Henry, the rain stopped, and it immediately changed to insufferable heat and blinding sun.

Boom

Upon purchasing my ticket, I found that a tour had just started, which I affixed myself to the end of, where re-enactors took the group through the history of the fort, then performed musketry and canon demonstrations, to the delight of the children. I wandered the rest of the fort, which had some truly awful mannequins, but overall, it was quite an enjoyable edutainment experience. I made my inevitable purchases in the gift shop, and then headed out to the late morning.

I called my aunt to find out if there was some "can't-miss" food experience, and she just directed me to any of the pizza places in town, where I picked one and had a couple of acceptable slices. I went into an arcade and played a few games and got my fortune told before it was time for me to head up to Saranac Lake to check into my hotel.

The trip was a little more than an hour and a half and had no great incidents. The Sarah Placid Motel was run by a family who owned several of the hostelries in town. They managed this with key-code doors for all the properties that they texted you when room service was done with their sweep.

I pulled into the motel and was able to get into my room right by the empty Office and went about unpacking, setting up, and then taking a nap before my drive up to Malone for the game.

Grabbing my game bag, I was quickly on the road for the hour drive to just shy of the border, reaching the field in good time, but with ominous weather in every direction.

I popped out and paid for a ticket, walking around the small Veteran's Field and taking pictures as the weather got more and more threatening. It was, as the name suggests, an old VFW field that they had made some improvements to. There was a concession stand, a wood grandstand built over the bleachers behind home plate, improved dugouts, a small clubhouse complex, and a sign for the team added to the ancient digital scoreboard.

Not great

However, I wouldn't get to see any of this in action, as the PA came on and told everyone to take cover, as severe weather was coming in. I walked back to my car, and sure enough, a vicious thunderstorm came through, drenching the area, but lacking any promised lightning or hail. But in fifteen minutes or so, it was completely gone. However, the damage had apparently been done, as I watched the teams scattered to their cars and vans even after the storm passed.

Slight rain

I had researched a drive-in in town, so I drove up there to make something of the evening. I ordered up a "poutine burger" and was told there was going to be a wait, as apparently a ton of locals had come during the rain storm. I was given a large beer stein for my soda and access to free popcorn, so I waited until my heart-attack on a plate showed up, an open-faced burger covered in poutine, gravy, and French Fries. There are worse ways to spend an evening.

Healthy

Not having anything else to do, I drove back to Saranac Lake early and parked up, walking down the road to a local ice cream joint for a hot fudge Sunday before stopping at a gas station for some beverages. I then wandered back to the motel and sat outside for a bit before settling in for an early evening.

The Accommodations:

Sarah Placid Motel, Saranac Lake

For my last visit, I stayed in a motel down the road, but I decided to mix it up with the Sarah Placid Motel. I've already discussed the interesting check-in, but this was another well-maintained motel that was perfect for what I needed it for.

A small table with two chairs is by the front window, with a bed and nightstand one wall, and a dresser, TV, and refrigerator on the other, with a wall-unit AC right by the bathroom, which was delightfully renovated. All the furniture had a faux log styling, and it was everything that I wanted a motel to be.

On a Long Detour

The Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum, 2025

Friday, July 4, 2025
Clifton, NJ, by way of Cooperstown, NY

Outside the Game:
I woke early the next day, and only had a quick nap before showering and heading out. I was on the roads early, but Android had decided that the fastest way to get from here to Cooperstown was some of the most ass-end farming roads in northern NY. At one point I was stuck behind a horse and buggy, as well as several tractors.

Regardless, I still made some good time and pulled into Cooperstown around 11:30 AM. There was a game at Doubleday Field, so that lot was full, but I lucked into a no-charge parking space on a side street relatively quickly.

Healthy

A long time coming, I went straight to the Cooperstown Diner and bought a jumbo burger for the first time since before the pandemic. It also downed on my that my last two meals were overstuffed burgers, but I tried not to think about that too much.

Interactions

After lunch, I went to the Hall and saw the new exhibits on Negro League baseball, the induction class, and the bobble-head collection. I was two weeks early for the exhibit on Japanese baseball, appropriately debuting at the induction of Ichiro.

Serious history

They had re-done the introduction movie (very well-done), but they also renovated the move theater to no longer be Cominskey Park, but just generic and theater-looking, which was a disappointment. (The usher also made us all sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" before we left, which I wanted to think was cheesy, but it was actually awesome.) I also discovered the Bananaball exhibit was permanent and not just there for the game I went to a few years ago.

After stopping at both stores and buying more than advisable, I wandered around Main Street for a while, hitting the bookstore and buying a book on NJ before yielding to good sense and heading back out to my car for the rest of the drive home at around 2:30 PM. 

Android again took me on weird back roads, getting me stuck behind slow cars, but making good enough time once I was blessedly back on the main roads again. I stopped off at the last rest stop on the NY Throughway. Something called "GreenApple" had taken over all of the concessions, but I had lunch/dinner at Panera. There was a worker there named "Adrian" (based on his nametag) that was having his break, and I made up a sad, lonely little story about his life in my head that I strongly suspected and feared was close to the truth.

I grabbed some gas at the rest stop (having to back in because everyone was just sitting in their cars, blocking the pumps), but I somehow managed to not fill it all the way up. I couldn't be bothered to go back and fix it, so I just drove the rest of the way home with little incident, for an evening of doing laundry, unpacking, and organizing.

The Accommodations:
Clifton, sweet, Clifton

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

Stand-Alone Trip

Saranac Lake

On a Smashing Evening

Petrova Field, 2022

Saturday, July 2, 2022
Japan Islanders vs. Saranac Lake Surge
Petrova Field
Empire League
Saranac Lake, NY
4:00 PM 
 

Outside the Game:
I was in no rush to get up the next morning, but after a sound sleep, I awoke relatively early. I sleepily walked down to the McDonald's by my hotel to find it not yet open even though it was supposed to be, so I walked back up the hill, retrieved my car, and drove to a deli in town to order up some breakfast sandwiches and head back to the hotel.

Still groggy, I went out on the patio to eat my greasy breakfast and was surprised by a seaplane taking off nearby. I finished eating and enjoying the view and went back inside to wash up, pack up, and plan my day. I booked another hotel just north of Albany to stay for the night, decided on my activites for the early afternoon, and headed out. After a friendly check out, I was off to an antique store half-way to my other destination for the day. Letting me in a well-stocked antique store is never a good idea under the best of circumstances, but especially when I don't have a plane ride between me and home, it is a recipe to spend a lot of money. At one point, I was actually measuring the trunk to see if I could fit a speaker's podium in there. As it was, I was buying things as diverse as a dummy grenade and an antique nutmeg grinder, but it all packed up nicely in the trunk, and I was off the rest of the way to Lake Placid.

Eschewing the Winter Olympics attractions, I went to the John Brown Farm. In addition to the monument and the grave, there is his restored house and barn that holds more exhibits. I had known of John Brown, but I hadn't really gone in depth, so this was a great opportunity to learn about his life, his homesteading efforts for African Americans, and other tidbits. (And learning things is important, kids, because--I kid you not--another patron was upset at the BLM banners that were located near the John Brown statue, and how my brain didn't just completely explode at the irony is lost to me.) After my tour, I made use of one of the several walking trails on the grounds (which did go right next to the Olympic ski jump) for a nice summer walk before relaxing for a bit in a shaded Adirondack chair, as is tradition.

John Brown often opined on the Olympic Ski Jump

I went back to town, stopping at the "Tail of the Pup" barbecue place for lunch. As luck would have it, I received an email from the previous day's restaurant--who apparently owned both establishments--offering me another free beer for eating at that restaurant, thus compiling the most beer I've drunk in the last decade or so, all for free. A one-man band played for the patrons, and I wolfed down a brisket sandwich and beer before heading out to the park.

I parked in what I was sure was a safe spot, walked around and called my mother prior to the game, and then headed in.

On coming out, I felt something wrong. As I going to the car, I couldn't quite figure it out until I realized that a foul ball had somehow smashed my sunroof. The angle was literally impossible. A grand total of three balls had even been fouled this way all game. An inch in either direction, and it would have been a dent in the roof. But nope, bullseye. A player parked next to me was horrified, but quickly disappeared. I cleared out the glass as best as possible, and then drove to a gas station and bought some duct tape to secure the roof closed and pray for no rain.

With nothing else to do for it, I got out on the highway and drove south to Albany and my hotel. I made it without further incident, was delirious with stress upon checking in to the point I was scaring the hostess, and then just showered the day off of me, tried to calm down, and did some research before collapsing on the bed.

The Stadium & Fans:

Home to center, Petrova Field

There's no two-ways about it or any way to sugar coat it--Petrova Field is a high-school baseball field that seems to be an appendix to a football field. There's no scoreboard, no concessions, and nothing to indicate any professional baseball except for a small Empire League sign facing the field and a small collapsible table and chair that they use to collect admissions.

The field itself is mostly chain-link fenced, with a "viewing area" of netting on the first-base side of home. The dugouts are two plexiglass-covered benches on either side of the field. The seating areas are a main metal bleacher behind home plate, and two satellite bleachers down first and third. The football field in far left field is clearly the senior partner of this two-field set-up, with a broadcast tower and football scoreboard out there, but the two seating areas also serve as outfield seating for the few brave souls that stayed out there towards the end of the game.

The crowd was small to non-existent, but did pick up steam towards the end of the game, with a smattering of people coming to see the outcome. Otherwise, the attendees were the players and the minimal staff.

At the Game with Oogie:

Bleacher scoring

I parked myself with my water bottles (purchased for just such an occasion) in the "window" on the first-base bleachers to get a relatively unobstructed view of the game. In my area sitting in lawn chairs were a smattering of true-believer fans of Saranac Lake who cheered on through the entire game. Outside of helping me when a water bottle fell down from my perch at the top of the bleacher during the game, there was no real interaction with anyone else. I sat, cooking slowly in the late afternoon, watching a ballgame, as god intended.

The Game:

First pitch, Islanders vs. Surge

After the utter anarchy that was the day before's game, this was a pleasantly bland game between the Japan Islanders and Saranac Lake Surge that didn't threaten to eat my brain at any point.\

The game began with the Islanders only having a two-out single and stolen base to show for their half of the first, while Saranac Lake had the same sole single without the stolen base. In the top of the second, Japan had a two-out walk and single stranded, while the Surge went in order. The third saw the Islanders get on the board. A leadoff single stole second and made it to third on an errant play on the throw by the shortstop. A ground-out brought in the run, but a walk and a double-play stopped the scoring there with the Islanders up 1-0. Saranac Lake only had an infield single that got thrown away to get the runner as far as second before being stranded.

The fourth had a Japan batter reach on an error by the third baseman with two outs, but the runner was stranded there. The Surge went in order. The Islanders got another run in the fifth with a leadoff walk that stole second and third and was then driven in with a single. The trail runner was caught stealing and two outs followed, leaving the new Islander lead at 2-0. Saranac Lake again went in order. The Japanese sixth began with back-to-back walks, and then a wild pitch to move the runners up and a hit batsman to load the bases with two outs, but they were all stranded by a strikeout. In the bottom of the frame, the Surge finally got on the board with a walk and two steals and a thrown-away ball by the pitcher to close the gap to 2-1 after six.

The Islanders had a leadoff walk and nothing else in the seventh, while Saranac Lake just had a single and walk in their half. Japan had a one-out single and walk in the eighth, while the Surge managed just a walk. Going into the ninth, the Islanders had a potential two-out insurance run make it to second after a passed ball, but there he stood. Saranac Lake made a last stand in the bottom of the ninth, starting with a walk and--somehow-- a defensive indifference as he took second. A dropped ball by the left fielder made it first and third with no outs, but the runner on third got picked off for the first out. The runner on first stole second on another DI, then a walk made it first and second. A fly out to right advanced the lead runner, while the trail runner advanced on yet another defensive indifference with two outs. But the Surge couldn't make it work, with a lazy fly out to center ending the game with a Japan Islander win at 2-1.

The Scorecard: 

Japan Islanders vs. Saranac Lake Surge, 07/02/22. Islanders win, 2-1.

I was again using the BBWAA scorecard, and while this game wasn't the complete travesty the previous game was, it had its moments.

There were two plays of literal note. In the bottom of the third, the Surge single and E3 noted that it was a clean infield single, but the throw got away from the first baseman on the play, allowing the runner to advance. In the bottom of the sixth, the scoring play was a delayed steal from second on the throw back to the pitcher, who promptly threw the ball to the next town over, allowing the runner to score from third easily.

The story of the game, though, was the three defensive indifference steals in the bottom of the ninth with a one-run lead. How bad is the catching in the Empire League? So bad that they don't even want the catcher to attempt a throw with the game on the line and would rather trust their equally awful pitching.

Not even mentioning getting the first out at third by getting picked off in the bottom of the ninth. Amazing.

The Accommodations:

Hilton Garden Inn

The Hilton Garden Inn was attached to a mall that had odd business hours for a Saturday night. (The connection to the mall was closed because the mall was already closed for the evening--not what you want to do to have a thriving mall, but that's not for me to decide).

My room was everything I'd expect from a Hilton. The adequate bathroom was off the entrance to the right, while the bedroom was straight ahead, with two queen beds on one side, and a dresser, TV, and desk and chair across the way. It was boring, functional, and I stress-slept a ton.

On Limping Home

Sunday, July 3, 2022
Jersey City, NJ 

Outside the Game:
After the insanity of the last night, I at least got a decent night's sleep, no doubt thanks to the stress exhaustion. Up early, I just decided to head out straight away, checking up on the tape, filling up and grabbing food at a nearby gas station, and then heading south.

Thankfully, the drive back to my parent's place was as uneventful as could be, and early afternoon had me pulling in. I had to then explain the whole situation to my slow-to-follow mother before clearing out the garage enough to put her car in and then replacing my father's car in the driveway.

Thoroughly done with the weekend at this point, I finished up a bunch of check-in tasks, and then got a rideshare back to my apartment, for a fun afternoon of calling insurance agencies and glass shops, as well as laundry and unpacking and the like.

Life just gets you sometimes.

The Accommodations:
Home, sweet, home

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2022 Adirondacks