Every year hordes of baseball-crazy twelve year olds descend on Cooperstown, New York for a week filled with baseball and fun. Because we have a baseball-crazy twelve year old, we made the trip! We decided to travel a couple of days early to show our son a little of NYC.

What we did — We stayed in Midtown Manhattan at the Ritz-Carlton on Central Park. This is a major splurge, and I probably would not recommend it if paying cash for the room. BUT, this hotel is a great value if using Marriott Bonvoy points!!! We try to stay at Marriott hotels because of the points we get through our Bonvoy Rewards Credit Card. The Ritz Central Park is only marginally more points than hotels like Residence Inn and Courtyard in the City. The location alone makes the hotel worth it if you have points to spare. Staying on Central Park of course meant lots of exploring for our kiddo and fun, scenic runs for me. Since Midtown was our home base, we didn’t venture too far from the area except for a trip to Brooklyn for dinner and a visit to the Bronx for a Yankees game. This was a baseball trip after all…how could we miss a game at Yankee Stadium?

After a couple of nights in the City, we made the ~3 hour trip to Cooperstown for a week of baseball. My son’s tournament was at Cooperstown All-Star Village. In addition to a baseball tournament, it is a camp for the players. We all had a blast! Even if you don’t have a baseball tournament, the trip to the Cooperstown area is well worth it. The scenery is beautiful and every town is very charming.

I would recommend…

Dinner at Quality Bistro in Midtown was a highlight! It recommended by the concierge at our hotel as being kid friendly and she was right…our son loved it! The food was fantastic and reasonably priced for a higher end NYC restaurant. The ambiance was very lively, so it was a great representation of a New York restaurant. My husband and I took advantage of the bottomless wine dinner which starts after 8pm and I would recommend anyone that enjoys wine do the same. There were also super-cute outdoor dining booths for dining al fresco.

A Yankees Game- When in Rome, right? We enjoy visiting different MLB stadiums so this was a no-brainer for us.

M&M Factory- Custom M&Ms…need I say more? My son customized a batch and brought them home to his siblings who were thrilled to have their names on the candies.

Ommegang Brewery in Cooperstown was the perfect place to get together with my son’s teammates and their families. They have a huge outdoor seating area that can accommodate large groups. They also have a big open field where the kids can run around, play tag, football, etc. We really enjoyed it!

The National Baseball Hall of Fame is a must visit for any baseball fan and really any history buff. I am not usually a fan of museums, but this is one of the best museums I have ever visited because of the interactive exhibits and different artifacts. They have a 15-20 minute video at the beginning that you should definitely watch. It’s really interesting and cool. My son liked the museum so much, he went back for round 2!

Latte Lounge in Oneonta has the most delicious pastries and lattes I have had in a while. We visited the cafe daily while in the Coopertown area and are still (3 months later) thinking about those lattes.

Cooper’s Barn is a really cute ice cream spot with the yummiest frozen creations. They have over 40 mix-ins including old stand-bys such as strawberries, pb cup and cookies, but also have less common options like cream de menthe, mandarin oranges and lemon drop for the more adventurous treat eaters. My 12 year old told me that when his younger brother’s team goes to Cooperstown, he wants to go too so he can go back to Cooper’s Barn. Seal of approval granted!

I would skip…

Dinner at Peter Luger was high on my son’s to-do list because he loves steak and saw it featured on one of his favorite shows, Somebody Feed Phil. While it is an institution, the location in Brooklyn made for a very long trip from our home base in Midtown. Don’t get me wrong, we will travel for a great meal, but the food was not outstanding and the prices were very high for what you get. However, my son did give 2 thumbs up to the ice cream sundae. =)

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