Your kids want a vacation in the country, someplace with a lake and forests, and you want to focus on baseball. How about this: go to a game in New York or Philadelphia, and then head into the rolling countryside of upstate New York and the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum.
r http://web.baseballhalloffame.org — The museum is in Cooperstown, N.Y., on the shore of Otsego Lake about 200 miles north of Philadelphia and 150 miles northwest of New York City, between Interstates 90 and 88. Check out "The Museum" for the monthly Voices of the Game, other programs and exhibits.
r www.visitingcooperstown.com — Fine, you've gone to the museum, but where are you and what else is there to do see and do? Click on "Photo Gallery" at Visiting Cooperstown for a look around, especially the vista over the hills from Oaks Creek. Then try "Travel Essays" for descriptions of the town, the countryside, Otsego Lake, even tips for a budget vacation in the area. And dip into "Attractions" for things to see and do in the area, including Glimmerglass State Park at the other end of the lake, and the National Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum.
r http://tinyurl.com/62jaed — The area that includes Cooperstown is called the Leatherstocking Region, an area of rolling hills, farms, lakes, caves and country roads. This Web site has links to county tourism agencies across the region (except for the mislabeled one that says Leatherstocking Regional) and to information on its towns.
r http://tinyurl.com/4a877s — Looking for a scenic road into the area? Try the Route 20 Scenic Byway which cuts across the Leatherstock Region from about Syracuse in to the west to Duanesburg, just west of Schenectady, in the east. There's not much here besides a pair of maps, but it's an alternative to the heavy traffic on the interstates.
r www.howecaverns.com — Due east of the Cooperstown area, the town of Cobleskill is a convenient jumping-off point for Howe Caverns, a scenic place to cool off on a hot summer day with its underground temperature of 52 degrees.
r www.iloveny.com — Need more ideas? New York State's official tourism Web site should help you find more things to see and do, and "Outdoors" will hook you up with information on hunting, fishing, hiking and camping.
— Roger Petterson, Associated Press
