Two places have triggered tears of joy in my life: The Vatican and Cooperstown.
I wasn't surprised when it happened in my mother's homeland while kneeling and praying in St. Peters as the nephew of a Roman Catholic priest and the great nephew of a Dominican nun.
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Two places have triggered tears of joy in my life: The Vatican and Cooperstown.
With my wife, our son, daughter and her friend, we broke up a nine-hour drive from Ann Arbor, Michigan, to Cooperstown into a two-day trip. We stopped for chicken wings at Duff's in Buffalo, spent a night in the Finger Lakes region and visited Seneca Falls where the women's rights convention was held in 1848.
My son plays for a 12 years old-and-under travel baseball team, Michigan Blue Jays Treat, that wrapped up its season at Cooperstown Dreams Park. The sprawling and spectacular 165-acre facility is surrounded by lush forests providing a picturesque backdrop on any one of 20-plus fields enclosed by green, eight-foot walls.
When I saw that the first time, it touched me and that's tough to do at a sporting event for a sports writer who has been to thousands of games.
Even if you don't have a player to root for at Cooperstown Dreams Park, check out a game if you can make it there before the end of the month or any other summer.
If it's too far to drive, fly to Albany, Binghamton or Syracuse and rent a car for a 90-minute drive to Cooperstown.
Bed-and-breakfast options include the Landmark Inn where guests can help themselves to peanuts and Cracker Jack, a nod to the song "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." Near the stop light, the Inn at Cooperstown serves ice tea, lemonade and cookies on the porch.
Main Street is filled with dining options, including the can't-miss Nicoletta's Italian Cafe along with Sal's Pizzeria and Cooperstown Diner. Please do yourself a favor and make a 5-minute drive north of downtown, to eat and or drink at The Blue Mingo Grill. The restaurant is in a boatyard on 9-mile-long Otsego Lake and serves perhaps the best chowder west of New England.
Even though I'm an emotional Italian-American, I did not expect to have my emotions tugged as they were last month in upstate New York.
In this July 15, 2018 photo, the Michigan Blue Jays Treat of Ann Arbor, line up for a photograph before playing a game at Cooperstown Dreams Park in Hartwick Seminary, N.Y., about four miles from the great shrine for the game, the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Cooperstown Dream Park, a sprawling and spectacular 165-acre facility with 20-plus fields enclosed by green, eight-foot walls, hosts 13 weeklong tournaments each summer and draws the country's best travel baseball teams from as far away as Hawaii. (AP PhotoLarry Lage)
With my wife, our son, daughter and her friend, we broke up a nine-hour drive from Ann Arbor, Michigan, to Cooperstown into a two-day trip. We stopped for chicken wings at Duff's in Buffalo, spent a night in the Finger Lakes region and visited Seneca Falls where the women's rights convention was held in 1848.
We were going to Cooperstown, naturally, for baseball.
I found out over the course of a week there's much more to the one-stoplight village than its No. 1 attraction, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, which is truly a great shrine for the game.
In this July 16, 2018 photo, baseball greats Babe Ruth, left, and Ted Williams are depicted at bat, in statues at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. There's much more to the one-stoplight village than its No. 1 attraction, but the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Main Street looks like a Norman Rockwell painting and is truly a great shrine for the game. (AP PhotoLarry Lage)
My son plays for a 12 years old-and-under travel baseball team, Michigan Blue Jays Treat, that wrapped up its season at Cooperstown Dreams Park. The sprawling and spectacular 165-acre facility is surrounded by lush forests providing a picturesque backdrop on any one of 20-plus fields enclosed by green, eight-foot walls.
Cooperstown Dream Park host 13 weeklong tournaments each summer and draws the country's best travel baseball teams from as far away as Hawaii. It brings in more than 500,000 visitors to a village with fewer than 2,000 year-round residents.
The tournament has created a unique culture in which it is common for an infielder to extend a hand for a competitor to slap when rounding the bases after clearing the fences in a ballpark where a 200-foot fly is a home run.
This July 14, 2018 photo shows the views of rolling hills and forest from the deck of the house the writer's family stayed in during their visit to Cooperstown, N.Y., home to a great shrine for for the game of baseball. The National Baseball Hall of Fame, on a Main Street that looks like a Norman Rockwell painting, brings more than 500,000 visitors to a village with fewer than 2,000 year-round residents. (AP PhotoLarry Lage)
When I saw that the first time, it touched me and that's tough to do at a sporting event for a sports writer who has been to thousands of games.
The tears flowed, though, on another day when walking to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Main Street, which looks like a Norman Rockwell painting.
It took some time for me to pull it together before joining our team's players, coaches, parents and siblings for a wonderfully informative 30-minute talk with Baseball Hall of Fame director of communications Craig Muder.
This July 18, 2018 photo shows a country road with views of rolling hills and forests of green trees behind the spacious home, in the far background, the writer rented in Cooperstown, N.Y., home to a great shrine for for the game of baseball. The National Baseball Hall of Fame, on a Main Street that looks like a Norman Rockwell painting, brings more than 500,000 visitors to a village with fewer than 2,000 year-round residents. (AP PhotoLarry Lage)
Even if you don't have a player to root for at Cooperstown Dreams Park, check out a game if you can make it there before the end of the month or any other summer.
It'll give you a good excuse to check out a place unlike any other. Locals say they love the fall when the leaves are changing colors on countless trees and crowds are smaller, so that may be a great time to getaway to this gem.
GETTING THERE
In this July 16, 2018 photo, baseball greats from the first class inducted into National Baseball Hall of Fame are honored in the Plaque Gallery at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. There's much more to the one-stoplight village than its No. 1 attraction, but the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Main Street looks like a Norman Rockwell painting and is truly a great shrine for the game. (AP PhotoLarry Lage)
If it's too far to drive, fly to Albany, Binghamton or Syracuse and rent a car for a 90-minute drive to Cooperstown.
WHERE TO STAY
We rented a spacious home with a spectacular view of forests with trees so clumped together they looked like broccoli florets, a pool and an awesome deck.
In this July 17, 2018 photo, an evening baseball game is played at Cooperstown Dreams Park in Hartwick Seminary, N.Y., about four miles from the great shrine for the game, the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Cooperstown Dream Park, a sprawling and spectacular 165-acre facility with 20-plus fields enclosed by green, eight-foot walls, hosts 13 weeklong tournaments each summer and draws the country's best travel baseball teams from as far away as Hawaii. (AP PhotoLarry Lage)
Bed-and-breakfast options include the Landmark Inn where guests can help themselves to peanuts and Cracker Jack, a nod to the song "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." Near the stop light, the Inn at Cooperstown serves ice tea, lemonade and cookies on the porch.
To accommodate the seasonal floods of people, there are also many hotels, including some nationally known ones, and motels along with homes from lakefront homes to simple cabins for rent.
WHERE TO EAT
FILE - In this July 25, 2014, file photo, fans walk outside the National Baseball Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, N.Y. There's much more to the one-stoplight village than its No. 1 attraction, but the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Main Street looks like a Norman Rockwell painting and is truly a great shrine for the game. (AP Photo, File)
Main Street is filled with dining options, including the can't-miss Nicoletta's Italian Cafe along with Sal's Pizzeria and Cooperstown Diner. Please do yourself a favor and make a 5-minute drive north of downtown, to eat and or drink at The Blue Mingo Grill. The restaurant is in a boatyard on 9-mile-long Otsego Lake and serves perhaps the best chowder west of New England.
MORE THAN BASEBALL
Two museums perched on waterfront property once owned by author James Fenimore Cooper who wrote "The Leatherstocking Tales" series, are also popular attractions. The Fenimore Art Museum has a highly regarded Native American collection and the Farmers' Museum puts visitors on an active farm.
In this July 16, 2018 photo, baseball great Babe Ruth is depicted at bat, in a statue at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. There's much more to the one-stoplight village than its No. 1 attraction, but the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Main Street looks like a Norman Rockwell painting and is truly a great shrine for the game. (AP PhotoLarry Lage)
If You Go ...
COOPERSTOWN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: https://cooperstownchamber.org/
Associated Press writer Larry Lage is a sports writer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/LarryLage
VENICE, Italy (AP) — Under the gaze of the world’s media, the fragile lagoon city of Venice launched a pilot program Thursday to charge day-trippers a 5-euro (around $5.35) entry fee that authorities hope will discourage visitors from arriving on peak days and make the city more livable for its dwindling residents.
Visitors arriving at Venice's main train station were greeted with large signs listing the 29 dates through July of the plan's test phase, as well as new entrances separating tourists from residents, students and workers.
Stewards were on hand to politely guide anyone unaware of the new requirements through the process of downloading the QR code to pay the fee.
“We need to find a new balance between the tourists and residents,’’ said the city’s top tourism official, Simone Venturini. “We need to safeguard the spaces of the residents, of course, and we need to discourage the arrival of day-trippers on some particular days.”
Arianna Cecilia, who lives in Rome and was visiting Venice for the first time with her boyfriend, said it felt “strange" to have to buy a ticket to enter a city in her native Italy, and then pass through a tourist entrance.
The couple were staying in nearby Treviso, and had paid the fee and downloaded the QR code as required prior to arrival.
Workers in yellow vests carried out random checks at the train station, and anyone caught faces fines of 50 euros to 300 euros — though officials said “common sense” was being applied for the launch.
The requirement applies only for people arriving between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Outside of those hours, access is free and unchecked.
Venice has long suffered under the pressure of over-tourism, and officials hope the pilot project can help provide more exact figures to better manage the phenomenon.
The city can track the number of hotel visitors — which last year numbered 4.6 million, down 16% from pre-pandemic highs. But the number of day visitors, which make up the majority of the crowds in Venice, could only be estimated until recently.
A Smart Control Room set up during the pandemic has been tracking arrivals from cell phone data, roughly confirming pre-pandemic estimates of 25 million to 30 million arrivals a year, said Michele Zuin, the city’s top economic official. That includes both day-trippers and overnight guests.
But Zuin said the data is incomplete. “It’s clear we will get more reliable data from the contribution” being paid by day-trippers, he said.
Venturini said the city is strained when the number of day-trippers reaches 30,000 to 40,000. Its narrow alleyways are clogged with people and water taxis packed, making it difficult for residents to go about their business.
Not all residents, however, are persuaded of the efficacy of the new system in dissuading mass tourism. Some say more attention needs to be paid to boosting the resident population and services they need.
Venice last year passed a telling milestone when the number of tourist beds exceeded for the first time the number of official residents, which is now below 50,000 in the historic center with its picturesque canals.
“Putting a ticket to enter a city will not decrease not even by one single unit the number of visitors that are coming,’’ said Tommaso Cacciari, an activist who organized a protest Thursday against the measure.
“You pay a ticket to take the metro, to go to a museum, an amusement park; you don’t pay a ticket to enter a city. This is the last symbolic step of a project of an idea of this municipal administration to kick residents out of Venice,” he said.
Venturini said about 6,000 people had already paid to download the QR code, and officials expect paid day-tripper arrivals Thursday to reach some 10,000.
More than 70,000 others have downloaded a QR code denoting an exemption, including to work in Venice or as a resident of the Veneto region. People staying in hotels in Venice, including in mainland districts like Marghera or Mestre, should get a QR code attesting to their stay, which includes a hotel tax.
The tourist official says interest in Venice's pilot program has been keen from other places suffering from mass tourism, including other Italian art cities and cities abroad such as Barcelona and Amsterdam.
Marina Rodino, who has lived in Venice for 30 years, is opposed to the new plan. She was passing out mock EU passports for “Venice, Open City,” underlining the irony of the new system, and challenging its legal standing with citations from the Italian constitution guaranteeing its citizens the right to “move or reside freely in any part of the national territory."
Rodino has seen her local butcher close and families leave her neighborhood near the famed Rialto Bridge as short-term apartment rentals spring up. But she said the new entrance fee requirement will still allow young people to flood the city in the evening for often rowdy gatherings.
“This is not a natural oasis. This is not a museum. It is not Pompeii," she said. “It is a city, where we need to fight so the houses are inhabited by families, and stores reopen. That is what would counter this wild tourism.”
Tourists arrive in Venice, Italy, Thursday, April 25, 2024. The fragile lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. The daytripper tax is being tested on 29 days through July, mostly weekends and holidays starting with Italy's Liberation Day holiday Thursday. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment, while another 70,000 will receive exceptions, for example, because they work in Venice or live in the Veneto region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Stewards check tourists QR code access outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Thursday, April 25, 2024. The fragile lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. The daytripper tax is being tested on 29 days through July, mostly weekends and holidays starting with Italy's Liberation Day holiday Thursday. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment, while another 70,000 will receive exceptions, for example, because they work in Venice or live in the Veneto region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Stewards check a tourist QR code access outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Thursday, April 25, 2024. The fragile lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. The daytripper tax is being tested on 29 days through July, mostly weekends and holidays starting with Italy's Liberation Day holiday Thursday. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment, while another 70,000 will receive exceptions, for example, because they work in Venice or live in the Veneto region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
A steward shows the QR code access outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Thursday, April 25, 2024. The fragile lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. The daytripper tax is being tested on 29 days through July, mostly weekends and holidays starting with Italy's Liberation Day holiday Thursday. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment, while another 70,000 will receive exceptions, for example, because they work in Venice or live in the Veneto region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
A steward checks a tourist QR code access outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Thursday, April 25, 2024. The fragile lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. The daytripper tax is being tested on 29 days through July, mostly weekends and holidays starting with Italy's Liberation Day holiday Thursday. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment, while another 70,000 will receive exceptions, for example, because they work in Venice or live in the Veneto region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Stewards check tourists QR code access outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Thursday, April 25, 2024. The fragile lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. The daytripper tax is being tested on 29 days through July, mostly weekends and holidays starting with Italy's Liberation Day holiday Thursday. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment, while another 70,000 will receive exceptions, for example, because they work in Venice or live in the Veneto region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Tourists take pictures at the St. Mark square in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Tourists ride on a ferry boat in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
People stand in front of an information board explaining how to pay the tourist tax in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Marco Bettini, director of Venis Informatics System, gestures as he talks to reporters at the police Venice control room, in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Venice councillor Simone Venturini speaks with reporters in front of a tourist tax totem in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Workers prepare banner explaining how to pay the tourist tax in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Marco Bettini, director of Venis Informatics System, gestures as he explains the Venice density to reporters at the police Venice control room in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Tourists arrive at the main train station in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Workers prepare the tourist tax cashier desks outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Porters wait for tourists outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Workers prepare the tourist tax cashier desks outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Workers prepare the tourist tax cashier desks outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Porters wait for tourists outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Tourists arrive outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Tourist information boards are seen outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Tourists arrive outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
