balderramas

Balderrama’s Back East – Cooperstown and Brews

Balderrama’s Back East – Cooperstown and Brews

Romey

After a busy week of work, we set out on Saturday to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. My sister’s family lives ninety minutes away, making it inexcusable not to visit.

Rolling into Cooperstown, it was shocking just how unassuming the Hall of Fame is within the downtown area. It resembled a combination of a church and a hotel, situated in the heart of downtown. Windsor’s Main Street is far more active. We parked two blocks away, on a neighborhood street and headed right in.

Downtown Cooperstown, a block away from the Hall of Fame
Approaching the Hall of Fame on foot

Once inside, the size of the Hall becomes much more expansive. While not very wide, it goes back deep. We began our visit by watching a movie about the Hall of Fame and baseball history, then proceeded to explore the various exhibits on the second floor. We especially liked the Babe Ruth section, the Women’s baseball section (although it looked a lot bigger in A League of Their Own, and the Black and Latino player exhibits.

The third floor had what seemed to be more temporary exhibits, one showcasing baseball’s reach in other countries (namely Japan, likely commemorating Ichiro’s induction this year). We also got to see Hank Aaron’s locker, as well as lockers representing each of the teams. I inappropriately showed my disdain for the Rockies in a picture below.

They also had a Bobblehead exhibit, where we picked out various Rockies. Frankly, this was the section in the whole Hall where the Rockies were adequately represented.

We finally went down to the first floor to see the actual Hall of Fame. Standing there amongst all the busts was a remarkable experience, thinking that most of these players had once stood and touched these plaques. It felt like hallowed ground. People are not permitted to touch the plaques, but Jackie Robinson’s shiny plaque demonstrates how he touched people (or at least, compelled people to touch him and the history he represents). We also found the two Rockies in the Hall of Fame: Larry Walker and Todd Helton.

When I considered the number of people who have played baseball over the last 150 years and the relatively few plaques, the difficulty of making the Hall resonated with me. As someone who has fallen out of love with baseball (due to having a dumpster fire of a team), I’m still very glad that we took the time to visit the Hall of Fame and experience baseball’s history.

We made a detour to Ommegang Brewery, a majestic place where a beautiful large outdoor patio was surrounded by a large green field (and a scary treeline). We were blessed with gorgeous weather, making it a privilege to sit outside. We stayed through to Golden Hour and snapped some pictures in their beautiful backyard.

This was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday, and even the Baseball Hall of Fame is well worth the visit to anyone who is even a casual baseball fan. Be sure to make the trip!

Balderramas Back East – Family Fun and Watkins Glen

Balderramas Back East – Family Fun and Watkins Glen

Romey

Hello from Binghamton, New York! Clara, Mariana, and I ventured out here to visit my sister and get some much-needed cousin time. We flew in late Wednesday night (essentially Thursday morning), on a plane that seemed like a roller coaster for the first thirty minutes of our flight. We were grateful to Tony for picking us up from our delayed flight and for letting us sleep in the next morning.

The Balderrama-Durbin family adopted some miniature horses that arrived this week, and we got to meet Dandilion and Lollipop, and make sure my new camera bag took care of our gear while traveling.

We spent Thursday recovering from the flight and enjoying much-needed family time. The girls went swimming with their cousins, and we grilled burgers and hot dogs, eating dinner outside.

On Friday, we ventured out to Watkins Glen State Park, which is nestled in the middle of town and tucked away within a 2-mile hike that leads to these astonishing waterfalls. We fueled up with a slice of pizza from a Woodfire Pizza shack next to the Colonial Inn.

We started our hike by climbing hundreds of stairs (832 steps, according to ChatGPT). I began to feel the weight of my camera bag towards the end of the climb. Things finally leveled out, rewarding us with breathtaking views.

The trail broke out into an upper and lower sections, where a bridge allows you to look downward to the hikers below:

We doubled back and went downward, staying closer to the waterfalls and streams below. The entire trail is composed of these beautiful stone paths and stairways, lined with both rocks and lush greenery.

Despite the heat, humidity, and challenging climbs, everyone stayed in relatively good spirits. The streams and waterfalls near the trail kept things cool and held our attention.

We reached Rainbow Falls, which had a picturesque view where you could walk under and behind the falls. That seemed a good a spot as any to turn around.

I tried experimenting with a longer exposure, but without a tripod or monopod, I was too shaky to capture streaming portraits. I still managed to get some captivating shots.

After turning around, I took up the rear, capturing Tony and Adrian as they made their way back.

We ended our Watkins Glen adventure by enjoying ice cream from the Colonial Inn.

We were pretty tired, sweaty, and ready to be home after our daytime excursion. I was really glad I made it here, and highly recommend that if you get the opportunity to check out Watkins Glen, you take it!

Mariana’s New Bedroom!

Romey

Last weekend, we took on the weekend project of re-imagining Mariana’s bedroom. This has been her bedroom since her birth, but before that, it was also Clara’s nursery. While upgrades have been made to her room over the years, her room has still been virtually based on the same color scheme and layout up to this point.

A baby nursery with blue walls, a pink stripe on the salls, a brown chair and a wooden crib.
Clara’s Nursery back in 2013
Mariana standing in her blue room with a pink stripe, filled with a bed, table, desk, and toys everywhere.
Mariana’s room in 2022 (it normally wasn’t this messy, but she created one of her many shops out of her room).

With Clara being busy at a dance competition all weekend, this was a great opportunity for Mariana and me to be productive in the house. Mariana picked out the colors, and we took to Pinterest to get some ideas. After exploring many options, Mariana narrowed her choice down to a grey bedroom with a light blue accent wall, rejecting complex shapes and patterns that were floated to her.

The project went into full force last Wednesday when I took all of the furniture out of her room (Maraina was with her mom for the next two nights).

Mariana's blue room with a pink stripe, mostly empty, with a white bed turned on its side.

The next night I focused on getting everything off of the walls and doing a lot of patching.

The same bedroom, but now with the walls bare and covered in white spackle.

When I got the girls back Friday morning, we picked up the paint and went to town. My mom joined us and both girls were amazing helpers, and we were reminded how satisfying painting can be.

By day’s end, the paint dried enough to set up Mariana’s bed and move some furniture back into the room. She was excited to sleep in this in-progress project.

Mariana (and George, who we’re pet-setting for Shannon) spending the first night in her newly painted room

Saturday came, and Clara spent the day at her dance competition. My mom came over, and the three of us started getting the lights, shelving, wall fixtures, and all of the furnishings into the room. We had a lot of fun playing with string lights, threading them along the ceiling down her dresser wall. We swapped the location of her bed and dresser, and I replaced her nursery dresser with an amazing wooden dresser I got in an estate auction. My mom also replaced Mariana’s desk with a new-to-her desk. I also mounted Mariana’s TV to the wall to open up her dresser space. We tried to be more selective about adding things back into the room, taking the opportunity to de-clutter as much as we can.

Here is the current result, with a few more decorations to add, along with some on-the-wall shelving that will arrive next week.

Mariana's finished bedroom, with grey walls, with a sky-blue wall on the right, her bed, brown dresser, desk, and shelving.

Mariana is excitedto offer a tour:

I’m so very grateful for all the people who helped make this happen: my mom, who helped paint and decorate; Shannon, who helped me get the dresser. Next up: Clara’s room this summer? Stay tuned!

Family Photos in Jim Thorpe, PA

Romey

While planning our Jim Thorpe trip, my sister put forth the idea of organizing a family photo shoot while we were all together. She researched photographers and found Nikki Slivka Photography, who did such an awesome job capturing the beauty (and chaos) of our family of 15.

As all parents know, kids aren’t always cooperative photo subjects. It was a challenge during our session, but the kids enjoyed having some props like a parachute, bubble gun, and a ball, which helped us create awesome candid shots. The rolling hills of Jim Thorpe also created a beautiful setting.

I can’t recommend enough that any time you get together as a family, you seek out a photographer to capture your time together. I know it’s not always cheap, but I’m so glad that we did this.

Balderramas Back East – Phase 3: Ocean City, MD

Romey

After getting our fill of mountain and full family time in Jim Thorpe, PA, we ventured further east to Ocean City, Maryland. Earlier this year, when our family was trying to find a gathering point, a sizable segment of the family wanted a beach getaway, resulting my mom traveling with my sister, Christina, her family, and mine to get our beach fix at Ocean City.

Traveling from Jim Thorpe to Ocean City on a Friday presented some challenges with traffic, turning our 4-hour trip into a 6.5-hour trip. Our accommodations for the next few days was a 3-bedroom condo, which luckily didn’t feel too cramped for the nine of us. We finally pulled in after 6 pm, too late to spend any meaningful time at the beach. That didn’t stop us from unpacking as quickly as we could so that we could put our feet into the ocean.

I captured this video of everyone talking on the beach for the first time.

With kids, of course, “putting feet” into the ocean quickly turns into getting your clothes soaked. They enjoyed their little taste of the ocean, anxious for spending the rest of the weekend on the beach.

After a restful Friday night, we ventured to the Ocean City Boardwalk, which embodied the stereotypical image that I formed in my head as we were planning. It was complete with tourist shops, fried food stands, along with an amusement park (which luckily wasn’t yet open for the day).

We did a little shopping, loading up on some stickers and magnets, then took a walk to the pier to get a full view of the ocean. We opted to go earlier in the morning so that we could devote as much of Saturday to beaching. Everyone was anxious to get back to our condo, however, so that we could quickly hit the beach.

We spent the rest of the day playing in the ocean and on the beach, getting our fill of waves, sun, sand, and games. The last time we had been to the ocean, in 2018, we had a more secluded experience in North Carolina. At Ocean City, the beach was much more crowded, but we managed to carve out our little space for a beautiful afternoon. Right when we were packing up, we saw some fins from dolphins that were swimming out in the ocean.

We did learn, the hard way, that the limit for the kids being on the ocean was about 4 hours. Many of the kids were melting down by the time dinner time rolled around. We fed the kids some mac and cheese, while the adult got a seafood boil that was probably too spicy for them anyway. After 2018 though, I learned my lesson and stayed away from drinking too much of the broth.

After the kids went to bed, Christina, Tony, and I ventured back onto a beach for a moonlit walk to see what we could find on the beach. We found a cool surfing toy, as well as a baby seagull that was looking for his parents.

Recognizing our time limits, we shifted our Sunday schedule to include two separate times at the beach. We went immediately after breakfast for a two-hour stretch, with another trip planned for the early evening. In between beaching, Tony and I went to go pick up my rental car for Phase 4, while everyone else went back to the Boardwalk before we met back up for an early dinner.

Mariana had enough of the beach and was ready to get cleaned up, but while we were up in the room, a horseshoe crap washed up on the shore. After checking it out, it was returned back into the ocean.

We ended our time at the beach by writing “SOB ’23” (Summer of Balderramas) in the sand – a tradition that we started back in Daytona that we’ll continue as we venture to other beaches.

Sadly, with the conclusion of Phase 3, we also ended our team with our extended family. The girls and I packed up on Monday morning and made our way towards Washington, DC – the final phase of Balderramas Back East.