American author, James Fenimore Cooper, lived most of his life in Cooperstown, New York, a town originally founded by his father. Cooper served in the US Navy as a midshipman, an experience that was to influence many of his novels and other writings. Cooper’s best-known works are five historical novels of the frontier period known as the Leatherstocking Tales, but among his most famous works is the romantic novel The Last of the Mohicans, often regarded as his masterpiece.

Other than learning about the history of baseball, and Cooperstown is where it all began in 1839 by Abner Doubleday who is credited with inventing the game, the town is blessed with a beautiful body of water known as the Otsego Lake. Cooper referred to it as Glimmerglass Lake in his series of Leatherstocking Tales, which is the native-American name.

The lake is beautiful with crystal clear water which is the source of the Susquehanna River, the longest river on the east coast draining into the Atlantic Ocean. All the usual water-based activities are popular in the summer season including fishing for Rainbow Trout, Atlantic Salmon and Walleye (which Mike and I love to eat when we’re in Wisconsin and which is similar to a Cod/Plaice mix). There is also the Glimmerglass State Park that overlooks the lake, which we didn’t visit as the weather wasn’t playing ball!

Lake Otsego – beautiful, even on a rainy and overcast day!