Cooperstown - NYC

When we decided to head to Cooperstown, New York, for Mason's final 12U tournament, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to take the whole family to New York City and turn it into an unforgettable vacation.

What I never expected was that almost our entire Oklahoma Braves family would be there too! Exploring one of the greatest cities in the world alongside some of our closest friends made the trip even more special.  This was a trip we will never forget!

Our trip started with a 5:00am flight, which meant a 2:30am wakeup call!!!

And to make NYC even more exciting, the World Cup was going on while we were there!  The energy throughout the city was so much fun!

Shortly after we landed, we met up with my cousin Joseph and his girlfriend at a local bar in Hell’s Kitchen to cheer on Team USA. USA got the win, and we had such a fun time catching up with family while taking in all the World Cup excitement!

We may have had an early wake-up call, but we powered through!  After the USA game, we headed to Broadway to see The Outsiders! 

The kids read The Outsiders in 8th grade, Mason will read it when he gets to 8th grade, and since the story is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, we thought it was the perfect Broadway experience for our family. It definitely did NOT disappoint! Such an amazing show and the perfect way to end our first day in NYC!

The next morning we started our day with a walk on the High Line!  The High Line has always been on my NYC list, and somehow this was the first trip we finally made it happen!

And seeing this mural right at the start of our trek was pretty perfect… if that doesn’t scream BOOMER SOONER, I don’t know what does!

Finding the Official World Cup soccer ball was a hit as well!

Next stop… Canal Street!  The kids loved haggling for the perfect deal on a few “designer” finds! They especially got a kick out of being led down a side alley, watching the dealer call for our “deliveries,” and then seeing everything quickly get bagged up with a warning that the cops were coming. 

Canal Street is ALWAYS an experience and definitely gave the kids a NYC story to tell! 

First sight of the Freedom Tower and it was impressive!

The 9/11 Memorial was high on our list as well. Although the kids weren’t alive when September 11th happened, we still felt it was important for them to see and understand such a significant part of our country’s history.

The reflecting pools truly take your breath away, especially when you stop and think about the Twin Towers standing in those exact spots. It’s incredibly powerful and something I’m glad we were able to experience together.

We lightened the mood a bit by finding a local pub and cheering on the Sooners baseball team in the College World Series!  Boomer Sooner!

Last adventure of the day was a sunset cruise on the Hudson River with a few of our Braves families!  Definitely an evening we will always remember. The NYC skyline and sunset made for some pretty incredible scenery, but the company was even better! Such a fun way to end an amazing day in the city!

Cant beat pizza, your besties and a sunset boat ride!

Seeing Lady Liberty with the sun setting behind her was stunning!

Love this crew!!!!  So lucky to have shared this incredible experience with some of our best friends!

One of my absolute favorite pictures from our trip!!!

After a LONG and fun day we made the kids pose with all their Canal Street finds . . .

Elevator pic and I had no idea Mason was exposing a certain finger until after I had posted it

The next morning, we hopped on the subway and headed to Yankee Stadium to watch the Yankees take on the Reds!  It was Father’s Day, which made the experience even more special. Such a fun and memorable day for our family and the Braves crew! 

If watching a game at Yankee Stadium just days before heading to Cooperstown didn’t get these boys pumped up, I don’t know what would!

After the game, we hopped back on the subway and headed to Grand Central Station before making our way to SUMMIT One Vanderbilt!  This was one of Mason’s favorite things we did on his birthday trip to NYC, and he couldn’t wait to go back and experience it again with Jackson and Harper.

The elevator ride up to the top of Summit One Vanderbilt is a ride in itself

Baddy brothers taking on NYC . . .

Love these girls so much!  The Braves siblings are so special!

Empty subway rides are always the best!  

Our last morning in NYC the kids participated in the Great Big Game Show in Times Square and had a blast!  

It was siblings vs the Braves boys, and the Braves boys won!

Our last NYC adventure was the perfect ending!  The kids played wiffle ball in Central Park, and it couldn’t have been a more fitting sendoff before heading to Cooperstown!

 

We picked up our rental car in Times Square, Tyler survived driving through the crazy NYC streets, and we were officially off to Albany for the night!  Next stop… COOPERSTOWN!

We made it to Albany just in time to watch our Sooners win the College World Series in Omaha!  We decided it had to be a sign that a really good week of baseball was headed our way, too! 

What an incredible and memorable start to our Cooperstown week!