2026 GREAT AMERICA 250 ADVENTURE - A MEDIOCRE HALL OF FAME

 

MONDAY – JULY 6, 2026: I spent the night at the Holiday Inn Express in East Greenbush, New York. This hotel sits up on a hill and afforded me a nice view of the Albany Skyline. I really liked this hotel, as it was off the road and was very quiet. It was exceptionally clean and the employees were very helpful. Plus, it’s always a good stay when the Pancake Roller is working.

I don’t have a lot planned today other than to make some miles and travel almost al the way across Massachusetts into New Hampshire which will set me up for the next few day.

I was lazy this morning and slept in. I think the last few days of 100+ degree temperatures took its toll and I was a little lazy this morning. I didn’t get out of bed until a little after 8:30 a.m. After breakfast, I finally checked out and hit the road at 9:30 a.m.

I headed east on Interstate 90 which is a toll road here in New York and for some stretches in Massachusetts. A few years back I got an EZ Pass, and I reloaded it before I left so I do get a little bit of a discount.

About 30 minutes into my trip I stopped at the Love’s Travel Stop in Canaan, New York. I have the Loves app on my phone and usually get a10 cent per gallon discount when I scan the QR Code at the pump. This time when I scanned the code at the pump, I got 20 cents off which was a nice surprise, especially with these high prices here in the Northeast.

After gassing up and getting coffee, It was off to my first stop of the day. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. I was here back in 2009 when I spent a couple of weeks touring New England with Stephanie Young and her family.

Senior Admission to the Hall of Fame is $25. If I was still young admission would have been $34.  I have been to all of the major sports Hall of Fames, (Baseball, Football and Basketball) and of the three the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is my least favorite.

To me there is very little that is special about this Hall of Fame. At the Baseball Hall of Fame you have all the memorabilia and the Hall of Fame Plaques that makes it really special. The same with the NFL Hall of Fame. It has an abundance of Memorabilia and the Hall of Fame Busts.

Here, there is nothing really that special. The memorabilia that is on display is mostly ceremonial basketball, some game worn uniforms and a lot of sneakers. There is nothing special about the Hall of Honor or whatever it’s called. There are no plaques or busts honoring those who have been inducted. It is only a list of names on a glass wall. Really very plain.

I didn’t spent much time at the Hall of Fame, I did have lunch in one of the adjacent sports themed restaurants. While the food was pretty good, it was nothing to write home about.

After visiting the hall of fame and having lunch, I made my way back to Interstate 90 and headed east across the northern part of Massachusetts. This was really a pretty boring drive, nothing to see or do along the way. So, I just clicked off the miles.

Just east of Worcester, Massachusetts I left Interstate 90 and headed north on Interstate 495 and traveled up to Interstate 93 which took me into the State of New Hampshire.

A few miles in to New Hampshire I left the interstate and traveled to the Forest Hills Cemetery in East Derry, New Hampshire. I wanted to come here and visit the grave of Alan B. Shepard, the first American to fly into space.

He became a naval aviator in 1947, and a test pilot in 1950. He was selected as one of NASA's original Mercury Seven astronauts in 1959, and in May 1961 he made the first crewed Project Mercury flight, in a spacecraft he named Freedom 7. His Technically entered space, but was not capable of achieving orbit. He became the second person, and the first American, to travel into space.

Just for the Record, Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet cosmonaut, became the first person in space on April 12, 1961.

Alan Shepard made his second space flight as commander of Apollo 14 from January 31 to February 9, 1971. It was America's third successful lunar landing mission. He became the fifth and, at the age of 47, the oldest man to walk on the Moon, and the only one of the Mercury Seven astronauts to walk on the surface of the moon.

Alan Shepard was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in 1996 and died from complications of the disease in on July 21, 1998. He is resting in the family plot in Forest Hills Cemetery in his hometown of Derry, New Hampshire.

While I was in this cemetery, I discovered that there was another notable person resting here. So, I made my way down to the far end of the cemetery and found the grave of murder victim Gregory Smart.

Greg Smart married Pamela Smart in 1989 and the couple lived here in Derry, New Hampshire. Gregg was 24-year-old insurance agent, and Pam was the director of media services at Winnacunnet High School in nearby Hampton, New Hampshire.

It was at the high school that Pam met and seduced a15-year old student named Billy Flynn. In order to sustain the relationship and not lose possession of her dog, furniture, and condo in a divorce, Pam conspired with Flynn to murder her husband.

On May 1, 1990, six days before the couple's first wedding anniversary, Billy Flynn used a handgun to kill Gregg Smart execution style as Gregg entered the condominium.

What followed was a sensational murder trial. It was one of the first murder trials that I followed closely on the old Court TV Channel.

Pam Smart was convicted of murder-conspiracy and accomplice to murder. She was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. The case received international media coverage and inspired the made for TV movie "Murder in New Hampshire."

Billy Flynn pled guilty to Second Degree Murder and was sentenced to 28 years to life in Prison. In 2015 at the age of 41, Flynn was granted parole and was released from Prison. Today, he is more or less living a quiet life in Maine with his wife Kelly, whom he married while incarcerated.

After finishing my visit to Forest Hills Cemetery I made my way back to the interstate and headed toward the Holiday Inn Express in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Before checking into the Holiday Inn Express, I stopped at a nearby Olive Garden for supper. Then it was off to my room to finalize my plans for the next couple of days.

2026 GREAT AMERICA 250 ADVENTURE - HUDSON VALLEY PRESIDENTS

 

SUNDAY - JULY 5, 2025: I Spent the night at the Comfort Inn just off of Interstate 84 in Fishkill, New York. I use to stay almost exclusively at Choice Hotel Properties, but after COVID the cleanliness and service at their properties deteriorate and since then I have stayed mostly at Drury Inn, Holiday Inn or Hampton Inn. 

I still have a significant amount of Choice Loyalty points; I chose to cash in some of those points for a free stay at the Fishkill Comfort Inn. I must say this is an excellent hotel. The employees were outstanding and the hotel was very clean. If all Choice Properties were like this one, they would still be my primary choice for lodging.

One of my goals is to visit all of the Presidential Libraries and Museums and visit all the presidential graves. Currently there have been 45 men who have served as President of the United States, 5 of them (George W. Bush, Barak Obama, Joe Biden, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump) are still living.  There are currently 39 presidential gravesites and of those 39 at the end of this trip I will have visited 28 of them.

On this trip alone I plan to visit Grover Cleveland, Franklin Roosevelt, Martin Van Buren, Franklin Pierce, Calvin Coolidge and Chester A. Arthur.

 I still must Visit Both John and John Quincy Adams, Millard Fillmore, Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, John Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.

From my hotel in Fishkill, it was a short 30-minute drive to the Village of Hyde Park. Here I visit the Franklin Roosevelt National Historic Site.  The site is home to Springwood, President Roosevelt’s Birthplace and lifelong home, and his Presidential Library and Museum. President Roosevelt, his wife Eleanor and his pet Scottish Terrier, Fala are buried in the rose garden.

Because I was visiting on the 4^th of July weekend, admission to the property was free. The guided tour of the home was somewhat abbreviated with our guide giving us a short overview on each floor. Then were left to explore each room at our leisure.

After finishing my tour of the house, I was free to explore the rest of the property. Between the house and the presidential museum is the rose gardens, which is undergoing extensive renovation.

The large marble monument is still in the rose garden is still there but the white marble ground stones that mark the actual graves of the President and Eleanor have been removed to protect them from damage while the side is renovated.  Also, the sundial that marked the grave of President Roosevelt’s Scottish Terrier Fala has also been removed.

The FDR Presidential Museum has a large collection of artifacts relating to every aspect of President Roosevelt’s life. One of the more historical artifacts on display is the original draft of President Roosevelt’s “Day of Infamy” speech that he delivered to Congress the day after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.

I arrived at the FDR National Historic Site just a few minutes after it opened at 9 a.m. and spent a little over 3 hours on the grounds.  There is one more site in Hyde Park that I want to visit before moving on up the Hudson Valley.

Val-Kill is officially known as the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site. Val-Kill is a small stone cottage where Eleanor Roosevelt would spend most of her time whenever President Roosevelt was at the White House or at the Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia.

Following President Roosevelt death in 1945, Val-kill became Eleanor’s primary home as she and the family made the decision to donate Springwood to the National Park Service.

Wrapping up my visit to Hyde Park, it was time to head north toward my next stop in the Village of Kinderhook, New York. The drive up along the Hudson River from Hyde Park to Kinderhook took about an hour and fifteen minutes.

Just south of the Village is Lindenwald, which is the Home of President Matin Van Buren. It had been my intention to take the guided tour of the house and then walk around the grounds.

But a couple of nights ago a line of very sever storms passed through the area with 80 mph winds and baseball size hail and several locations up and down the Hudson Valley have suffered some rather significant damage.

That was the case here at Lindenwald.  Several tree on the property were either completely blown over or received significant damage. As a result, the National Park Service closed the property.

So, I was unable to tour the house or even walk the grounds. Since I could tour Lindenwald, I made my way to the Old Dutch Reform Cemetery just north of the Village of Kinderhook to visit the Grave of Martin Van Buren, who served as the 8^th President of the Untied States from 1837-1841.

From Kinderhook, it was a short drive to the Holiday Inn – East Greenbush just east of Albany, New York. After a quick supper at a new by Cracker Barrel, I settled into my room, which had a great view of the Albany Skyline in the distance

Today, was a little disappointing because I didn’t get to tour Lindenwald, because of all the storm damage. But the FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Sites were excellent.  I only have a couple of stops scheduled for tomorrow as I need to head across Massachusetts which will set me up for a busy next couple of days.

2026 AMERICA 250 ADVENTURE - CEMETERIES OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY

SATURDAY - JULY 4, 2026: Well, Today didn't go as planned. I spent the night at the Holiday Inn Express and Suites in Hawthorne, New York.  I decided to stay here because had planned on driving over to a nearby train station and takin the Metro North to the Northern Part of Manhattan and walking over to visit Grant’s Tomb on Riverside Avenue. I got up a little early and went to purchase my train ticket. But went I started to enter my information an alert came up that the station that I needed to get off a was closed “due to police activity.”

So, I walked down and had breakfast and came back to my room and once again tried to purchase a ticket. But once again I was met with an alert, only this time it was “service interruption,” which I think means that the train I needed is not running at all.

I still had plenty of time before I had to check out of the Hotel, so I set about replanning my day. This Hotel is only about two miles from two really large cemeteries that have a lot of notable people buried in them. So, this is going to turn into a cemetery day.

After checking out of the Holiday Inn I drove around to the Gate of Heaven Cemetery. This is a very large Catholic Cemetery. When I large cemetery, I mean more than 250 acres large and has more than 200,000 graves.  Because it is so large, I logged on to Find-A-Grave and used the coordinates listed for individual graves.

Immediately upon entering the cemetery from Stevens Avenue there is a large group of crypts situated around what appears to be a large chapel. It is here that I find the first person that was on my list. Academy Award winning actor James Cagney rests in one of the end crypts.

James Cagney is regarded as one of the finest actors that ever to appeared camera. He is best remembered for such films as “Public Enemy,” “Angels with Dirty Faces,” “The Roaring Twenties,” and “Taxi.” He won an Academy Award for his role of George M. Cohan in the 1942 Musical “Yankee Doodle Dandy.”

He was 86 years old when he passed away from a heart attack on March 30, 1986.

Gate of Heaven cemetery is the final resting place of a number of notable baseball figures, and I was able to visit 4 of them during this visit. 

First I stopped and visited the grave of long time National League Umpire John McSherry.  During his 25 years as a National League Umpire, John worked Two World Series, Two National League Division Series and eight National League Championship Series.

Big John as he known around the league was very popular with the Players, Managers and fans. On April 1, 1996, John was scheduled to work the plate for the Opening Day Game between The Cincinnati Reds and Montreal Expos at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

Seven pitches into the game, John Called time and started to walk toward the tunnel that leads to the Umpires Dressing Room behind home plate. John collapsed and was immediately tended to by trainers and medical staff.

He was taken from the field and transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. John McSherry was 51 years old.

Next up I visited the grave of the man who gave up one of the most famous homeruns in Major League Baseball History. Back in 1951 the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers ended the regular season in a tie. The National League order a three-game playoff to decide the National League Champions.

With the Dodgers ahead 4-2 in the Bottom of the 9^th inning Giants third baseman Bobby Thomson stop to the play to face Dodger Pitcher Ralph Branca. With two runners on base, Thomson sent Branca’s pitch over the outfield fence for a three-run homer, giving the Giants the National League Pennant.

Today, here at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, I paid my respects to Ralph Branca, the man who gave up that three-run homer that has come to be known as “The Shot Heard around the World.”

Just around the corner from Ralph Branca are the graves of two of the great New York Yankees.  First, I stopped at the grave of Yankee Player and Manager, Billy Martin. 

Billy who wore uniform number 1, was a scrappy second baseman for the Yankees and a lifelong friend of Yankee Greats Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford. After his playing days were over, Billy turns to managing. From 1969 through 1988 Billy managed the Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, and Oakland A’s.

But his is best known for being the Manager of the Yankees on 5 separate occasions. Some people joked that the only reason George Steinbrenner hired him was so he could fire him. Billy’s fiery temper that he showed as a player followed him as a manager. Not only did he have some well documented dust up with Yankee Owner George Steinbrenner, but he and Yankee Star Reggie Jackson came close to coming to blows in the the Yankee Dugout and had to be separated.

Billy was still a special consultant to Steinbrenner when he was killed vehicle crash on Christmas Day in 1989. Some say that Steinbrenner was prepared to name Billy as the Yankee Manager for the 6^th time before the team reported to spring training in 1990.

Just a short walk from the grave of Billy Martin is the grave of, George Herman “Babe” Ruth, one of the greatest and most beloved Yankees of all time. During his career he had a lifetime batting average of 342 with 2,873 hits and 2,214 Runs Batted In. His 714 Home Runs stood as the Major League Record until it was broken by Hank Aaron in 1974. The Old Yankee Stadium was known as the House the Ruth Built. 

Babe Ruth passed away on August 16, 1948, from the complications of Cancer.

After finishing up at Gate of Heaven, I moved next door to Kensico Cemetery where I wanted to visit the grave of another Yankee Great. But first I stopped at the Memorial Bench where the Cremains of Singer/Actor Danny Kaye are interred. 

Danny Kaye starred in 23 films, including Wonder Man in 1945, The Kid from Brookly in 1946 and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.  But he is perhaps best remembered for co-starring with Bing Crosby in the 1954 Holiday Hit, White Christmas.

From the Danny Kaye Memorial Bench, I made my way to the gave of the man baseball fans know as “The Iron Horse,” Yankee Great Lou Gehrig.

Lou was named as and All-Star seven consecutive times and won the Major League Triple Crown in
1934. He had a career 340 batting average, 2,721 hits and 1,995 runs batted in. He played in 2,130 consecutive games. A Major League Record that stood until broke the record by playing in 2,632 games.

Lou Gehrig died on June 2, 1941 from the complications of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) which is commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

My final stop of the day was at the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York. This area was the setting for Washington Irving’s Story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” featuring The Headless Horseman and Ichabod Crane.

Washington Irving is buried in this cemetery along with a number of other notable people. But due to it being the 4^th of July, I couldn’t get to his grave because of a private function that was being conducted by the historical society.

So, I spent the next hour or so driving around the cemetery admiring some of the elaborate private Mausoleums. It is hard to believe that some of the private mausoleums are more than 10 time more expensive that the Average American Home.

In addition to William Rockefeller, Walter Chrysler and his family are resting in the Chrysler Mausoleum. My last stop of the day was at the mausoleum that holds the remains of Harry and Leona Helmsley.

The Helmsley’s were successful real estates executives and hotel operators. Leona was often referred to as “The Queen of Mean,” for the way she treated employee, family and friends. One former employee said following her death, “there won’t be many mourners at her funeral. Nobody liked her and nobody is sorry she is gone.”

Finishing up at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery it was time to make the 35-mile drive up to the Comfort Suites just off of Interstate 84 in Fishkill, New York.

I cashed in some Choice Hotel Point for a free night stay. After a good supper at the 84 Diner, I settled into my room for the night. But about 10:30 p.m. my phone started going off with severe weather alerts. Severe storms with 80 mph winds and baseball size hail were approaching the Fishkill Area.

After looking at the weather radar, I decided to hustle down and move my car under the hotel’s entrance awning.  Just before the storm hit a couple of other people had the same idea.

This turned out to be a good move. Five minutes later the storm hit and it was a humdinger. I have never been in a storm this bad. The wind blew over two trees across the road from the hotel and the area was peppered with grapefruit size hail for about 10-minutes. Most of the car windows were busted and the vehicle bodies were pretty much destroyed. The next morning most of the hotel guests were accessing the damage and on the phone with their insurance.

 I am so thankful that I was able to get my car under cover and avoided damage.  The hotel clerk told us that we could leave out cars under the cover for the rest of the night, Which we gladly did. Even though no more storms passed through, that kind gesture allows me to get a fairly good night’s sleep.

For the last several day temperatures have been in the High 90’s and into the 100’s, but with the passing storms, the temperature has now dropped back into the lower 70’s. Tomorrow promises to be a much cooler day.

2026 GREAT AMERICA 250 ADVENTURE - WHEN YOU COME TO A FORK IN THE ROAD, TAKE IT.

 

For the second year in a row, I find myself traveling over the 4th of July Weekend.  I usually avoid travel on any of the Major Holiday weekend, but for the second year in a row some real life issues have force me to travel over the 4th of July. 

I actually left home on Thursday, July 2, 2026 and made the 400 mile drive to my Hotel in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.  The only real stop I had scheduled for today was at Buc-ee's in Mount Crawford, Virginia, where I had lunch an picked up a few snacks for the next couple of days. 

FRIDAY - JULY 3, 2026 - Well, my Great America250 Adventure got into full swing today. Although it actually began yesterday, I didn’t have anything major planned except miles. I spent the night in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. My hotel was only about a mile from the Wind Creek Casino. So, I decided to head over and try my luck. I was here several years ago with my friend Pete and Valerie Ramey, so I had players card. When I arrived, I renewed my Players card which got me free admission to the Steelworks Buffet and Grill. Nothing like a free supper. So, I was already a winner. That was the only thing I won. No luck at the slot machines.

This morning I made the hour and 15 minute drive down to The Princeton Cemetery in Princeton, New Jersey.  What better way to begin my America250 Adventure than a visit to a cemetery that is older than our country. It was founded in 1757. That’s 269 years ago, and veterans from the Revolutionary War are resting here.

I started my visit to this historic cemetery by visiting the grave of our 22^nd and 24^th President, Grover Cleveland.  Until President Trump was elected, President Cleveland was the only President to serve two non-consecutive terms. He was the first democrat elected president after the Civil War 

Just a short walk from President Cleveland’s grave is the obelisk that mark the grave of Civil War General David Hunter.  Now General Hunter is not very well thought of back in Virginia, especially in Lexington and Rockbridge County. 

In the summer of 1864 General Hunter executed a scorched earth campaign in the Shenandoah Valley. He hit Lexington exceptionally hard as he burned down VMI on June 11, 1864, in retaliation for VMI sending cadets to fight at New Market.

Hunter also ordered the home of former governor John Letcher burned in retaliation him having issued "a violent and inflammatory proclamation that incited the population of the country to rise and wage guerrilla warfare on Union troops.” Hunter also wreaked havoc on Washington College in Lexington, later Washington and Lee University. According to Fitzhugh Lee's who was the nephew of General Robert E. Lee, Hunter had no respect for colleges, or the private dwellings that were occupied by only women and children during the three days he occupied Lexington. General Hunter later served in the honor guard at the funeral of Abraham Lincoln and accompanied his body back to Springfield.

Just about 50-yards from President Cleveland and General Hunter is the grave of the 3^rd President of the United States, Aaron Burr.  He served as Vice President under President Thomas Jefferson but is perhaps best remembered for his duel with Alexander Hamilton, on the morning of July 11, 1804. Hamilton was mortally wounded during the duel and died the Next Day. Aaron Burr was uninjured.

After his term as Vice President ended, he moved to the west and many thought that he was attempting to raise a fight force to challenge Government of the United States. He was arrested and tried for treason but was acquitted. 

Just a few yards from Aaron Burr is the grave of the man who some say established the gold standard of political polling. In the 1960’s and 70’s George Gallup and the Gallup poll was featured in every political campaign and used by every major broadcast and print media. 

My last stop was at the grave of Pete Carril, the Hall of Fame Basketball Coach who led the Princeton Tigers for over 30 years. 

Leaving Princeton. It took me about an hour to make it up to Montclair, New Jersey to visit the Yogi Berra Museum. 

Growing up my dad was a Yankee fan and his two favorite Yankees were Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra.  Through the years, I as a Dodger fan came to share my dad’s love for Yogi. I must say that the Yogi Museum is small but is packed full of Yogi history including Yogi’s 10-World Series Rings.

 I couldn’t leave without paying my respects to Yogi who is resting with his beloved Carmen at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in nearby East Hanover, New Jersey. 

 Then it was time to head across the Hudson River to the Holiday Inn Express in Westchester County, which is a few miles north of “The City.” Tomorrow, the adventure continues.