2026 RT Final Days

Hello!

We are in the final days on our way home to Houston. But first, a few fun things to report!

Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA.

After a 10 minute video to tell the history there were some interactive displays. Kevin Durant's hands - the tops of my fingers barely come up to where his fingers join his palm. Holy cow!

These old "onesies" uniforms are awesome - they should definitely make a comeback. 

Texas Western was the first NCAA college to win the national championship with an all black starting five!

Magic Johnson jersey:

They had a lovely section devoted to Kobe Bryant:

I was invited to the host table with Shaq and Charles!

Kevin Durant UT jersey:

They had a special section on Stephan Curry. It is the first time an active player in the NBA has been spotlighted. He truly changed the game.

Game ball Texas Tech Red Raiders 1983 NCAA Women's championship!

The NBA finals championship trophy from Boston Celtics 1986.

David Robinson 1999 NBA finals jersey. Austin and I met him in Hawaii in 2014.

It was a good "museum". Basketball was invented by Naismith in Springfield Dec 21, 1891. They were looking for a game to play indoors because the weather was so cold. Within a year the game was being played by both women and men and was becoming popular overseas. 

Leaving South Lee, MA on Thursday we drove straight to the MLB Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. We got there at 9:00 and spent three hours enjoying all things baseball! ⚾ 

Some highlights:

Greg Maddux was one of my favorite pitchers. Known as "the professor" he was always thinking ten moves ahead.

Home town hero: Nolan Ryan

Originally patented catcher's mask. I think I've seen something similar in the torture museum in Prague!

Babe Ruth

Peña's equipment from the World Series:

Each team has a locker with some of their memorabilia - Astros:

Jackie Robinson displayed tremendous courage and poise in 1947 when he integrated the modern major leagues in the face of intense adversity.

Originally his HOF plaque did not mention his role as the first black player. His statistics as a player certainly earned him his place in the HOF. His widow asked for the plaque to be changed so that future generations would understand his full impact on the game. 

The first class included Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth.

Ty Cobb is in the center because he got the most votes, more than Babe Ruth!

We joined a short tour of the plaque atrium and there was some discussion about Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson who were previously banned from the Hall of Fame. They are no longer banned but it remains to be seen if they will be voted in. 

It was a great museum/HOF. We have now visited the Football, Basketball and Baseball Halls of Fame. While we enjoyed them all, I think Baseball was number one for me.

Final stop before we pointed our car in the direction of home was the Memorial for Flight 93.

On September 11, 2001 as the tragedy at the World Trade Center in NY and at the Pentagon in DC was unfolding, a fourth plane, Flight 93 was on its way to San Francisco from NY.

When the terrorists assumed control of the plane, the passengers, calling loved ones from the onboard phones, learned of the earlier plane hijackings. The passengers made a plan, voted and stormed the cockpit in an attempt to regain control. They did not manage to gain control but they changed the course of the plane, crashing into a field in rural Pennsylvania instead of it's intended target, likely in DC. Their heroism saved many lives.

The memorial is haunting, especially on a foggy morning.

One marble panel for each of the 33 passengers and 7 crew.

Tower of Voices. 40 wind chimes hanging in a 93 ft tower.

Hickory gate looking over the impact site and debris field.

Twenty-five years later - they are not forgotten.

Now we head home.

Sheri and Carsten