A Day in Boston

This weekend my husband and I took a trip up to New England. We went to Connecticut with his parents for a family wedding on Saturday. And then since we were in the area, we decided to go to a Boston Red Sox game on Sunday. (anyone who knows my husband knows how much he loves Boston sports teams... and how much that has rubbed off on me)

So first thing on Sunday we drove from CT to Boston. Since he used to live right outside of Boston we went there first. He showed me his "old stomping grounds" in Wakefield Mass, and then we drove around and made our way to Kelly's on Revere Beach.

Kelly's Roast Beef on the beach

Now I'm not from Boston (nor had I been there until last year), but even I've heard of Kelly's. Actually I'm pretty sure that I saw Rachel Ray eat at Kelly's on her $40 a Day show a couple years ago. But for anyone who doesnt know, it's a little food stand/restaurant right on the beach that makes some great fresh seafood. We both got fish plates that would somewhere around $10 each and they were packed with food... onion rings two large pieces of fried fish and french fries. Not exactly the best meal if you are watching your weight, but if you are looking for good fish and chips it's perfect. Kelly's was definitely worth the trip and i highly recommend it to anyone willing to brave the Massachusettes roads (more on that later).

Yum Kelly's

After that, we decided to just drive into Boston and park in a garage near Fenway Park because it was getting too close to game time to take the T in. Well we eventually made it to Fenway, half an inning late. As soon as we entered the park it started pouring and lightning... thus began Rain Delay 1. So here were are, jammed into the vending section of Fenway along with tens of thousands of other people who didnt want to get wet, just waiting for the game to start again... waiting... waiting... waiting. About 45 mins later the rain lets up and the grounds keepers come out to prepare the field. 15 minutes later, the game resumes

Matt Clement warming up

I was kind of let down. I mean most of the normal Red Sox players weren't in. There were 4 guys playing that I had never even heard of. And my personal favorite... Kevin Millar (aka the Leprachuan) wasnt even in. Luckily David Ortiz was... you cant have a Red Sox game without Big Papi. Unfortunately, they White Sox were winning. But in the middle of the 4th inning the sky turned black and the rain poured down again. Rain Delay 2. What we didnt know at the time was that the game would not resume after this delay. So again the fans herded themselves back inside Fenway and waited for the rain to let up.

Fenway Park must have made millions at this game. I mean there were thousands of people with absolutely nothing to do for hours just walking around all the food stands and souvenir shops. And we did fall victim to this. I bought myself a new Red Sox cap... white with a green B on the front and green shamrock on the back (luck of the Irish... since I'm part Irish I thought it was appropriate), and both of us got some food and soft serve ice cream.

While in line at the soft serve ice cream booth, we saw a White Sox player in a roped off section nearby. He was just hanging out talking with some fans and... eating soft serve ice cream. I found this pretty entertaining and my husband convinced me to take a picture (even though I felt incredibly awkward about taking a picture of some random guy I dont know just because he's eating ice cream.) So I did my best to find a hidden spot to take the picture from. Unforunately since it was so dark I had to use the flash, which I think blew any effort of being discreet. Oh well, at least I know that I have no future career in the paparazi.

White Sox player enjoying softer serve ice cream during the rain delay

It rained and rained and rained. We decided to use the time we had and explore Fenway. So we walked around to right field and hung out there for a little while. The rain let up and it looked like they were going to start the game again, but I guess they decided more rain was on the way so they put the tarp back down. Anyway, while the rain delay was occuring they were playing old baseball footage on the monitor. Eventually they got to scenes from the 2004 post season. And everyone there was glued to the monitor. They showed Ortiz hitting home runs and everyone cheered like crazy... they showed Schilling pitching with the now famous Bloody Ankle and everyone cheered like crazy... they showed A-Rod swatting the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's glove and everyone booed as if it were actually happening at that moment. I've seen footage of those games countless times, but I have to admit, it was fun watching it again at Fenway with thousands of fans who, obviously, were still emotionally charged.

White Sox player, Lee, signing autographs during a Rain Delay


Pesky Pole

So a couple hours and several photos later, still no game. Now we are sitting close to third base under the overhang (to avoid the rain). Wally the Green Monster comes out to sign some autographs and maybe calm the restless fans. Other than that not much is going on. We've wandered around Fenway for long enough, now we just want to watch some baseball. Unfortunately 4 hours into Rain Delay no. 2, the announcer comes on to say that the rains aren't going to let up, and so the game is cancelled. This is immediately followed by boos that seemed to echo the A-Rod sentiment I heard a few hours ago and once again Fenway Park empties, but this time we leave for good.

I think the grounds keepers got more exercise than the players. Here they are removing the tarp (only to put it back 5 minutes later).


Wally the Green Monster

Even though we only got to watch 4 innings, and we had to put up with 5 hours of rain delay, I still had a good time. It could have been better if they had finished the game (and Boston won). But oh well, I guess this just means that we'll have to go back for the make-up game.