The Bawstin Red Sawx

Fenway, Park
Boston, Massachusetts

Still one of my favourite ball parks.....so far. I still have a lot left to see.

So today was my final day in Boston so I had to decide how to spend it. Sometime in the night I decided that my last day here should be spent in one of the best ball parks ever....Fenway Park. Now I have to tell you that getting tickets turned out to be more of an ordeal than I expected. I have easily bought tickets off Stub Hub before and you can normally buy them up to 2 hours before game time. I had been up packing most of the night so I figured first thing in the morning I would go online, buy some tickets and then take a nap before heading to the game. Little did I know that the Internet at the hotel was going to not work at that time. After attempting to get the hotel's telephone help desk to fix the problem, I decided that my telephone help desk would work better......that would be Mom. So at around 8am EST (that's 5am on the west coast). I woke mom up and talked her through the process of buying me tickets online. By the time that was done and the ticket had been email to my inbox.......my Internet came back on.

I took this picture because I was thinking it was just another example of America's love affair with guns. Then I read it. This is actually an advertise AGAINST what they call The Gun Show Loophole. I guess at a gun show it is a lot easier to get a gun....as the sign says without ID and without a background check. Some people feel criminals and terrorists (it is America after all.....so it is all about the terrorists) use the gun shows to arm themselves.

Eventually I got my ticket and made my way into the city for what turned out to be a great day at the ball park. It was a little cooler than I would have liked but it can't be perfect everyday.

I love the price jump for the ball game. Driving here would be INSANE. Forget the cost of parking. The little tiny roads and the crazy, make no sense intersections are enough to deter me.

Some of the pre-game entertainment you will find on Yawkey Way. Before every game they close the street down and throw a big street party with music and food and lots of baseball talk. I'm afraid you need a ticket to the game to get into the party but if you are already going to the game you may was well stop by.

It was Mascot Day at the ball park. In this picture you see Wally the Green Monster (obviously the Red Sox mascot), Lucky the Leprechaun who cheers on the Celtics and hiding in the back is Blades the Boston Bruins' mascot (yes blades is a bear). These were just the main three but there were a whole bunch more too.

My view. Just how I like it. I sat with this very nice couple who brought their 4 and 6 year old boys. I quickly saw the difference a couple years can make. The 6 year old was quite interested in the game. The 4 year old......well he was much more interested in how many peanut shells he could crack. He didn't get to eat many....but he did manage to crack them all open. They were really nice and we enjoyed a great game together.

A couple of the Red Sox that decorate the place.

Eventually the game ended.....Baltimore won in extra innings so it was a good game. A a Red Sox loss is a win for the Blue Jays so it was a double good day. Of course no trip to Fenway is complete without a picture with the Green Monster........and I don't mean Wally.

Sorry I also had to add this picture too. I know it is not very good quality because it was taken on my Blackberry so I could send it to people but it was a good picture with the Green Monster so I had to include it.

It turned out my day was not even close to being over once I left the game. It turned out there was a major power outage in the subway so I got stuck.....in a very crowded subway car for about a half hour. Once we made it to a station.....I had to go back to the streets and walk to another train station so I could hop on the Red Line back to Braintree. I guess on a positive note I got to take one more stroll through Boston Common.

And look......the Common even had Balloons!

And with that, my time in Boston has come to an end. So I guess the only thing left to do is quote some Trooper:

"We're here for a good time, Not a long time. So have a good time. The sun can't shine everyday."

Julie

Spring is in the Air....For the Moment Anyway

New York, New York

So I had a day off in the middle of my 2 on, 1 off, 3 on stretch at work (in case you need help with the math, that equates with me working five 12 hour shifts in 6 days....not so fun) and all I really wanted to do was sleep in, wake up, watch a movie (or 2), eat and then go back to bed. However, the weather had another idea. It was a beautiful 10 C (50 F) which meant it was time to pull out some flip-flops and go for a walk.

It wouldn't be a walk if I didn't find some stairs.

After faxing some very important paperwork (I had to send more money to the CRNBC so that they will fill out some paperwork for me to renew my VISA screen certificate......you would think the $500 a year I pay them for my license would cover such costs but no, I actually get nothing from them except a magazine....ok I'm done complaining now) I decided I would walk as far west as I could and see what I could find. From my apartment, if I walk half a block to the east I hit Central Park. About 5 blocks to the west though I also hit some park land....who knew?

Ahhh the sun.......how I love you!

Through the trees you can just make out the West Side Highway and then past that the Hudson River.

I also found this in my newly discovered parkland. This is the Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Monument of The City of New York. (No really....that's what the plaque says). I am sure that I went past in on my bus tour way back in February 2007 but this is the first time I have been back. I guess I will have to head west a little more often. Who knows what else I will find.

Another shot through the trees. Can't wait for Spring to really arrive and for everything to turn green. Of course Spring also means the return of baseball season so YEAH!!!!!

This was the advertisement at my local grocery store. I think someone is trying to tell me something.

Julie