How I Spent My Summer Vacation -- Go Red Sox!

July 16 -- Fenway

So, proving that you're never too old, I ventured to Fenway Park for my first Red Sox game.  I was being shown the ropes by two crazed Red Sox fans of many, many years, my sisters.  Drink was involved.  Gladly, we were a short walk to and from.  I snickered at those poor folk who had to find parking at exorbitant prices.  And then actually drive away after the game.

Had we not very recently had lunch, I could have filled up on the great food being sold outside the park.

Photo by ballparkguides.com

But my Fenway guides promised me good food inside, so we went in and settled into what I was repeatedly told were, "AWESOME SEATS" to the right of home plate.

We were soon approached by a dude with a camera.  My inclination would have been to think, "somebody trying to sell me something" and ignore the man, but sisters fell upon him happily.  Apparently, it was their long-standing tradition to buy an "official" photo when they came to Fenway.  He offered to pose us standing right in front of the Big Green Monster, so I started looking around for Wally, the furry mascot.  This turned out to be hysterical, because the green monster was the 37-foot high left field wall.

Awesome seats with a great view of the Monster

More hysteria ensued when I learned that it was going to be an all-sox night, the Red ones playing the White ones, the latter which another dear person in my life has rooted for since his birth.  Even more exciting (apparently) was the fact that the beloved and recently traded Kevin Youkilis would be playing back at Fenway for the first time since the trade.  I have to say, you could feel the love.

"YOUK!"

I did a noble job of sampling the food.  After I found out what an "ice cream helmet" is,

I realized I could fill my constant craving for soft ice cream with my need for a unique souvenir at the same time.  Since I'm disinclined to do dessert before I am thoroughly done with dinner, the trick became to stand in line and get the helmet before Neil Diamond sang Sweet Caroline in the middle of the eighth (inning, for those of you with even less knowledge of baseball than I).  Not only is Neil Diamond -- and Sweet Caroline -- among my favorites, but there is a very funny family story about me playing a Neil Diamond tape in my car, for days, leading my sister to wonder that there was an All-Neil-Diamond radio station on Long Island.

While I'd been told with the great fondness of the true fan that this year the Red Sox sucked, in honor of my premier visit they clobbered the White Sox.  In the final minutes, we were busy trying to text my favorite White Sox fan in Chicago to ask him if he was enjoying the game, but hey, we won!

I'm just hoping I make it back to Fenway before another 61 years pass.