Be prepared
My wife and I started planning the new trip shortly after the April 12 game was postponed. When with young children you really need that amount of time to prepare.

In order for things to go smoothly, we each took the day off. Mind you the game didn't start until 7:05 p.m. but we had to leave our home almost seven hours prior. Packing, feeding, dropping the kids off at Auntie's takes time.

Avoid speeding
Word to the wise: law enforcement in Boston is trying to nab all he speeders they can, and rightfully so. This particular officer stood next to his motorcycle, helmet on with radar gun in hand under the shade of the tunnel.
I didn't not see him and by the time I had gotten close enough he was partially in the road halting me. Great start.

I honestly did not realize that this particular area (heading towards the Tobin) was a 30 mph-zone.

After he showed me the radar gun, I knew I was doomed. 52 in a 30 mph. Ouch!
I looked to my wife and asked, "There isn't any way I'm going to get a warning in Boston, is there?"

"Not for doing 22-over" She started giving me the riot act and again, I knew I was doomed. Well we sat there wondering just how much this trip would eventually cost us. Ticket $200, dinner $40, tickets $80, parking $30. It was starting to add up.

This kind officer, though his appearance was a bit menacing, filled out his slip and as he handed it to me said, "It's just a warning this time."
Whoa! what luck after a pause for elation we were not-so-quickly on our way.

Park away from the park
I have found a nice little trick when facing the $30 parking space. I can't offer details, but I'll give you a hint: out of order parking meters. It was about 4:50 p.m. and I found a meter that was out of order. The maximum alloted time was one-hour until 6 p.m. I risked the 10 minutes and had free parking in Boston on game day.

Eat well before, go with friends
One block away stood Fenway. But we had to meet our friends. They had told us to meet them at Burton's Grill (not sure their may be an e on the end). I had never been and it appeared very few people knew about its existence. We were seated as soon as walking through the door and awaited our friends arrival.
Burton's is definitely a place I will enjoy again in the future. It is only a block or two away from the park on Boylston . The seating was perhaps a bit elegant for baseball fans, but the food was great and reasonably priced. $10 for a nicely-sized, perfectly-cooked burger and hand-cut fries. You can't beat it. After a couple of beers the $40 tab for two was painless.

My wife had scored the tickets, four of them for a total of $80. That is less than half the face value. It's getting better all the time.

I had a pretty good idea where we were, but I didn't realize just how good we had it. First row, Section 18. Looking directly at the left-handed batter's box. Wow! Perfect view to witness the gyro-ball.

The season-ticket holder, who could not make it to the April 12 game, was probably a little upset that he had not kept these gems. It was 70 degrees, with a slight wind and I could not be happier.

Avoid the media
Daisuke and Ichiro? Hmm. I expected a huge amount of reporters, etc. Sure the photographers' well was full - packed even - but that was all I could see. I didn't need any more distraction anyway.

Take it all in
I took a look around the park and didn't see much in the way of change. This was the first time I would see the rightfield roof box seats. Interesting, but it certainly didn't take anything away from Fenway's grace nor its mystique.
I'm not sure if they are best for night games. The soon-to-be setting sun reflected off those seats with no reprieve for the first hour of the game. Each time I looked in that direction, I was blinded. Can't be that good a vantage point; given the chance I would certainly check it out for myself.

Bring extra cash
Man, they'll get you for everything here. $7 for a 12-ounce cup of Bud Light. $4.50 for a water. The best deal is the program (still only $2) Last night the program came with a Daisuke headband.

Enjoy the game
Then IT happened. The first pitch to Ichiro from Daisuke - strike. It was on. But Daisuke was off.

He loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batter. An error, or two later and the Sox were in a 5-0 hole. I forgot about my great view. All of a sudden I felt uncomfortable.

But the Sox then quickly added five runs of their own and the game was remedied.

Soon the Sox would have the lead. Then they would lose the lead.

Bring a cushion
Now, I would never advocate for a new park. However, new seats, that would be nice. Though I had "saved" money throughout this trip, this perfect view of the stadium did come with a price - pain. By the time it was 7-7, I had a legitimate pain in my ass. I could not get comfortable. My neck hurt, my back hurt, and (as I said) my ass hurt. My knees were jutting into the stranger's back who sat directly in front of me. I was irritated by it and I'm sure he wasn't too pleased either. When I went to stretch, standing between innings the backs of my legs held be in place by my own seat as the seat in front pushed at my knees.

Groaning a bit, I held my complaint. I was at Fenway watching my team in a 7-7 battle. Seemed a small price to pay.

Get involved, you could be a difference maker
In the bottom of the eighth The Wave started circulating the park. I'm not a big fan, but at that moment the fans became wired. As if they knew this wave of electricity would ignite the Sox.

The chanting had begun. By the time Ortiz stepped up the frenzy was in full force. The simultaneous applause the "Pa-pi, Pa-pi, Pa-pi" got louder with each pitch. But those chants returned little.

Now, there were two outs and Manny was stepping up. The fans were even more adament. "Man-ny, Man-ny, Man-ny.." continued until the enigmatic hitter got to the full-count. Bam! went a blast to the opposite field for a solo home run, breaking the tie and moving the Sox ahead.

The fans were ecstatic and so too was Manny, pointing to the heavens as he headed up the firstbase line and then again on his way to second.

The fans were not done. But the Sox were. Though the fans had cheered just as excitedly for Youk as they did the boppers before, the effort went unanswered.
A weak grounder ended the inning.

But the damage was done. And I looked forward to Papelbon. He did not arrive. Instead J.C. Romero finished off the Mariners. Another save, another win in the books.

As "Dirty Water" was being sung I stood and wondered about the next game.

E-mail this entry to a friend