Day: April 4, 2017

I had been looking forward to this day for months.  Opening day at Fenway Park sounded like an awesome experience.  The night before we made a plan.  After awakening we would head downstairs for breakfast.  Then, take a leisurely walk around the area and finally head to the park for the game.  Postgame plans were deferred until later.

I usually get up much earlier than Patrice so it was my job to make sure we got up in time to get downstairs before breakfast ended at 10:00 AM.  When I awoke I took a look at my watch and much to my surprise it was 6:54 (plus 3 hours for the time difference made it 9:54).  Quickly I got up and alerted Patrice, “Honey it’s almost 10:00 AM, get up, we need to go downstairs for breakfast.”  To which she replied, “What are you talking about?  It isn’t even 7:00 AM yet”.  Oops, I forgot, I had already set my watch ahead.

A couple of hours later we headed downstairs and much to my surprise encountered a number of Pirate fans.  Of course we were outnumbered by the Red Sox boosters.  One group of 4 guys had flown in from Texas for the game.  They were all trying to hit every MLB park like we are trying to accomplish.  One had already completed the feat.  One other had two left (Fenway being one) and the other two were lightweights just getting started.

After breakfast we started to explore.  We quickly realized this day was for the committed fan.  Or shall I say a fan that should be committed?  First look at the cost of parking (see below).

In addition to the cost of parking (I was told it was $90 closer to the park.) there were those who were interested in more than just baseball.   We saw people lining up to get into bars, and I don’t just mean one bar.

In addition to the “fans” we saw a local weatherman reporting the forecast (sunny and no chance of rain) for NBC.  We also saw a female sportscaster practicing for her news segment.  Then closer to the park we found a series of statues honoring Red Sox heroes like Carl Yastrzemski, Bobby Doerr, Dom DiMaggio, Johnny Pesky and of course Ted Williams.  I felt a bit stupid not thinking of naming this the “Ted Williams Tour” since the “Splendid Splinter” was from San Diego (where we just left) and played 19 seasons with the Red Sox here in Boston.  I tried to make up for my faux pas by having our picture taken in front of one of his statues (he is also depicted in a second statue with 3 of his teammates).

We also saw today’s guest of honor, Tom Brady, arrive.  He was slated to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.  I didn’t realize it was him but his name was buzzing around and I did manage to get a picture of his car (see below) but didn’t get a view of the Boston Deity himself.

I not only didn’t know it was Tom Brady, I had to read the logo on the car to realize it was an Aston Martin.

We finally made our way to the will call area and were surprised to see the number of people on line.  After getting our tickets we then had to go through security, much like you experience at airports, to enter the stadium.  See the sign below for what you must remove from your pockets.

Inside the park I saw some things you just don’t see at Dodger Stadium or many other of the modern ball parks today.

We even had some in game entertainment other than baseball when, what looked like a teenager ran on to the field from the right field area before he was finally tackled in left field, taken from the field and handed to the police.

We enjoyed the traditional rendition of “God Bless America” and “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” before the Sox half of the 7th and then a Red Sox tradition of “Sweet Caroline” before the Sox half of the 8th.

After the game we headed back to the hotel and then bundled up for a nice walk to one of our favorite restaurants in Boston, The Union Oyster House.  Patrice and I were dressed very warmly for the cold Boston night but we came upon this young lad heading home after shopping at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Sorry to write so much, but it was a special day.  The forecast calls for rain today so I probably won’t be writing as much.  One other note, why wasn’t it a perfect day?  Well, the Pirates came out on the short end opening day.  But as they say, no one ever clinched the pennant in April.

Yesterday we had a very pleasant flight to Boston.  On arrival we could see snow on the ground from the plane but when we exited the airport it was cold but not overbearing.  I didn’t even take my coat out of my backpack but felt comfortable in my long sleeve shirt.

On planning this trip Patrice and I decided to splurge.  The airline advertised a service where they pick up your bags from baggage claim and deliver them to your hotel.  If the delivery destination is within 40 miles they guarantee arrival within 4 hours.  The service was not very expensive and we decided to treat ourselves.  So shortly after leaving the plane we bypassed baggage claim and were in a taxi on our way to the hotel.  Still being on LA time we were not ready for dinner so we decided to just chill out and do some reading.  We also watched a movie on the hotel “Smart TV” using our Netflix account (I just love the new technology).  About 3 hours after arrival I decided to email the bag service to get an update.  I got a reassuring reply that our bags have been picked up and we should expect delivery soon (the airport is less than 6 miles from our hotel).  We were starting to get hungry so we started to investigate places to eat.  As the 4 hour mark rolled around there was still no sign of our bags so we decided to call.

At first I was told that the 4 hour guarantee started from the time the order was assigned to a driver.  So I questioned “So if they pick up the bags the day after arrival we can expect them 4 hours from that time?”   The agent back-peddled and said she would get us an update on arrival of our luggage.  After being on hold she asked me to check with the front desk (who said the bags had not arrived) and then the agent told me they would arrive in 3 minutes.  While keeping her on the line we waited.  Ten minutes later she checked again.  She gave me the driver’s cell phone number and the hotel called for me.  The driver told the hotel staff that he would be arriving in 1-2 hours.  Meanwhile the bag agent got back on the line and she told me that the company said the bags “Had already been delivered”.   At this point I was about to lose my composure (This is Patrice now, I am editing his post and want you to know the truth, “about to lose his composure” is an understatement.  Don’t tell him I told you but tears were streaming down his face, he was kicking the wall and rolling on the ground).

The agent said the company will be refunding our money because of this inconvenience. The last thing I was concerned about was my money, I needed my clothes.  Most important I needed my Pirates shirt.  How could I go to the game wearing anything else?

The bag agent was very sympathetic and said she would call me as soon as she heard something else.  We decided to go across the street to dinner and pray that our bags would show up.  While at dinner we told our server why we looked so disturbed (Patrice again here, I was fine, what he means by we, was actually him).  Shortly after our food arrived I could hardly eat a bite but then the phone rang.  The bag agent called and said our bags had been delivered.  I immediately left the restaurant (told the server I’d be right back) to confirm arrival of our luggage.  I entered the hotel and the front desk clerk confirmed that the bags had arrived and were now in our room.  I returned to the restaurant relieved only to have Patrice ask, “Are you sure they delivered OUR bags”.  Again anxiety struck home.  Patrice insisted that she check and shortly thereafter she reported that all was good.

Our server seeing our relief and hearing of our trauma served us a little get well surprise (see below).

I will leave our day at Fenway until tomorrow.