Day 5 of Rebecca's Graduation Trip

Day five of the trip turned out to be one of our fullest although you couldn't really say we took it easy on any given day.  We started out around 8 AM stopping at Thornton's for breakfast where we had eaten lunch the day before. We sat outside where the temperature was in the high 6o's which to a couple of Texans in July felt like heaven!  As with the day before, the food was great and the waitstaff quick and friendly.

After breakfast we walked down to our Trolley stop.  I didn't mention yesterday, but we had gotten two days on the Old Town Trolley for $32.50 each.  I wish we could have had two full days on it to make the most of it.  But we unfortunately didn't start until after 2 PM on the first day.  They have two routes that you can go on.  We only did the Green one.  You also get a 45 minute Harbor Cruise with your purchase which we did make time for on day five.  It's a great value.  The green line alone has 16 stops and the drivers are very informative, friendly and helpful.

So once we were on the Trolley on Tuesday, we decided that we wouldn't get off until we reached Faneuil Hall and Boston Harbor which is stop 1.  We were getting on at stop 8.  You may recall that stop 1 was the same stop that we had gotten off at the day before and never got back on due to the time and the fact that we were side tracked by North End which is only a few blocks away.  Everyone I had spoken with before the trip talked about how wonderful Faneuil Hall was and I'm sure for the right person in the right situation, it is terrific.  But I just didn't see it.

There were carts with souvenirs set up and then there were mall type stores like Anne Taylor, Coach and so on and then there was food.  Well, not knowing that it was a place to eat, we had just finished a huge breakfast less than 30 minutes prior to arriving at Faneuil Hall, so we couldn't have eaten if we were held at gunpoint.  There is a replica Cheers there that we later went back to for a late lunch. But I think I have mentioned previously that I have a strict rule against shopping during vacation.  So the mall type shops were so far out of my wheel house that while Rebecca shopped at Coach and another shop or two, I sat on a bench and caught up on Facebook.  If I hadn't kept reminding myself that this was Rebecca's graduation trip and not necessarily just my vacation, I would have insisted that we leave immediately.  There were performers there.  But I honestly just didn't have the patience to watch them.

So we walked back over toward the Trolley stop and decided to do our Boston Harbor sightseeing cruise before getting back on the Trolley.  We got in line for that and were on the boat within 15 or so minutes.  We sat on the top deck on the way out.  As we were leaving the tour guide on the boat announced that we would have the option of disembarking at the Charlestown Navy Yard and visiting the USS Constitution and Bunker Hill or just staying on board and going back.  There is also a Trolley stop at the Navy Yard.  So if we got off, we could either wait an hour for the next Harbor Cruise and return to stop one on that or just pick up the trolley at the Navy Yard which is stop 3 and we would only miss the North End which we had already seen the day before.  So we decided to get off.

We took a few pictures then immediately got in line so that we could board the USS Constitution.  There are two options for the Constitution.  You can either do a guided tour which takes longer and has a little bit longer wait for the starting times.  Or you can do the self guided tour which only allows you on the deck.  We chose the self guided tour since our time was so limited.  So we waited around for 20 minutes or so and then were allowed on board where we took a few pictures and then left.  By the time we left the Constitution, the harbor cruise was nearly due back.  So we decided to go back to stop 1 via the harbor cruise.

In front of the USS Constitution

Watch out Boston!

Once we were back at stop 1 it was around 2 o'clock so we decided to go to the Cheers replica place for lunch before getting back on the Trolley. Keep in mind that we had 7:10 PM tickets for the Red Sox game on this night.  So we were working against the clock all day. After lunch we got back on the Trolley and didn't get back off until we got back to the stop closest to our hotel.  We went past a ton of places that I would love to go back and visit and weren't able to stop. When we got back to the hotel it was after 5.  So we quickly got dressed and headed out to Fenway Park.

Our approach as we arrived at the ball park.

I had Googled walking directions for us to get to Fenway before leaving on the trip.  It was only a 20 minute walk so, if we hadn't been in such a rush, it would have been very pleasant.  As it was, we were a little stressed about getting there early enough to shop for Red Sox souvenirs, see the park and get something to eat before the game began.  As it turned out we got to Fenway in less than 20 minutes because of our rush and went straight to our seats to see what they were like before going back to the concourse for shopping.

Inside at last!

Here are our seats!!!

I got myself a cap that I love!  Rebecca bought gifts for several people and a cap for herself.  Then I got a Samual Addams before we headed back up to our seats for the pre-game festivities.  There was celebration honoring former manager Joe Morgan before the game began.  Then we were underway.  The Red Sox were clearly dominate on the night we were there with a great pitching performance by Workman and homers by Ellsbury, Pedroia and Saltalamacchia.  The Saltalamacchia shot came out near us in centerfield and I thought for a second that we might be ducking to keep from getting hit, but it didn't quite make it to our section.

During the game a vendor came by selling Fenway Franks and I must say that there is no better hotdog at any ballpark in the country.  It is without a doubt the best ballpark hotdog I've ever had.  I'm not sure if it is due to the fact that there is not as much crust on the bun or if it's just because it's a Fenway Frank.  But it is delicious!

The view of the Green Monster from our seats.

The final score was 8 - 2 with the Red Sox easily winning.  Beyond the homeruns and the great rundown at second base the other highlight of the game for me and Rebecca was the singing of Sweet Caroline.  That was so cool!  All in all, I think we both enjoyed our experience at Fenway about 10 times more than Yankee Stadium.  That's not to say that Yankee Stadium was bad, but just that Fenway is so great.

We were in Section 38, Row 5, Seats 1 & 2.

Following the game, we walked back to the hotel taking it a little more slowly on the way back and just enjoying the walk.  It was pleasant.  There were a number of other people walking back toward the same area so we were never completely alone walking back.  There were some residents out on their stoops.  But you never felt threatened or like you were in a bad area.  It was just nice.  Once we were back at our hotel, we finished our Mike's cannoli's from the day before. It was a really great day.  The only problem was it needed to be much longer to do all the things we wanted to get done. We still had Wednesday morning left to tie up lose ends in Boston.  But there was a going to be a lot to cram in to a very little time.  Have a great Tuesday!