17
Boston
In the previous post, I wrote of my brother’s graduation from Harvard Law School which was the purpose of our trip to the city of Boston. However, I only focused on that event as his graduation from such a prestigious institution deserves its own headline. As I have not blogged since our return I thought I would share a few of the other highlights of our trip to this historic city.
As those that know me well can attest, I am a huge sports fan. A part of my personality that Julie “tolerated” but did not completely understand as she comes from a family that does not live and breath athletics. I always have some athletic contest running on the TV whether I am fully engaged in the event or not. Basketball of course is my love, but I enjoy football, baseball, golf (mostly the majors), as well as various other contests as the mood strikes me (I disdain curling however…. my apologies to my Canadian friends, but their is a story behind that).
Being the sports nut, I have always wanted to attend a baseball game at the famed Fenway Park. It is the smallest and oldest venue in Major League Baseball and home of the “Green Monster” (in Boston speak, pronounced “Monstah” of course). Since it is a small venue and the team is quite good, tickets are hard to come by. My dad, however, was able to procure six seats to a game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Although they were not altogether, my uncle Kev, my dad, my brother, my aunt PA, my son and I, attended the game sitting in groups of two. Let me just say, that although I knew it would be a cool experience, it far surpassed my expectations. There I was, in the Fenway taking in a game with my boy (yes we both bought BoSox hats on famed Yawkey Way just outside the Park). The moment you walk through the brick facade you are taken back in time to the early 1900 and can physically feel the history of the days of Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and the other legends that played there. You have obstructed views as the engineering of the stadium does not match the technology of the day so in many seats you have to deal with steel beams supporting the roof. The chipped concrete facade on the interior reminds you of the age. The seats are foldable wood slats and not made for a person with a 6′4″ frame such as myself. Jack fit in just fine with his cotton candy, hot dog and the peanuts he was able to mooch off the guy sitting to his right! I think that guy was happy to share his peanuts because he was a big man himself and was thrilled to be sitting next to a small child which afforded him more room. In fact, when he approached his seat, he stated in a thick Boston accent, “Thank my lucky Staahs. I am sittin’ next to a tyke”… LOL! You can see all the pics if you click on this Flikr Link, however, here are a few of my favorites from the night…
The entrance to the park off of Yawkey Wa.
Pre Game Festivities on Yawkey!
“The Green Monstah”
Jack with his BoSox hat, hot dog and blue cotton candy (bag of blue stuff in the chair next to him). Think he is ready for a ball game?
Our obstructed view!
Proof my boy and I saw a game at Fenway.
Before the night was over… Jack had conned uncle Derek into buying him a “Rally Monkey”… LOL
The other major highlight of the trip was taking a guided tour of the “Freedom Trail” where you get to see many of the historic places in the city that sparked the Revolution. The exact spot of the famed Boston Tea Party, Boston Masacre, Bunker Hill, Paul Revere’s home, the Old North Church (where they hung the lanterns in the steeple as code to warn if the British were advancing by sea or land and sparked Paul Revere’s famous ride), the USS Constitution as well as other landmarks around the city. It was truly interesting and educational all at the same time. I had always wanted to visit this city because American History interests me greatly and this place is chock full of such history… There is only one other place that compares and that would be D.C. I have posted pictures from this tour on Flikr here, but again I will attach a few favorites.
Paul Revere’s house (with Kendall, Hallie, Jack and Me)
The Steeple of the Old North Church where the lanterns were hung in the two windows above.
My brood with the stern of the USS Constitution in the background (Oldest commissioned ship in the US navy… still active, although I do not anticipate it being deployed to the Persian Gulf any time soon.. LOL)
“Where everybody knows your name!”
Having a beer in Cheers… Our version of Norm, Cliff, Frazier, Diane and Lilith!
The only thing Kendall remembers about Boston is the Duck Boats…. There is a tour company that takes you around the city and into the Charles River via refurbished World War II amphibious vehicles that tour the roads of Boston pointing out the sites and ends with a splash into the River for a view of the city from a unique perspective. Everytime she saw one she would point it out and very matter of factly say “Duck Boat”. In fact if you ask her today what she saw in Boston she will say…. “Duck Boats”. That’s it… her entire memory of her trip to Boston…. Duck Boats!!!
In a way, I felt Julie with me. Boston was a city that Julie loved. She and Jenn, more or less on a whim decided to move there for a short amount of time (post college I believe or maybe for a summer). She always spoke fondly of her time there and she loved to recount her time spent there. I miss you J…
YAY GOD!!!
-Brendan
