What a better way than to spend Mother's Day than to kick off our All 30 Parks tour at our hometown field, Fenway Park. We visited the fabled Fenway like it was the first time. As I walked down Yawkey Way I looked around snapping photos like a tourist. Joining Alex, Zach and I on our All 30 Parks inauguration were My Mom (aka Nanna) and Brian. We hope many of you will also join us along the way.

The boys and I have been to Fenway before but we have vowed as part of our All 30 Parks trip we will officially revisit and document our journey. So this was our first "official" Fenway Park visit! Park number one done, twenty-nine to go!

In recent years, the Red Sox Red Sox have shut down Yawkey Way on game day. This has been a great addition to the whole Fenway experience. We wandered down Yawkey Way stopping to watch a live band play, laughing as the Red Sox dressed man on stilts joked with the crowd and taking in the smells of sizzling sausages. Closing down Yawkey was has expanded the areas in which fans can gather and enjoy the pre-game excitement. Fenway Park is not only one of smallest ballparks it is also one the two remaining classic parks, the other being Chicgao's Wrigley Field.

Our seats were budget driven so we sat in the bleachers which are some of the cheapest seats in the park. The view is really pretty good from the lower half of the bleachers seats so I wouldn't dismiss them as cheap seats. It sure beats sitting way out in right field under the roof deck and behind a pole where the only way to watch the game is to keep your head cocked to the left. I call these the "crick in you neck seats".

The Sox took on the Minnesota Twins and there were a number of Twins fans in the bleachers with us. They were great and a few that sat behind us were excited to hear about our goal to visit all 30 parks. It is really great to meet fans of baseball no matter what team they root for.

The game started off a little shaky with Daisuke on the mound, this is nothing unusual for Daisuke as he seems to take a little while to settle into the game. After a slow start this season, Adrian Gonzalez's bat seems to be picking up. Gonzalez hit a long solo homerun over the Green Monster and had the crowd wild. The Sox had a season-best 14 hits today with Kevin Youkillis standing on the bags four times and crosing the plate all four times. The Red Sox ended in a win which was the perfect way to start off our journey.

We enjoyed all the ballpark fair including a Sam Adams adult beverage of course and what trip to Fenway would be complete without a Fenway Frank. I find the only time I eat hotdogs or peanuts in a shell is at a baseball game. The boys enjoyed every vendor that came by asking for a frozen lemondade, a 16 ounce Cocoa-Cola (not usually allowed in our home) and of course french fries.

Fenway has been trying to be more fan friendly since the new owners. It seems funny to call John Henry, Larry Lucchino and Tom Werner the new owners but after so many years with the Yawkeys it still seems like they are new to the scene. They have brought some much welcome additions to the Red Sox including much needed renovations to Fenway Park and of course two World Series championships! By the way, did you know the Yawkey's initials are shown in two stripes on the Left field wall in Morse code?



The warning track was roped off for a Mother's Day Stroll on the field. We were going to join in. Who doesnt love Fenway dirt on their shoes? When we saw the line wrapped around the park we decided to forgo that one. The boys and I had been on the field last year for batting practice and even picked up a few balls. So walking on the field wasn't on the top of our list. This summer we will also had back for an official tour of the park and get to go inside the Green Monster.

After a a big win, we headed out to the corner of Yawkey Way and Van Ness Street. This is the place to be for a die hard fan. Right next to Gate D is where the players enter and exit the park. We watched the Red Sox players leave the park headed for home. We even saw Darnell McDonald walk out of the park with his family pushing a baby carriage.

All in all a perfect experience. Alex is working on putting together a video of all our of pictures.

Next stop Philly to see the Sox takes on the Phillies which just may be a precursor for this years World Series. But we will be blogging before that as we have lots of baseball in us.