Gettin’ Carried Away

When you wake up in the morning, what’s the first thing you want to do? My second day in Boston, after I showered, after I brushed my teeth, after I combed my hair, all I wanted to do was drink an ice cold beer… at the Sam Adams Brewery.

The best way to get to the Sam Adams Brewery is to take the Orange Line towards Forest Hills and get off at the Stony Brook stop. The brewery is tucked away behind wild shrubs and run-down houses. You follow a maze of streets and eventually come to a small tent in front of a big brick building. Under this tent, while waited for our 12:30 tour of the brewery, we were given samples of two brand-new, unreleased brews. We were told to vote on which one we liked best in the 2008 Beer Lovers Choice faceoff. The winning beer would be on shelves sometime at the end of the year.

The first beer was Coffee Stout. I’m not a huge fan of coffee, but if this beer makes it to the public, I’d be tempted to take back a few in the morning. The hint of coffee is very subtle to the nose and to the taste buds. There is such a perfect balance of coffee, yeast and hops. If you haven’t figured it out, I voted for this beer. The second was Blackberry Witbier. It was pretty yummy, but too similar to Leinenkeugel’s Berry Weiss. Sam Adams doesn’t need a similar product on the market. Be unique, Sam Adams, please!

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What to do now? How about a baseball game? No trip to Boston would be complete without visiting the historic, almost 100 year old Fenway Park. And lucky for me, the Red Sox were playing my beloved Chicago White Sox

There are two things I recommend doing when visiting this ballpark.

1. Take the tour.
2. Eat a Fenway Frank… or two.

Although our tour of Fenway was shortened due to an early game time, the $12 we spent to see the ins and outs of this legendary stadium was fully worth it! We gained access to a private deck in right field, we got to see some of the Red Sox batting practice and we were told the secret of the Green Monster.

After the tour, we waited outside on Yawkey Way for the gates to open for the ball game. Once inside, I darted down to the White Sox dugout to take pictures of the players during their warm up. There is something so surreal about being just a few feet away from professional athletes. I’m always star struck and completely mesmerized no matter where I am in any stadium.

Before the game started, I decided to try a Fenway Frank. I normally do not eat hot dogs when I am at the ball game. I don’t like them at Comiskey or Wrigley, so why should I eat one at Fenway? Since these dogs bear a notorious name, I thought I should taste one. When I did, I tasted heaven. These are no ordinary hot dogs. Fenway Franks are the crème de la crème of hot dogs! What makes them reign supreme is that the dogs and buns are kept separate until they are purchased. The dogs boil in water and the buns await their presence. Once put together and handed over, this fresh, great American treat takes a very short trip to your stomach and it completely satisfies!

The White Sox lost. Sad day! Stay tuned for my third and final day in Beantown!

“Say this much for big league baseball - it is beyond question the greatest conversation piece ever invented in America.” - Bruce Catton: journalist, historian and Pulitzer Prize winner.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a baseball fanatic. I like to play basketball. I like to go to Blackhawks games. I like to watch the Bears (when they are doing well). But I absolutely love everything that has to do with baseball. My hope is to see all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums before I’m 30 years old. Currently, I have visited Yankee Stadium (in New York), Angel Stadium (in California), Wrigley Field (home of the Chicago Cubs) and Comiskey Park (aka U.S. Cellular Field), where my beloved Chicago White Sox play hard, create miracles and win big. I could tell you all about my experiences at each stadium, but I am most excited about visiting the next two parks I get to check off my list!

Fenway Park

In less than one week, I will have attended a Major League Baseball game at one of America’s most cherished ballparks: Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. Personally, I am in awe of this trip, and I am not even standing in front of the stadium yet!

Fenway Park is the home of baseball greats Cy Young, Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski, and it is where baseball legend, Babe Ruth, started his Major League career. The Great Bambino’s trade to the Yankees in 1919 is what many fans claim to be the reason for the Red Sox’s “World Series draught.” In October 2004, the Sox played two of four World Series games at Fenway and went on to sweep the Saint Louis Cardinals, winning the championship for the first time in 86 years. This memorable feat was captured in the major motion picture Fever Pitch, which stars Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore. This famous ballpark is where I will be watching my favorite team, the Chicago White Sox, take on the Boston Red Sox as they attempt to come out on top in their respective divisions by the end of September.

Miller Park

I feel very fortunate to live in a centrally located section of the United States. My house happens to be within a manageable driving distance from 8 of the 30 Major League stadiums. At the end of September, I will be driving to Milwaukee, Wisconsin with four of my friends to see the Brewers face the Chicago Cubs inside their home stadium, Miller Park.

I’ve been to Wisconsin many times, swimming around the Dells, boating in the lake behind my cousin’s cottage and scoring three-pointers in numerous basketball tournaments. However, I’ve never been to a baseball game while visiting our northern neighbor, so I am pretty stoked about that. And with one whole month left in the regular season, the game that I attend on September 26 could be a deciding factor as to which team will advance to the postseason. Currently, the second place Brewers and the first place Cubs are the only two teams in the National League Central Division fighting for that coveted slot in the playoffs.

While Miller Park is not as historical as Fenway, seeing that it only opened in 2001, it’s still a modern marvel to me. It is only 1 of 3 parks that has a retractable roof. This allows the Brewers to either play outside on a nice night under the stars or to play inside an enclosed stadium, keeping dry while the rain comes pouring down. Newer stadiums may lack the charm the historical parks portray, but it only means that you need to look for other features that make each park unique. For example, two brand-new LED scoreboards were placed inside Miller Park just two years ago! One of them is referred to as the “out of town” scoreboard, which is constantly updated with info about other Major League games being played that same day the Brewers are playing. You get to see the score and the number of hits, errors and outs, in addition to an image of the field displaying the runners on base! Where will you find that in a 100-something-year-old stadium?

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When is all is said and done, at the end of September, I will have seen 6 of the 30 Major League Baseball parks. And lucky for me, many of the parks I have yet to see are situated in states that I have yet to visit. So as I get closer to achieving my goal of seeing all 50 states by the age of 50, I will also have traveled to every Major League Baseball stadium. And with that mission accomplished, when it comes to my travel game, I’d say I hit one out of the park!