Webb Family Vacation, Day 6

Tuesday July 26th

Fenway Park and the Boston Red Sox

Tuesday was awesome.....plain and simple, can't think of a better word....AWESOME!  

We started our day off with a tour of Fenway.  Now, most of you know we are Dodgers fans.  I'm just a Dodgers fan by marriage and haven't kept up with the team the past few years.  A few years ago, the Dodgers were decent.  I payed attention and called myself a fan - even taught Payton how to say "Manny" - and he was able to recognize him (and his dreads) when he spotted him on TV.  Unfortunately the good ole' Dodgers have hit a rough patch and other than the televised games against the Braves, I haven't paid too much attention to them.  One things is certain - I'm not a Braves fan.  What I'm really trying to say is that I'm in the market for a baseball team to "root, root, root" for.  Our household will always cheer for the Dodgers but it never hurts to have a back-up team.  I like to call myself a "closet" Virginia Tech football fan (guess I'm out of the closet now!).  After my tour of Fenway, I can also consider myself a "closet" Sox fan......just don't tell my hubby!  

Fenway is awesome.  If you are a sports fan of any kind, you can most likely appreciate history - the history of the program, the history of the stadium, rivalries, etc.  The city of Boston is full of history and Fenway is no different.  From the moment I walked inside the park I loved it!  Yankee's stadium was nice too....but, in a different way.  I wish I had been to the old Yankee's stadium to compare.  The new stadium has all the bells and whistles - but, the history is missing and the atmosphere of the game was nothing like the Red Sox game.

My favorite part in Fenway is the old wooden seats - all of the navy seats are wooden.  

The wooden seats are original seats - and they will not be replaced.  Its crazy to think how many amazing games have been watched from these seats!

The Green Moster is pretty cool too!   

Especially when you're able to go up top!

These seats can be purchased, using a lottery system, for all home games!  

Can you imagine being on top of the Green Monster with a home run ball heading towards you? 

Calyn, Carson and Payton sitting on the Green Monster

View from the Green Monster

Another interesting piece of information is that Fenway Green is a trademarked color.  Unfortunately, you won't be able to ask for that one at the neighborhood paint store!  Bummer!

We spent about an hour touring the stadium.  Aside from Payton being completely a little fussy and refusing to smile for pictures, it was great!   It definitely made me appreciate the stadium and the team and we were all ready for the 7 o'clock game against the Kansas City Royals!

A few shots from outside the stadium:

We headed over to the team store to stock up for the game!  Everyone left with a little more Red Sox gear than we started with!  

We had a nice lunch and then split up for the afternoon.  The kids took naps while we planned our evening outfits :)  We headed back over to the stadium.....just in time for rain!   The rain gave us just enough time to snap this family photo.  I just hate we didn't have any Red Sox gear to wear for the game!  This may be the only Webb family picture you will ever see without a hint of Carolina blue!

The rain passed quickly and it was time for the game!

This may be my favorite picture of Chad and Payton...forever!

Payton's first experience with Cotton Candy!

 I know this post is getting long, but please stick with me....the best is yet to come!  The game was great.  Lots of action.  The crowd was involved.  A great atmosphere and a lot of fun for the family.  Unlike the Yankee's game a few nights earlier, the kids were LOVIN' it!  It was getting late but Payton and Owen were happy and smiling.  Our seats were just to the left of the Kansas City bullpen.  Several cops stood just to our right, overlooking the bullpen for the entire game.  In the middle of the 7th inning, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" played.  Payton was SO excited.  He sang right along....hand motions and all!  He even threw in "We'll root, root, root for the Red Sox" - where he usually says Dodgers.  He was so excited to hear the song.  He gave high fives and smiled from ear to ear.  A few minutes later, I heard one of the cops ask the security guard in the bullpen if he could give him a ball.  The security guard explained that he couldn't but that he could ask one of the Royals players.  The cop then explained to the Royals player that he wanted a ball - I over heard him say he wanted to "get this little boy a ball because he sang so good."  I still didn't know that he was talking about Payton - but, I was getting excited!  I acted like a 3 year old myself and told Chad what I thought was about to happen.  Sure enough, a few minutes later the officer got my attention to let me know that he was going to get Payton a ball.  They tossed the ball up to us - KK helped catch it - and passed it on to Payton.  I have seen Payton excited - he's a very excited kid - he gets excited very easily - but, this might be the MOST excited he has ever been!  

Payton's 1st Major League Baseball

Mom and Dad were pretty excited too!  He isn't old enough to know how rare it is to actually get a ball at a game - but was surely the highlight of his day!  He held the ball the rest of the night and asked to sleep with it once we were back at the room.....of course I said yes!

What a great day for a baseball game!

Thanks to the Boston Red Sox for a wonderful experience at Fenway!