8. Fenway Park - August 12, 2016

This was my final baseball visit of the 2016 season. Unlike some of the others, this was a little easier to plan. All I had to do was take a day to drive to Boston, watch a game and come home. However, with the history behind the city, I had to spend more than one day in Boston.

I somehow ended up talking my brother into joining me on this trip. Our hotel was in Southborough, about 35 minutes away from Boston, not too bad. We spent a couple of days exploring the city, checking out some historical areas, visiting the Samuel Adams brewery and met up with an old friend later that night. All of this lead to Friday night, the night this trip was built around.

The view of the infield from my seat (with a little pole in the way)

Our check-out time was around 11 am, so we had a couple of hours to kill before the game. If you ever go to a Boston Red Sox game, take mass transit. The area gets so crowded with cars and the parking garages hike the prices up so much on game day.

After almost an hour (I may be exaggerating) of driving around, we settled on a $50 lot. And, of course, while walking around we found a cheaper lot.

My brother and I walked for I don't know how long. We walked through a park, into the city and saw their Holocaust Memorial. We then stopped at a pizzeria to eat before the game. After all of that, we still had plenty of time to kill. We grabbed the tickets, made our way to the stadium and waited for the gates to open.

Once inside, the stadium looked like an old warehouse. I've seen the inside plenty of times in movies (The Town and Ted, to be specific), but to see it in person was pretty cool.

The week we visited was the week the sun felt like it was 10 feet away. We bought a couple of waters outside the stadium and held our own during the game. We got to our seats and waited patiently. The one thing I regret is not going to the top of the Green Monster and take in that view. Maybe next time.

The game got off to a hot start. Jean Segura hit a lead-off triple, but was later tagged out. Rickie Weeks hit a two-run home run. In the bottom of the first, Hanley Ramirez hit his first of two three-run home runs. They scored another run off a single.

The Red Sox scored another four runs in the bottom of the second. The first came off a David Ortiz single and Hamirez hit his second home run right after that. As a Yankees fan, I kept my fandom to a minimum, but I was amazed at his performance.

The legend, "Big Papi" David Ortiz

The Arizona Diamondbacks scored a couple of more runs throughout the game. Ortiz hit a home run in the bottom of the seventh. In a quick lapse in judgment, I got up with the rest of the crowd and cheered the home run.

It was his last season, so it was pretty cool to see it in person. This was my first time seeing the Red Sox live. My brother took a picture and sent it to my mom. I was surprised I was let in my house when I came home.

The Red Sox sent out David Price, who had one of the best starts of his season. He went eight innings and gave up three runs on 10 hits and one walk while striking out eight. The Diamondbacks started Patrick Corbin. He was pulled after 1.2 innings, and I don't blame the manager for doing it.

We left after the eighth inning. The game was over and we had a long drive ahead of us.

The city of Boston is amazing. If you plan on visiting Fenway Park, you need to make a week out of it. Whether you like history, beer or just plain architecture, there is so much to do. Fenway is a great example of the both history and architecture. The only downside is similar to what I said about Oriole Park, the pillars holding up the second tier obstruct the view of the infield and outfield for many fans.

This was the final stadium I visited in 2016. The schedule for the 2017 has been released and I already began planning my trips for next season. Thank you all for reading along and I look forward to the adventures 2017 can bring.