an all american day.

What a fun day we had yesterday.  :)  

Kyle got some Red Sox tickets through his program at school.  They were discounted so that poor grad students could afford them, so we decided that it was about time we experience this Boston tradition.  I had a blast.  

I love dressing for the occasion, so I was excited just to pull out our Red Sox hats and shirts and wear my red tennis shoes.  That alone is enough to put me in a pretty good mood.  We eventually made our way down to the park.  It had that carnival type atmosphere.  Vendors everywhere, music, entertainers.  It was just fun.  When we finally found our seats (I'm apparently a Very poor stadium navigator) we had walked around most of the park, and I was enjoying the massive amounts of people and the smell of roasted peanuts and hot dogs.  

Some friends from BC joined us (they're from Milwaukee, so they came in Brewers gear) and we watched the game.  Let's see if I  can pinpoint a few of my favorite things about the afternoon...

1. The really old wooden seats with chipped paint...they had So much character and history to them.  I loved it.  

2.  The excitement of the crowd when their favorites came up to bat, and the accompanying chants or cheers for each.  

3.  My hot dog.  You don't want to know how overpriced it was...but it was huge and amazing and so incredibly perfect for the ball park that I felt like I was in a movie.  And I would pay for another one right now if I could. 

4.  This is the BEST one.  During the 8th inning, the entire crowd sings Sweet Caroline.  It's a Boston tradition that even I knew about before moving up here.  I was so looking forward to it, and seeing 40,000 people singing in unison and dancing in their rows was everything I hoped it would be.  Again, it was something that made me really happy.  

5.  Little kids with baseball gloves.  Classsic.  Also, little kids cheering as loud as they can for their favorite player.  

After the game, our friends walked downtown with us where we shopped a little before stopping for ice cream and enjoying their good company.  We eventually made our way home and hung out a little longer before the day had to come to an end.  

It was a good day.  I had a lot of fun, and it was great to feel like you were part of so many American and city traditions.  People up here love their baseball, and now I have a better feel for why that is.  

 Here is a short video of us singing Sweet Caroline.  Enjoy!