The Free Tour that Cost $113.15

So along with all the fun stuff we did on our New England vacation, we had to throw in some beer drinking and a sports-type tour for the men. In Boston, we started with the free tour (they do suggest a $2.00 donation which goes to local charities) at the Samuel Adams Brewery on Germania Street. We were racing through rush hour traffic to get there on time for the last tour of the day, the parking lot was packed (of course) but, lucky us, someone was just pulling out of a space that we snagged.

The facility is fairly small so the tour was quick and then came the tasting. I, personally, am not a beer drinker. Don't 'appreciate' the taste or the smell, so Hubby benefited from my abstinence and I took pictures while the party bloomed around me.

I wish I could remember our tour guide's name, but I can tell you she was funny and knowledgeable and obviously knew how to work a crowd of beer swilling lushes.

These are barrels of malts and hops, some of which we actually tasted dry - chewed on - to demonstrate how they make a difference in the flavor of the beer.

And here is my tasting glass. I gave it a careful sniff, then passed it on to Hubby who truly enjoyed the samples of lager and seasonal ales and one that hadn't even been released yet for sale to the public.

And then as we tumbled out of the brewery with our tour group, bubbly and happy and full of beer soaked love for all mankind, we realized our rental was gone. And where it previously sat, in front of a dumpster, was a No Parking sign that we really hadn't paid attention to in our scramble to park. Well, crap. That was a buzz kill and a half. So we walked 15 minutes to get to Stanley Towing and paid $113.15 to get our vehicle back. We had plenty of time during the walk to discuss Stanley's racket and decided that they send tow trucks through the Samuel Adams parking lot every hour on the hour after the tour starts. Free beer and not enough parking probably add up to a nice little easy income. Bastards!

While in Boston, we also toured Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, which was fun but let's be perfectly honest here, would have been a lot more fun had the bats been knitting needles and the balls been yarn. Still, it was cool to see where so much sports history has happened since it opened in 1912. I think the tour guide said it all started when some guy ate a Baby Ruth while leaning on a big green wall. Wait ... maybe I have a few facts confused.

The Green Monster is what they call the 37'2" tall wall in left field, which apparently is one of the highest in major league baseball fields and has stopped many home runs that didn't clear it.

And this is one of the last manually operated scoreboards in the major leagues. There are guys crouched down behind the scoreboard peeking through slots, that run out and change the scores by hand. Talk about low tech!

While we have a few Dunkin' Donuts shops in Arizona, they were founded in Massachusetts and there is one about every 8-1/2 feet in New England. I am not kidding when I say that we got a sugar buzz every single day on vacation as we blasted out of the hotel each morning for the day's activities. So imagine our delight when the Dunkin' Donuts sign was so beautifully displayed at Fenway. {Angels singing ... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh}

And, no surprise, they even have box seats at the stadium ...

You go, Dunkin' Donuts. I didn't even mind the 3 pounds I gained snarfing down those chocolate covered glazed beauties every day!

See the one red seat in the sea of green? The story goes that a construction worker, Joe Boucher, played hooky from work on June 9, 1946, and had actually fallen asleep in his seat during the game. He was snoozing there in Section 42, Row 37, Seat 21, when Ted Williams hit a home run that nailed him on the head and knocked him out. Although, come on, if he was already asleep, how could they tell it knocked him out?!?! The seat was painted red to commemorate the famous home run and for the price of a $23 ticket, you can sit in it during a game. And, just in case you were worried, Boucher was not fired from his job after he made the news -- I asked.

Beer and baseball ... you learn something new every day!