Fenway Park, battlefields

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Geo: 41.7638, -72.6696

After a third great hotel breakfast, where Robyn has been teaching Australianisms to one of the boisterous wait staff, we boarded the coach at 9am. A 2017 model with very swish seating and amenities.

First stop a tour of Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. They lost last night to Cleveland and their finals campaign is ended, so there were some long faces. Then on to the towns of Lexington and Concord for more details on the Revolutionary War.

In the afternoon a 90min drive SW on the Mass. Pike to Hartford, Connecticut where we stayed the night. Hartford (pop 122,000) is known as the insurance capital of America.

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Photos

Fenway Park
Built in 1912, it's the oldest ball park in America. It seats about 40,000 and it's used 250 days of the year for the Sox's 81 home games, plus a wide variety of other sports and concerts. American sports fans are familiar with the "Green Monster" - the high wall along the back of left field. Before it was built balls were regularly hit out of the park. On one day two balls cleared the fence and both left dents in the same parked car!

Red Sox kiosk
Huge area for sale of Sox paraphernalia. Willi Dooley from Chicago with Robyn

Ted Williams
One of their most famous players. I was struck by this poster as it portrays a situation almost opposite to Don Bradman's, who only needed four runs in his final innings to achieve an unheard-of batting average of 100. Most will know The Don got out for a duck, with an average of 99.94!

Lexington Battle Green
Where 77 militiamen and Minute Men (special forces, sort of) faced about 200 Redcoats who were marching from Boston to Concord. A brief battle ensued that resulted in eight rebels/patriots being killed (with no Brit fatalities). A momentous occasion because it was the first time that the colonists fired upon the British Army.

North Bridge
Here the first shots in the Battle of Concord were fired. Both sides suffered a few fatalities and the British then started to withdraw to Boston. They were severely harassed by the militiamen, many of whom had learned guerrilla tactics from the recent French Indian War. The British casualties were heavy - 77 men killed.
Our guide, Linda, with Robyn.

Connecticut Science Centre
Along with our Marriott Hotel in Hartford.