I’m sitting in my beautiful living room sipping coffee at 8:08 am and I see online that there is a 9:00 am tour of Fenway Ball Park. I throw on my clothes, rush out the door and hop on the T. I buy the ticket on my phone while I’m on the train, power walk 15 minutes from the stop and I’m there with minutes to spare. It’s game day and Boston, who is in the wild card race, is playing the #1 Tampa Bay Rays in a few hours. Fenway is getting ready!

Our energetic tour guide tells us all the lore of this storied baseball park. We see the one red seat in a sea of green where a fan got beaned when Ted Williams hit the longest home run in the park’s history. We see the Green Monster and the seats on it. We sit in the press box.

Fenway now even has a farm on the roof which provides produce for the concessions in the park as well as donations to local food banks.

The hour flies by and I couldn’t be happier. Later the Red Sox could be happier as they were beat 11-10 in extra innings.

But I gotta scoot because I’m going kayaking on the Charles River. I walk across the Longfellow Bridge to the other side of the river and find the kayak rental place. With very little info I’m sent off in my kayak and told to bring it back when I feel like it!

Off I go towards the Harvard Bridge. It is so beautiful on the river today. I get out a ways and have the whole Boston skyline behind me.

I could have gone on forever. The day was beautiful and the river calm. It is only because I’m getting hungry that I finally go back. And you know what I want after being on the water? A lobster roll!

I heard of James Hook lobster shack from a local. It is back over on my side of the river and down towards Long Wharf. I order the large lobster roll. Period. That’s all I want. And for $42 with tip that is what I get. Worth every penny

The other local tip I got was that Boston has killer donuts from a place called Kane’s. Fortunately ( or not) Kane’s donuts is just around the corner, so…..

The next day is equally great weather and I hire a local photographer to do a photo walk with me around my Beacon Hill neighborhood. I take a lot of pictures and she points out cool possibilities to me for shots.

This house is charming and begs to have its picture taken with its Red Sox door and Red Sox baseballs gracing all the flower pots. We also go to Acorn Lane, the most photographed street in Boston and where marriage proposals are regularly staged. I thought I got a great shot of this pretty street.

She takes me to Louisburg Square which is right behind my place and where John Kerry lives at #19 and the author Robin Cook lives at #16 (Coma, Contagion, Pandemic, and more). Louisa May Alcott lived here at one time as well. It is apparently the most expensive address in Boston. I love the door knockers.

We also photograph the public gardens and parts of Back Bay. One of my favorite photos is the dog stuck in the Back Bay fence. All in all it’s a fun morning.

But what about the A of the ABCs? Not to worry, that afternoon I went to the special Monet exhibit at the Boston Museum of Fine Art and then topped it off with a visit to the Isabella Gardner Museum. This Isabella Gardner museum was the site of the $500 million, 1990 theft of 13 works of art including Rembrandts and Vermeer. Look at the empty frames still on the walls where the paintings had been.

The best part of the Isabella Gardner Museum is the courtyard garden. it is gorgeous and ever changing. The Museum also has a great restaurant where I had lunch prior to my visit.

So there you have the ABCs of a couple of my Shirleyfest Boston days. Coming up next…the USS Constitution and sunset walking with my Boston Meet Up group. Stay tuned and follow along!