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Fenway Park. The oldest stadium in the majors, arguably the most iconic, and one that I was very excited to hit. My trip to Boston and Fenway Park was a part of what I call my 'Baseball Odyssey' -- a road trip that lasted a month and saw me hit 11 new stadiums. I talk about it in my post reflecting the baseball stadium chase. This was my fourth stop on my baseball trip. It was supposed to be my third, but as I was driving from Toronto to New York I saw signs on the highway for Cooperstown. As the mile markers got lower and lower, I figured "why not?" and took the exit out of the way. It wound up adding a few hours on my trip, but those were very much worth it.

I was never a great writer throughout my time in high school and college. I can write academically, sure, but have trouble when trying to write outside of that. As I find my voice and write more and more as an adult, I have found myself better able to articulate my thoughts over time. However, I don't think I could truly do justice to how amazing I found the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Cooperstown itself is beautiful -- a nature-filled, secluded town in New York state. It's akin to Northfield, my college town, with a main street and some gimmick that makes it 'historic' -- Northfield's was the bank noted thief Jessie James wasn't able to rob. Cooperstown's, of course, is the Baseball Hall of Fame, a museum and chronicle of over a century of history pertaining to the game I've fallen in love with over the past few years. Unfortunately for me, the section of the Hall with the player busts was sectioned off for a private event so I was not able to see any of them (looks like I'll have to go back when Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens get inducted). The attendant in the front initially tried to turn me away from the museum as I'd arrived an hour before close and the busts were unavailable -- however, after learning I was a traveller and only had today to visit, he applied every discount in the book to my museum ticket and gave me guidance on what to check out.

I was one of three patrons in the museum during that hour, which created a deeply personal and almost haunting experience. Even though this happened over 15 months ago, I still remember walking through the twists and turns of the museum clearly. The museum rotates artifacts and exhibits, but I still saw memorabilia from players I had only ever researched prior. From Cy Young's jerseys, to a glove from Bob Gibson, to Armando Galarraga's shoes from his 28-out perfect game, there was something for every era of pitching. Offense, of course, was included too -- I saw bats from some of my favorite players such as Albert Pujols and Ichiro Suzuki, and the gloves Rickey Henderson used to steal his MLB record (at the time) 939th base.

The part that I loved the most, however, was the exhibit at the tail end of the museum -- "Your Team Today," a set of thirty lockers containing memorabilia from recent players. I latched onto this exhibit because I knew most of the names I saw, and being inches away from artifacts that I remember from my childhood and adolescence was chilling. Items from the White Sox's 2005 world series win and the Nationals' 2019 world series win were proudly on display. What I remember most, though, were two baseballs in the Giants' locker -- one from each of Tim Lincecum's (one of my all-time favorite baseball guys) no-hitters. Walking through that hall was the perfect way to cap off my experience at the museum. At the gift shop, I picked up a Cardinals hat and a Baseball Hall of Fame hat: one for the experience, and one for one of my favorite teams.

Now, back to Fenway Park. I drove into Boston and paid a small fortune to park close to the stadium due to potential inclement weather. After parking, I walked to the park and was greeted by a marching band, plenty of passionate Red Sox fans, and an air of excitement that I had not previously seen at any park -- not even Wrigley Field. It was abundantly clear to me that this park was special before I had even walked in the concourse.

Once inside, I took a lap around. I imagine the concourse behaves like it did in the early 1900s, as it felt cramped and tough to move around in. Everything in the park has a classic feel to it and, despite modern elements such as phone charging stations, it feels like I took a step back into time thanks to the decor. That being said, I did enjoy the atmosphere (it certainly matched outside!) and the closeness of everything in the park. I grabbed a bacon cheeseburger, a hot dog, and peanuts, while avoiding the $37 lobster roll (the most expensive food item I've seen at a stadium to date), and headed to my seat.

I am of the belief that, with the exception of obstructed seats behind poles as they exist at Wrigley, there really is not a bad seat at the park. Due to its unique construction with the green monster and small park dimensions, all the spots I checked out felt close to the field and like I had a decent shot at seeing all the action. My true seat was right next to the Pesky Pole -- not my usual spot to watch baseball games from, but I felt like I had a decent view of the goings on.

That was, of course, until the game got rained out. With the weather starting as a heavy cloudscape that turned into rain prior to the first pitch, I stayed at Fenway for close to two hours before the game was officially called off to be made up a few days later. I, of course, would not be in town this day. So, I've never seen a game at Fenway Park. However, I still count it as a park visited. The Ballpark Chasing facebook group, a huge help to me so far, collectively loves the saying "your chase, your rules." The mission of chasing baseball stadiums is one that is personal and has certainly helped me "find myself" in ways, so I agree with the saying wholeheartedly. My personal rule is that once I step foot into the stadium with the express purpose of watching a game, it counts. My business with Fenway, however, is unfinished -- I still want to see a nine-inning (or longer!) game here. Maybe someday. I've been fortunate enough that this is the only game to date I've seen be rained out. Hopefully my luck continues!