Boston Area Dopefest, Tuesday April 15, 2008

So, anyway, I want to visit Boston before the game and either Monday or Tuesday night.

What should I try to check out, especially near Fenway?

Is there any interest in meeting up for Dinner or Drinks on Monday or Tuesday night?

BTW: I will be sitting in Outfield Grandstand 1 at the 8pm game.

How is parking near Fenway? How early should I get there?

Jim

You are truly a brave man, operating behind enemy lines to support your troops. I salute your bravery. You should get there the night before, so you can properly booby-trap the Red Sox locker room.

Parking near Fenway will run you $40 or $50. For the full experience, you should take the commuter rail into North Station, and take the Green Line to the game. Wear your Yankees garb.

And what are you doing in Framingham, of all places?

I think this will be the 17th MLB stadium I will have seen a game at and the 20th I have been to. I saw a Floyd Concert in the LA Coliseum, visited Candlestick Park in the off season and the Metrodome in another off season.

I will be at a yearly IBM computer conference. Last year it was north of Boston in Wakefield, but it was in March. This is the first time they had it during the baseball season.

Where would I catch the commuter rail?
Can I at least park near Fenway early and find stuff to do near it?
How good are the Boston trains?

I have done Chicago and NYC without a car. I have fun to walking and using the trains. You see more of a city that way.

Are you trying to get me killed? :wink: I am probably going to keep low key and not wear sports garb to the stadium.

Jim

There are plenty of Yankees fans in full garb at any Yanks game at Fenway. I wouldn’t worry about it, if you really do want to support your team. Despite how shrill some people tend to get, I think it really is mostly a good-natured rivalry. People will heckle you, but that’s half the fun anyway.

And Boston trains are pretty good. I never drive in Boston.

It looks like there is are Framingham stations that go to Yawkey Station that appears to be right by the stadium. This looks perfect. Now I need to figure out how to get from the Sheraton to the train station. It looks like the Ashland, Framingham & West Natick stations are all nearby.

Anyone know how the parking is at the Framingham stations?

fachverwirrt, I guess I will brave wearing some Yankee stuff, but I think I will keep my hat safely in the car at least. It is one I don’t want to lose, it is a special 9/11 cap.

I will send out PM’s to all the appropriate Boston kids. There is interest. I will also explain later my experiences and advice with Fenway.

There is yes, but I would suggest skipping the commuter rail and driving into the city. Not to Fenway, but there are plenty of nice garages on the subway that are inexpensive ($5, I live in between the Alewife and Wellington), and once you get on the subway, the city is small enough to make travel around the city fairly easy.

And plan to arrive Kenmore Square about an hour early (no Bostonian actually goes to the Fenway stop on the subway. Fenway is the name of the neighborhood, Kenmore station is closer to the park. I would recommend you get there even earlier, it’s a real nice area and the places around Fenway Park are really fun before a game, no doubt the action will be even more exciting on a nice Sunday night with a game against the Yankees.

Plan to be mildly heckled, nothing really you need to worry about. It’s all in the spirit of fun. Give back as much as you are given, I would anticipate a very interesting subway ride. It gets very busy on the trains on those nights.
As far as stuff to do, a lot. The Boston/Fenway/Brighton area has plenty of places to eat, places to shop, and is all very walkable if you want to get out of the T. More later maybe.

Let me add my voice to those suggesting that you skip actually driving within Boston, or other close in cities. Alewife station is easy to get to from Framingham, and connects you to the Red Line.
If you get the chance, while you’re there that weekend, see if you can meet some people for food at Durgin Park. It’s awesome.

Oo! Oo, pick me, pick me!

(I don’t have PM’s activated. Keep me in the loop!)

I would vote for Monday, though, as I have another obligation Tuesday night.

You should also be aware that that is the week of the Boston Marathon. All plans should be made with this in mind.

I know, both you and** gigi **made me shake my first in frustration early this morning. Argggggggg.

Hmm, you make this sound like I had a dopefest in mind. No, no, I just said I would be interested in meeting Jim. I was sending out PM’s so I could have help holding him down. I’m not that big of a guy, so I was thinking that Todd could take one arm, and Eric would take the other, while I just get in a couple of free shots.
I may have misspelled both of their names.

ETA: Last year, when you went to Wakefield, did you ever take up my suggestion to visit Jordan’s Furniture?

Thanks bbs2k, it will be fun to meet you and other dopers.

Actually, I did. A strange and interesting place.

lorene: I’ll only be in Boston April 13th & the 14th or 15th. The marathon is on the 21st. Is it likely to be crazy that far in advance?

OtakuLoki: Alewife looks like a good choice. $5 parking as **bbs2k ** mentioned. Then I will take the Red Line to Kenmore Square.

JustAnotherGeek: Cool, I hope this works out.

Another Bostonian chiming in:
You actually can’t take the red line to Kenmore square–it does not go there. You’d have to take the Red line to Park Street and transfer to the Green line to go to Kenmore.

Are there any stations on the Green Line then to the West of Fenway that have parking? That would probably be simpler than a transfer. Otherwise, I might be better off with the commuter line and just walking from Yawkey station.

There are four brances to the Green line all of which are to the west of Boston. However, most of them don’t go far into the suburbs. The only one that does, the D branch, has several stops with parking in Newton.

The transfer at Park Street from the Red line to the Green line isn’t difficult though, it’s just up a flight of stairs from one platform to the other.

Cool, thankfully I have two months to figure this stuff out.

Thanks again for all the early help everyone.

Jim

No, I got my weeks mixed up…carry on.

Awesome!
Thanks for the PM bbs2k. I’m up for drinks/dinner and meeting you guys again. I’ll try to stay updated on this.

Re: The train. I second the suggestion to park at Alewife. It’s very easy to get into Kenmore from there. Just go to park street, go up a flight of stairs and get on any green line train except for the ones marked E. So lines B, C, and D will get you there.

Absolutely. Thanks, bbs2k.

If Jim’s buying, I’m attending. :wink: