Leg 6—Portland to Boston: May 1, 2006

Amtrak’s Train 686, the Downeaster, departs Portland on Monday May 1 at 3:40 p.m. and arrives at Boston’s North Station 2 ½ hours later at 6:10 p.m. going through the same cities as Leg 5 but in reverse order. Many Red Sox fans are traveling on this train to go the baseball game against the New York Yankees. Many of the passengers sit in the lounge talking about trains, baseball and fishing. One of the passengers is a professional fisherman. Two young ladies are making a sign for the game, calling Johnny Damon a traitor. This game will be the first game when Johnny returns to Fenway after opting to become a Yankee.

I stay at a different Days Inn this time. I stay at Days Hotel-1234 Soldiers Field Road (Map), using my AAA card for a discounted rate. Days Inns are comfortable and reasonable. The hotel is on Soldiers Field Road, which runs along the St. Charles River. The taxi ride costs $30. I guess the fares are just higher in Boston.

When I awake the next morning, rain is falling. I finally get my wish for rain.

I will be leaving today from the South Station so I catch a cab, The fare is $30—total Boston fares for four rides $120 (For the remainder of my trip, I never paid more than $20 for a taxi; the average was about $12, including tip.)

I leave my bags at the Greyhound desk and catch the subway to Fenway Park. People are coming and going in South Station. They get off a commuter train and go to work or catch a bus, subway or taxi for their final destination. I ask several people how to catch the subway. After misdirection from several people, including the information desk, I ask a clerk at the commuter rail desk. He gave me specific directions that were correct.

To get on the subway I go downstairs in the South Station. I take the Red Line to the Park Street stop and then switch to the Green Line. Then, I take the Green Line to the Kenmore stop using any Green Line train, except the E. Once on the train, announcements tell me how to get off for Fenway. After detraining, I walk about two blocks to Fenway Park

At the ticket office, I purchase my tour pass. The ticket agent tells me I need to wait at the Souvenir Store across the street for the 10:00 a.m. tour. Rain is lightly falling and the wind is blowing. I wear the hood of my jacket over my head. When the tour guide arrives, I am the only person that has signed-up for this tour, probably because of the rain. During the summer months the guide says that the tours average between 200 and 250 people per tour. The man gave me a thorough tour and took a couple of pictures of me with various backgrounds in Fenway Park.

It is the guide’s opinion that the game tonight with the Yankees will be called because of rain. Tonight’s game is the second and final game of this series with the Yankees.

I take the subway in reverse order to the South Station to catch the Greyhound bus for Montréal. It is unbelievable the number of people going in and out of the station, even in the rain.

The Red Sox vs. Yankee for tonight’s game is postponed.

I love Beantown. It could be one of my favorite cities save the cold and snow.