June 1, 2011 - I wanted to share an email I received from Tom H. Tom and his son joined us on our Cubs at Fenway Tour a few weeks ago. His recount of this historic MLB tour really captures the Big League Tours experience. He sent along a few pictures, too, so I have included them as well. Enjoy their story from the second of our nine baseball vacation packages this season.
My 13 yr old and I just completed our first trip with Big League Tours, and it was amazing. At first blush, the package price seems a little high compared to what I could do on my own, but after experiencing this event, the cost of the trip was MORE than worth it. Not only were the seats fantastic, but the behind the park tour, and the stories told by Bill "Spaceman" Lee were incredible.
My son is a huge Red Sox fan, and I've been a lifelong Cubs fan. Neither of us had been to Fenway, but we have been to Wrigley Field and a half dozen other major league parks. Fenway is an experience every true baseball fan should enjoy at least once in their life. It was amazing (although I'm still partial to Wrigley Field and the surrounding area!)
Boston itself was a beautiful city, much different than I expected. My only regret is that we scheduled an early morning flight back on Sunday, so we did not get to see very much of the city. If I did this over again, I would plan more time for site -seeing throughout the town.
We arrived on Friday afternoon to find our hotel was one of the oldest and nicest in Boston, and we had rooms on the concierge floor with all the amenities we could ask for. Our tour guide Mike was awesome, and met us downstairs a little before the appointed time. Mike took care of us the entire trip, going above and beyond the call of duty even though it meant backtracking for him at the end of the night to go pick his car back up and head for home! You're great Mike, and if you get back "home" to Texas look me up and we'll do Ranger's Stadium!!)
We departed on the subway (an experience for those of us in car-only states) and within 3 exits were at Fenway Park. Even 3 hours before the game, the area was going wild with activity. We walked around taking in the sites outside, then went in to our seats. For the first game, our seats were behind homeplate, about 20-30 rows up. Even though these were incredible seats, I was disappointed at first with the fact that the net came the entire length of the lower deck, making it impossible to catch a foul ball (or so I thought!) Boy was I wrong. About the 5th or 6th inning, a foul ball rolled all the way up the net, and found a hole in the net! The next thing I know a ball is coming down about three stories toward us. My right hand was full of bags from the Fenway gift shops, but with the speed of light I stuck out my left hand across my body and snagged the foul ball one handed for my Fenway Jewel! The park photographer was there within seconds to capture that moment forever, and even caught my grinning son next to me to make the memory perfect!
After the game, our guide gave us the option of taking the subway back to the hotel, which would have been very crowded and very slow, or walking back to the hotel. When he gave me that choice, thinking of Chicago or New York, or even Texas, I looked puzzled and asked if the walk would be safe?? We were about a mile and a half away!! He said yes, so we took out walking. I was amazed how many groups of people were out walking around Boston at midnight, many of these groups of young college age women. I felt completely safe, and enjoyed the beautiful sites of 200 yr old apartments and churches on the way back to the hotel.
Saturday we slept in longer than I had hoped, but did have time to take a bus tour around the town. Saturday afternoon we had an incredible tour behind the scenes at Fenway Park, and got to meet one of the most colorful Boston players ever, Bill "Spaceman" Lee. Bill and his lovely wife stayed with us the entire tour, telling stories about the park and his career. Every Boston fan seemed to remember Bill, and wanted their picture taken with him. He seemed to LOVE being out with the people and making everyone happy! Thanks Big League Tours for letting us meet the Spaceman, and THANK YOU BILL for being so great. My son is still telling your stories, and has hardly put down the bat you gave us!
Saturday's game was even better than Friday ( partially because the CUBS won!!). Our seats were EVEN BETTER than Friday, about 8-10 rows from the field, right behind home plate. Amazing!!
Boston was a gorgeous city, and getting around was very easy. My son and I LOVED the entire Big League Tours experience, and look forward to going on another one very soon. The cost was worth every penny, considering the location of the seats, the 4-5 star hotel, and all of the other package perks! Big League Tours certainly lived up to their name, as this experience was BIG LEAGUE all the way!!
Tom H.
Thanks, Tom, for sending this to me and for letting me post it on the blog. We are looking forward to having you join us on one of our baseball road trips with Big League Tours again soon!
My 13 yr old and I just completed our first trip with Big League Tours, and it was amazing. At first blush, the package price seems a little high compared to what I could do on my own, but after experiencing this event, the cost of the trip was MORE than worth it. Not only were the seats fantastic, but the behind the park tour, and the stories told by Bill "Spaceman" Lee were incredible.
My son is a huge Red Sox fan, and I've been a lifelong Cubs fan. Neither of us had been to Fenway, but we have been to Wrigley Field and a half dozen other major league parks. Fenway is an experience every true baseball fan should enjoy at least once in their life. It was amazing (although I'm still partial to Wrigley Field and the surrounding area!)
Boston itself was a beautiful city, much different than I expected. My only regret is that we scheduled an early morning flight back on Sunday, so we did not get to see very much of the city. If I did this over again, I would plan more time for site -seeing throughout the town.
We arrived on Friday afternoon to find our hotel was one of the oldest and nicest in Boston, and we had rooms on the concierge floor with all the amenities we could ask for. Our tour guide Mike was awesome, and met us downstairs a little before the appointed time. Mike took care of us the entire trip, going above and beyond the call of duty even though it meant backtracking for him at the end of the night to go pick his car back up and head for home! You're great Mike, and if you get back "home" to Texas look me up and we'll do Ranger's Stadium!!)
We departed on the subway (an experience for those of us in car-only states) and within 3 exits were at Fenway Park. Even 3 hours before the game, the area was going wild with activity. We walked around taking in the sites outside, then went in to our seats. For the first game, our seats were behind homeplate, about 20-30 rows up. Even though these were incredible seats, I was disappointed at first with the fact that the net came the entire length of the lower deck, making it impossible to catch a foul ball (or so I thought!) Boy was I wrong. About the 5th or 6th inning, a foul ball rolled all the way up the net, and found a hole in the net! The next thing I know a ball is coming down about three stories toward us. My right hand was full of bags from the Fenway gift shops, but with the speed of light I stuck out my left hand across my body and snagged the foul ball one handed for my Fenway Jewel! The park photographer was there within seconds to capture that moment forever, and even caught my grinning son next to me to make the memory perfect!
After the game, our guide gave us the option of taking the subway back to the hotel, which would have been very crowded and very slow, or walking back to the hotel. When he gave me that choice, thinking of Chicago or New York, or even Texas, I looked puzzled and asked if the walk would be safe?? We were about a mile and a half away!! He said yes, so we took out walking. I was amazed how many groups of people were out walking around Boston at midnight, many of these groups of young college age women. I felt completely safe, and enjoyed the beautiful sites of 200 yr old apartments and churches on the way back to the hotel.
Saturday we slept in longer than I had hoped, but did have time to take a bus tour around the town. Saturday afternoon we had an incredible tour behind the scenes at Fenway Park, and got to meet one of the most colorful Boston players ever, Bill "Spaceman" Lee. Bill and his lovely wife stayed with us the entire tour, telling stories about the park and his career. Every Boston fan seemed to remember Bill, and wanted their picture taken with him. He seemed to LOVE being out with the people and making everyone happy! Thanks Big League Tours for letting us meet the Spaceman, and THANK YOU BILL for being so great. My son is still telling your stories, and has hardly put down the bat you gave us!
Saturday's game was even better than Friday ( partially because the CUBS won!!). Our seats were EVEN BETTER than Friday, about 8-10 rows from the field, right behind home plate. Amazing!!
Boston was a gorgeous city, and getting around was very easy. My son and I LOVED the entire Big League Tours experience, and look forward to going on another one very soon. The cost was worth every penny, considering the location of the seats, the 4-5 star hotel, and all of the other package perks! Big League Tours certainly lived up to their name, as this experience was BIG LEAGUE all the way!!
Tom H.
Thanks, Tom, for sending this to me and for letting me post it on the blog. We are looking forward to having you join us on one of our baseball road trips with Big League Tours again soon!
May 23, 2011 - We just got back from our Big League Tour trip to Boston to see the Red Sox play the Cubs for the first time since 1918! As usual, BLT comes through again! The hotel was in a terrific location, the seats to both games were phenonemal, but we truly had a terrific time meeting Bill Lee! Our 1:1 time with him was really special - he is a very down-to-earth guy and full of really fun stories. BLT never disappoints!
Field, Fenway Park, Camden Yards, AT&T Park, and Citi Field. The article by Fox News outlines the reasons for why you should visit each of the ballparks from the atmosphere, food selection, and unique features like the ivy-covered walls at Wrigley, the Green Monstah at Fenway, and views from the parks in Baltimore and San Francisco. 
Reds Community Fund. It's a weekend in Chicago to see the Reds play the Cubs for three games at Wrigley Field. Baseball fans will enjoy the series at Wrigley from great, lower-level seats as well as great hotel accommodations in Chicago, meet & greets with an MLB player, transportation to the stadiums, and a Big League Tours host on the tour.
One tough ticket is a stadium tour at Wrigley Field. They don't typically offer tours when the team is in town, which is troublesome for us since we're typically there to see a game. However, it worked out for us on our latest of small group tours that we were able to get tickets. 
afternoon game between the Cubs and Cardinals, he was stopped by a young woman who asked if he would be interested in watching batting practice from the field. She was wearing a shirt that said Chevy on it so I asked if I had to buy a car or something to make it happen. After all, things like that just aren't free, are they?? She assured me that I didn't and gave everyone in our group passes to get down to that section with him. 
the minute that you step off the "L", you are in the heart of the action. Vendors line the streets selling t-shirts, to peanuts, to water, to tickets. Throngs of people mill around outside the stadium, many of whom are walking to or from the famous Wrigley Field sign that greets you on the corner of Clark and Addison, pictured here during a night game.