PHILADELPHIA — Things were changing — fast.
Fresh out of high school, my son Eric was jetting off to Italy with friends — and chaperones — for a once-in-a-lifetime, 10-day tour. He went with my blessing, even though it meant he wouldn’t be going to Disney World with the family.
What would be next? Missing Thanksgiving to go home with his college roommate? Skiing out West over Christmas break? Summer internships or study-abroad programs who-knows-where?
There was time for one last family vacation — no nephews or cousins, grandparents or friends; just the five of us — to create one more set of memories. Like the time Eric’s cheeseburger went flying through our minivan as we drove cross-country. Or when we took the fish his brother Michael caught to a Poconos restaurant to be cleaned and cooked, even though it was barely bigger than a sardine. Or when we’d cover Rebecca’s ears so she wouldn’t burst into tears at the first crack of fireworks.
It was time for a road trip.
We could fit in only a long weekend, so we headed to Boston to help fulfill Eric’s goal of seeing a game in all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums. We would sandwich a Sunday afternoon at venerable Fenway Park with a day at Cape Cod and a tour of the ESPN studios in Connecticut.
Flushed with embarrassment
It didn’t take long to start working on those new memories.
One of my vacation “rules” is to eat at unique local restaurants instead of chains, especially those we have at home. But when we struck out in a few quaint Connecticut towns off Interstate 95 (the restaurants were closed or closing by 9:30 on a balmy Friday night in August) I switched to Rule 2: Grumbling stomachs and declining odds trump Rule 1.
So at the next major interchange, we pulled up to the first restaurant in sight — Denny’s. As we waited for our Grand Slams, grilled-cheese sandwiches and milkshakes, Eric headed for the men’s room. Minutes later, we saw Eric still ambling around, peering this way and that.
“He’s been all over Italy, he’s headed to a huge campus at Penn State, and he can’t find the bathroom at Denny’s,” I said, feigning incredulity. We were still laughing as Eric returned, and even he chuckled at our trip’s first memory.
Hanging around Boston
We love road trips. When we took our minivan for a 32-day, 8,000-mile odyssey to the West and back, our only disappointment was pulling into our driveway. We wanted to do a load of laundry, get a good night’s sleep and take off again the next morning.
For this trip, though, the children — young men and women now — made me promise we wouldn’t try to cram in tours of Hyannis or Boston in one day. So even though our motel was across the street from the ferry terminal, we didn’t take the nearly two-hour ride to Nantucket or the one hour, 35-minute trip to Martha’s Vineyard. We didn’t drive long, winding Route 6 to Provincetown at the tip of the cape. We didn’t even bring our bikes to explore Hyannis.
Instead, we slept in, then strolled a few blocks to Main Street, where we were greeted by a parade. Lured by photos of waffles smothered with ice cream (c’mon, it’s vacation), we settled in for breakfast at the Egg and I (remember Rule 1?). What, they’re out of ice cream? No problem. I scurried next door to Cape Cod’s Main Street Mini Golf, bought a few dishes of soft vanilla and chocolate, and beat the fruit-topped waffles to the table.
Stuffed, we worked off breakfast by browsing the T-shirt shops and sports-collectible stores and scanning menus posted outside the dozen or so restaurants for a possible dinner spot. Eric, a die-hard Phillies fan who adopts the home team of the stadium he’s visiting, looked over the Red Sox shirts and caps but held out for the booths at Fenway. I was surprised that, in the heart of Red Sox Nation, there was nearly as much gear and memorabilia for the Evil Empire — the New York Yankees.
We apparently lucked out with a beautiful day, based on a sign in a sweatshirt shop: “Hot and Dry. It’s been miserable. We deserve one cool day.”
And we deserved this family day just to chill — a sharp change from Eric’s whirlwind tour of Italy and our week-long dash through Disney World and Universal Orlando. We checked out the Joke Shop, which reminded us of the Hardy Har Hut in the movie “Hairspray,” and picked up souvenirs — for Rebecca, Del Sol nail polish that changes colors in the sunlight; for Michael, a Harley- Davidson T-shirt.
We ducked into the John F. Kennedy Museum, but decided to spend the time instead at Veterans Beach, next to the JFK and Korean War memorials. Back at the Harbor Hotel, we lounged at the outdoor pool and hot tub, sipping drinks and snacking on shrimp cocktail and chicken skewers.
Too comfortable to hustle across the street for the sunset cruise or to amble back to town for dinner, we eventually got changed, grabbed an outdoor table at neighboring Thirsty Tuna, and grappled with lobsters and corn on the cob. To cap off the evening, we walked a block for ice cream, but the young guy was locking up. Seeing Michael’s Flyers T-shirt (“I play hockey, and I’ve always liked them”), he reopened and made us cones and cups.
A relaxing family day adding to our vacation memories.
A Monster encounter
The things we do for our children. I was born in the Bronx, grew up idolizing Mickey Mantle, and still live and die with the Yankees. And here I was in the belly of the beast — Fenway Park, home of the archrival Red Sox.
But every baseball fan should see a game in the oldest ballpark in the majors, and this visit boosted Eric’s list of stadiums to 10.
We got to the park early enough to find a decent parking space — a bargain at $25 — and to wade through the crowd filling Yawkey Way. Vendors grilled sausage and peppers, and stilt-walkers tossed balls to glove-toting youngsters. Eric bought a green Fenway Park T-shirt and Red Sox cap, and we talked baseball with fans who ignored my Yankees shirt, probably because their team was comfortably in first place.
Heading inside, we wandered through the stands to see Fenway’s quirky, famous features: the Pesky Pole in right field, the centerfield triangle and, in left field, the hand-operated scoreboard at the base of the Green Monster. We even caught a view of the field from atop the 37-foot “Monsta,” where 250 seats were added in 2003.
As the players warmed up, we settled into the grandstand along the first-base line, in worn, wooden, blue seats that looked as though they dated to the stadium’s opener in 1912. The game was secondary on this gorgeous Sunday afternoon — even the 36,104 die-hards in the bandbox were mellow compared with a Sox-Yankees crowd. Maybe they were drained by three dramatic games in the previous two days, or they were saving themselves for October, when their beloved Sox would win their second World Series in three years.
Eric took photos with his cellphone, Valerie and Rebecca enjoyed ice cream cones, and Michael and I rooted the Angels to a 3-1 win, helping the Yankees gain a game in the standings. And we added this visit to one of the sport’s top three parks to our memories of the other two — Yankee Stadium and Chicago’s Wrigley Field.
We even had time to get a feel for the city, making the scene at historic Faneuil Hall. We watched street performers, strolled through Quincy Market and dined al fresco at Joe’s on the Waterfront.
For this vacation, we were 2-for-2.
“Onstage” at ESPN
On our way home, a college friend gave us all a thrill — and Eric abehind-the-scenes glimpse of his dream career — with a tour of the ESPN complex in Bristol, Conn. He showed us reporters at work on ESPN News, the studios where shows such as NFL Live and NBA Fastbreak are broadcast, even the outdoor basketball court where staffers make their own highlights.
We topped it off by sitting behind the anchors’ desk on the set of “SportsCenter,” the network’s premier show. Talk about family memories; that snapshot was our Christmas card photo — and a Vacation Top 10 Nominee.
Insider’s Guide
PLAY
Hy-Line Cruises: Ferries to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, Ocean City Dock, Hyannis; 800-492-8082; hy-linecruises.com
John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum: 397 Main St., Hyannis; 508-790-3077;
Boston Red Sox: 877-733-7699, boston.redsox.mlb.com
STAY
Hyannis Harbor Hotel: 213 Ocean St., Hyannis, 508-775-4420;
Anchor-in: 1 South St., Hyannis; 508-775-0357;
SeaCoast Inn: 33 Ocean St., Hyannis, 800-466-4100;
DINE
The Egg and I: 521 Main St., Hyannis; 508-771-1596
Hot Diggity Dogs: 569 Main St., Hyannis; 508-771-2932
Thirsty Tuna: 213 Ocean St., Hyannis; 508-360-3117;
Joe’s on the Waterfront: 100 Atlantic Ave., Boston; 617-367-8700;
MORE INFORMATION
Hyannis Area Chamber of Commerce; 877-492-6647;
Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism: 800-227-6277; mass-vacation.com
