The Red Sox returned from a little trip of consequence out West on Monday and found several thousand fans waiting to welcome them back and get a taste of the victory parade planned for Tuesday.

A caravan of buses rolled up to the park shortly after 5 p.m. Monday afternoon and those in attendance didn't have to wait long to see the hardware they'd been lusting after all post-season long: Tom Werner, John Henry, and Theo Epstein showed off the championship trophy before dishing it off to a grinning David Ortiz.

Several players were spotted greeting the crowd, but the "Aw shucks" moment came courtesy of Mike Timlin, who moved through the crowd with his daughter as he headed home to rest up for Tuesday.

Fan moment of the day: a four-man conga line began - and soon ended - on Yawkey Way, immediately to the left of laughing Jerry Remy and Tom Carron. The guys urged people to join in, noting that real Sox fans would want to dance and conga.

Apparently they were the only four real fans in the Fenway vicinity. Who knew?

Photo by Victoria Welch. For more images of the homecoming, click here.