Florida Spring Training Trip - Day 4

We slept in again today and didn't make it to breakfast at Lenny's before the game.  We did arrive at the game in plenty of time however.

The skies were clear but it was cool and a little breezy.  It's hard to believe the low 60's with a little wind is cool, but we were actually a little cold sitting in the shade.  It seemed 20 degrees warmer in the sun so we got up a few times and watched the game from one of the many sunny areas.

The Phillies won this game, so most of the fans went away happy.  There were a lot of Detroit Tiger fans at the game who also seemed happy just to be out of Michigan (the scoreboard said the game-time temperature in Detroit was 14 degrees).

After the game we went to another beachfront restaurant near our hotel called Hogan's Beach, named after the famous wrestler, Hulk Hogan.  There was a lot of Hulk Hogan memorabilia throughout and he apparently lives, or at least has a house, in the area.  The food was good and another big crowd was present . All three of the nearby beachfront restaurants we have visited have been very busy. With the large number of hotels in this area and the tourist season beginning, there is a good market for beach-side dining.

There is no home game tomorrow, so we will sleep-in again and plan the day after breakfast, maybe at Lenny's.

Here are a few more pictures from today, including some of our hotel:

Day - 4 Pictures

Florida Spring Training Trip - Day 3

Today was a R & R day.  We slept in to 9:00 am and laid around until noon not doing much of anything.  We then went over to McDill AFB (about a 30 minute drive through Tampa) to get a few things at the BX and Commissary. 

Dinner was at another beach front restaurant (Bahama Breeze Island Grille) not far away from the hotel.  We had a great dinner and listened to a couple of pretty good Bob Marley/Jimmy Buffet type musicians.  The weather today was cool (65 degrees) with a few showers, but certainly tolerable.  It is supposed to clear up tomorrow with warmer weather at least into early next week when the big California storm moving east may impact local weather somewhat.

It is back to baseball tomorrow - Phillies v. Detroit Tigers in Clearwater,  We are also planning on breakfast at Lenny's, a Philadelphia style restaurant near the park catering to Phillies fans. The menu is typical Philadelphia - huge portions, scrapple, Taylor Pork Roll, and many other kinds of breakfast sausage, sweet rolls, etc.

Day 3 Pictures

Florida Spring Training Trip - Day 2

After breakfast at the hotel we drove to Bright House Field for the first game of the spring training season.  Our seats are in the Club Level of the stadium along the first base line and one section up from the field-level seats; a restricted admission section with it's own concession stand and bathrooms.  It is on the same level as the suites that are either rented out for each game or by the season by corporate sponsors. The seats are a little bit bigger than the ones below and are padded.  Another nice touch is complementary free drinks such as Bloody Mary, champagne, mimosas, etc. before each game. 

The game with the Toronto Blue Jays started at 1:00 pm under cloudy skies and a forecast of rain.  Sure enough, the rain started after 3:00 pm and the game was called in the 7th inning. The team mascot, the Phillie Phanatic, was at the game and will be at all the home games this year.  He is still one of the best team mascots and is in mid-season form already. 

After returning to the hotel, we had dinner at a beachfront restaurant across the street along the causeway called Whisky Joe's.  No game tomorrow - they are playing away against the Blue Jays in Dunedin.  We're not sure what we are going to do except sleep-in, then start from there.

Here is the link to a few pictures from today:

Day 2 Pictures

Florida Spring Training Trip - Day 1

We got up at 3:00 am, got ready and caught the hotel shuttle at 4:30 for our 6:30 flight from SFO to Tampa.  Everything went well - we checked our baggage, cleared security, and even had time for an overpriced airport breakfast before boarding.  The flight was direct to Atlanta (4 1/2 hrs) and then on a different flight to Tampa (1 1/2 hrs). 

We arrived in Tampa about 4:00 pm local and went to the car rental place (Enterprise).  We had reserved a compact car and when we got there they said the only compact they had left was a canary yellow Fiat with 13 inch wheels and little room inside.  I said we didn't want that one and would wait until others "came in from the wash rack".  They tried to talk me into an upgrade for another $10 a day and I said no. After waiting for about 10 minutes, they finally said they would upgrade us to a full size sedan for no additional cost.  So, we ended up with a new Chrysler 200 sedan.  It all worked out and we will not have to drive around while we are here with my knees touching my chin.

We are staying at the Double Tree Inn by Hilton on Tampa Bay. We have a nice suite with a bay view.  The hotel is only about 10 minutes from the airport and a 15 minute drive across the causeway to Clearwater where the Phillies play their spring training home games.  After arriving at the hotel, we unpacked, had some wine, and ordered a room service pizza for dinner.  It actually wasn't too bad or outrageously expensive for hotel room service food.  We'll be staying here for 10 days then moving to a condo in Dunedin (just north of Clearwater) for the last three weeks of our trip.

The first Phillies game is tomorrow at 1:00 pm.  We try and post some pictures and some of the hotel.

Florida Spring Training Trip - Day 0

Another adventure begins - this time without the RV.  Judy's monthly medical treatments limit how long we can be on the road, so we decided to fly to Florida this year to watch Philadelphia Phillies Spring Training Baseball and do other vacation things.  The team played so poorly last year, we were able to get season spring training season tickets (in the shade no less), so we decided to get an early baseball fix in a great location in Clearwater.

The "getting ready" day was a busy one.  I had a Rotary meeting at noon and then we drove to Rocklin to have a nice birthday lunch/dinner with Karin and her kids.   After a late lunch, we got on the road about 4:00 pm and headed for San Francisco to the El Rancho Inn where we planned to spend the night before catching an early shuttle to the airport the next morning.  The traffic on the way down to SF, as expected, was horrible.  We finally arrived at the El Rancho about 7:00 pm and almost immediately went to bed.  The attraction of the El Rancho is that is about a 10 minute drive to the airport, you can park your car there while you are gone and their shuttle runs 24/7 to and from the airport.  No pictures today but we'll post some as soon as we can.