Spring Training 2019

For the last several years we have used our Spring Break to travel down to Florida to watch baseball during the Spring Training Season. Each year we try to see different ballparks as well as visit Rob’s Grandparents.

The first Saturday of Spring Break, we got up at 3:30am and hit the road on our way to Lakeland, FL. We had a 1:00 game to get to at Joker Marchant Stadium, home of the Detroit Tigers.

Detroit Tigers

Joker Marchant Stadium
Braves vs. Tigers (Lakeland)
Home of the Tigers since 1966
Game Time: 1:05pm
Opened: 1966
Renovated: 2017
Capacity: 9,000
Parking: $10, which we reserved ahead of time online when we bought our tickets.

We enjoyed the stadium. We like when you can walk all the way stadium. Many stadiums have nothing behind the outfield. This was the game where we were hoping to see a couple of our favorite Auburn Alums; Josh Donaldson (Braves) and Casey Mize (Tigers). We ended up not getting to see either of them, but it was still a fun game to watch as the Braves pulled out a win.

Dairy Queen employees walk around with Ice Cream Strawberry Shortcakes that looked amazing. It was hard to resist spending the $8 to get one!

After the game we booked it towards our hotel which was near where the next 3 games would be, so it was quite a drive. We stopped and ate at Crazy Fish Bar & Grill. Food was good. Don’t recommend sitting in the bar area, because of noise and subpar service.
802 Henry Street
Lake Wales, FL 33853

Drew got in late that night to join us for the rest of the games.

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The next morning we got up, grabbed some free breakfast at the hotel, and decided to check out Riverwalk in Stuart.

Really enjoyed the wildlife; birds, lizards, crabs, jellyfish, and fish.

They have a market every Sunday from 9am-12pm, which we walked around and got a few bites from samples people were giving out.

After some lunch it was on the the Mets Stadium and while there were dark clouds in the sky, it never rained.

New York Mets

3.10.2019
First Data Field
Cardinals at Mets (Port St. Lucie)
Home of the Mets since 1998
Game Time: 1:05pm
Opened: 1988
Renovated: 2012
Capacity: 7,160
Parking: $10 to park in a field near stadium.

This ballpark is super plain. Not one thing unique or interesting about it, besides the 9-11 Memorial which is outside the park (see below).

Outside the park they have this token 9-11 Memorial.

We got to see Tim Tebow play!

After the game we went back and got our stuff to go to the beach right near where we were staying. We went Bathtub Reef Beach, which was really neat. It had a reef where little Sea anemones were hanging out waiting for high tide again that evening. You can read more about in pics below if interested.

That evening we ate at Fresh Catch Seafood Grill, which was pretty good.
1411 SE Indian Street
Stuart, FL 34997

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The 3rd day we drove over to West Palm Beach and stopped at Grassy Waters Preserve where we spent a few hours exploring this area. It’s an expansive wetlands ecosystem. We saw lots of birds, lizards, an alligator, snails, and many interesting plants.

We ate a pizza place before heading to the ballgame.
Romeo’s Pizza Kitchen
5335 N Military Trl #38
West Palm Beach, FL 33407

Houston Astros

FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches
Mets at Astros (West Palm Beach)
Home of the Astros since 2017
Game Time: 1:05pm
Opened: 2017
Capacity: 7,800
Parking: Be prepared that the regular $10 parking is probably a half mile walk or so. They do have shuttles that will bring you closer.

I was happy to see water bottle fillers and water fountains, which we could not find anywhere at the Met’s stadium.

After the game we had prepared to go to Juno Beach.

The kids started a thing last year, where they get an apple from the reef hotel breakfast and bring it with them to throw award like a ball. This time they had a couple of apples with them. The actually started playing a game with the birds, because as they threw the ball around the salt water made the apple fall apart. It would eventually break into pieces. They would throw the apple pieces up to the seagulls and it just became a fun game for all involved.

From the beach, we place an order Pei Wei, went and picked up and brought it back to the hotel.
Pei Wei
2101 SE Federal Hwy.
Stuart, FL 34994

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The last day of our Spring Training adventures we checked out of the hotel and went over to the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse.
500 Captain Armour’s Way
Jupiter, FL 33469

From where you park at the museum you can hardly see the lighthouse and it really doesn’t make for a great picture. This pic below was taken from the bridge right near the lighthouse.

It was $12 to inside the lighthouse, which I’m not willing to pay that much to walk up a lighthouse. That does include the museum, but we weren’t that interested in that.

For lunch we just stopped at Boston Market, before driving over to see the Marlins play.

Florida Marlins

Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium
Mets at Marlins (Jupiter)
Home of the Marlins since 2003
Game Time: 1:05pm
Opened: 1998
Capacity: 7,000
Parking: We purchased parking ahead of time for $10, which was in a parking garage. It seemed like there were several places around the park you for free/cheaper.

We were excited to get to see a former Auburn baseball player play for the Marlins, Garret Cooper. He’s competing to be on the roster and he did well so good for him!

Drew had to take off from the game a little early because he had to drive home. The next day he was getting on a bus with the Auburn Pep Band for the SEC tournament in Nashville.

After the game was over Rob, Alex, and I had about a 4 hour drive across the state to Rob’s Grandparents’ house (the McMahon’s) so we could visit with them for a few days.

On our way there we stopped at Burger 21 and ate. Really good burgers, just not a ton of food if you’re starving.
Lakeside Village
1601 Town Center Dr.
Lakeland, FL 33803

We got to the McMahon’s about 9:30 and pretty much went straight to bed.

The next day and half we spent time just hanging at the McMahon’s house visiting, eating, and enjoyed watching their foster squirrel, Shiner.

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On our way home Thursday, we stopped at Becky Jack’s Food Shack for lunch. It was neat place with good service. Food was not our style really. We got shrimp poboys, which they didn’t tell us were actually coconut shrimp and the crab bisque was reminiscent of puke. However, as long as you held your breath while putting it in your mouth it was manageable. We felt so bad that it was so bad, that the 3 of us collectively ate about half of the huge bowl of soup.
Becky Jack’s Food Shack
8070 Cortez Blvd
Weeki Wachee, Florida

Want to know more about our other Spring Training Trips? >>>> Spring Training Trips