You'd think that with Florida one state away, I would've made more trips there by now. All I know is that my week there reminded me how great a state Florida is.
I spent 6 days in Florida, from March 16 to March 21. The whole trip was based on catching MLB spring training for the first time, in particular, the Yankees. Sure, there are still two MLB stadiums there to which I haven't been. But both those stadiums currently suck. New ventures will lead to the building of new stadiums by 2012, I believe. Hopefully by then, those will be the last MLB stadiums I'll need to visit. Actually, add the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
The worst days were the driving the days. On March 16, I drove about 7 hours from Atlanta to Tampa. An easy drive; it's basically 75 South forever. Less complicated but more boring. I got to Tampa by early afternoon. I checked into a Holiday Inn. Quite surprised: roomy and literally walking distance to George M. Steinbrenner Field. After a nap, I made by way to the stadium. Somehow inaccessible from the same side of street, a stranger I met and I had to cross to the other side of the street to take a walking bridge back towards the field.
I must say spring training is so much fun. Tons of fans come down to Florida for the experience. Though I felt at home with the Yankees faithful, the park was still infiltrated by fans of other teams, proudly wearing the opposing gear. The opportunity to see players up close is better than even at batting practice before season games. Though Yankees stadium is a little stricter in that respect, it was still pretty neat. That first game against the Orioles, I saw up close both Jeter and A-Rod getting interviewed by YES announcer Michael Kay. I was surprised to see that the Yanks starting line-up was pretty much all their starters: Jeter, Swisher, Teixeira, A-Rod, Cano, Posada, Granderson, and Gardner. The first game was a lot of fun. An even more relaxed atmosphere if possible, together with warm weather and junk food. Can't beat that. Well, yes you can. The Yankees won 10-0.
The next day, I drove down to St. Petersburg to see the new Dali Museum. I had been with Kendra years ago. Considering that one of my favorite paintings, The Hallucinogenic Toreador, a masterwork, is there, I was eager to go back. The renovations were in keeping with Dali's style; the outside architectural renovations and the inside spiral staircase were really neat. Once inside, I saw all the workers, but really went back to admire my favorite work. Sigh. Since I had some time to spare, I walked on over to the Chihuly Collection, as recommended by both Kendra and David. (Interestingly, many streets were closed as they were preparing for an IRL road race a week later.) That collection was pretty neat too. I didn't know too much about Chihuly but got to see and appreciate his works. A very neat museum. I also realized that a crazy glass sculpture that I vividly remember from Mohegan Sun from years back is a Chihuly piece. After a quick rest at Vinoy Park, I made my way back to Tampa. Caught the Yanks vs. Rays. A great game. A-Rod homered for a second night in a row. Though the Yanks trailed for most of the game, Swisher hit a 2-run HR in the bottom of the 7th inning to steal the win.
I woke up early on Friday and drove almost an hour west towards Dunedin. Though this trip was planned around baseball, I did my research and definitely wanted to hit up some new beaches. Since Kendra and I beach-hopped throughout this area years ago, I decided to seek out a few new ones. I went to Caladesi Beach. It is accessible by boat from Honeymoon Park. Well worth the trip. I was one of ten people on the first ferry. For a small fee, you can a nice boat ride in the sun, drove through orange mangroves, and then dock in a secluded ferry. Five minutes later you're on a pristine white-sand beach. Walk a mile or so in either direction and you're sure to find seclusion. That's what I did. Beautiful and desolate. Best beach for seashells and bird-watching. Even dolphin-watching. For truly escaping, this might be my favorite beach in the United States. Outside of picking a spot under a palm tree and relaxing, I didn't have many goals this day. And it was fine by me!
On Saturday, I checked out of the hotel and caught a matinee game with the Yanks vs. Jays. Freddy Garcia was okay. Jeter played like Derek Fucking Jeter, going 3-for-3 and a stolen base (this is a reference to an Onion article Joel sent me.) A great fun game, in particular, I was amused by an older drunk man who seemed to think I was in his seat though he was in the wrong section. Though my neighbor and I pointed him to the right section, he walked in the wrong direction only to be disappointed again. "Probably drinks like Mick," said the guy next to me. Next I drove an hour or so to Sarasota. I checked into my hotel, the Lido Beach Resort on Lido Key. I headed straight to the beach. Talk about white sand beach. I thought Caladesi Beach was white sand. Lido Key seemed whiter and finer. I pulled out my blanket and relaxed. I took tons of pictures as I watched a brilliant sunset. I ate Subway on the beach. I watched CNN before bed.
On Sunday, I figured with the masses home for the weekend and with limited parking at Siesta Key, I better make my way early and check this place out. I got there before 9 AM and the lot was pretty full. There were hundreds of people on the beach, there walking the entire length for morning exercise. But it was peaceful and quiet since it was a long stretch of sand. Ahhh, Siesta Key Beach. This is the finest white sand beach I've ever set foot upon. You know when you open a bag of flour and look inside? That's the kind of fine white sand I'm talking about. I walked the beach from end to end barefoot. And yes, it was another pristine day. I found a completely removed spot, away from the volleyball courts, and parked my butt down. I read and relaxed. I ran to the water. The water was incredibly clear and calm. I can see why this is consistently rated as one of the country's best beaches. I'd support that argument. I was completely amused by a really small boy who kept running at pigeons with a stick in his hand, screaming "Charge!" He did this over and over, maybe a hundred times. He never caught a pigeon. But I kept routing for him. There was also a nice refreshment stand to visit once dehydration was becoming a factor. I spent the majority of my day here. Awesome, awesome beach. I made it back to my hotel. I relaxed. I worked out. I watched the sunset from one of the hotel's balconies. I made the most out of my day. I deliberated heavily on staying one more night. But I decided to stick with the plan and leave on Monday. It wasn't so much that I wanted to leave on Monday. It was that I liked the idea of decompressing in Atlanta on Tuesday.
Monday morning I went for a stroll down to South Lido Key. A nice relaxing walk. I felt like a little walking and exercise on the beach one last time on my final morning would be a nice contrast to being stagnant in a car for eight hours of driving. I did the drive home. Not too bad.
This trip was a blast. A nice little trip to sandwich in between Cabo and Hawaii. Boy, I'm lucky to be able to utter that sentence. I may have to hit up Florida at least once a year. So what would my next trip to Florida be? Well, lots of trips to choose from: Miami, The Everglades, and the Florida Keys to name a few. I like those options. Georgia, I'm glad you're neighbors with Florida!
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