Spring Ahead

I got back yesterday from a great trip to Spring Training in Florida!  I visited my friend Henri and went to three ball games, Tampa (Yankees), Clearwater (Phillies) and Orlando (Braves).  The most memorable thing from the Yankees game was trying to sell my extra tickets.  They put is in a "bullpen" area for scalpers and I got to wrestle with the professional scalpers to sell the tickets.  I felt like I needed a shower after standing with those guys!  At the Clearwater game, we were part of a stadium record crowd.  It was packed!  The park was really nice, with Philadelphia cheesesteaks and a 692 foot Johnny Damon home run.  Seriously.  The sign he hit it by said 692 feet.  Longest. Homerun. Ever.  Ok, not really, but it was a nice homerun.  Here's a picture of the Phillies spring training home (thats David Price on the mound):

In Orlando, the Braves spring training is on the Disney property.  Henri is a vacation club member there, so we got a villa at the Animal Kingdom lodge, with a Savannah view!  Right outside our room were giraffes, wildebeests, ostriches, and African cattle.  I woke in the morning to the sound of a warthog oinking!  Very cool room - highly recommended!  Look closely below and you can see the cattle and an ostrich (sorry, phone camera doesnt have zoom).

The Braves game was also very fun.  It was at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex, which was also hosting a cheerleading competition and a lacross tournament.  Think dolled up 14 year old girls in way too much makeup, mixed with shirtless 17 year old boys carrying lacross sticks.  Yeah, we hurried into the game as quickly as possible.  Chipper Jones hit a homerun in the game and looked great.  At least players older than me can still smack the ball!  It was a nice trip; not a cloud in the sky, shorts on for the first time in 2011, sunburn on my neck and a smile on my face.