Arizona Travel, Baseball Spring Training Starts in March

(Please find updates to this post. 2017 My Suite101 article is not available).

What do we do when Football season ends?  For some there is basketball.  And baseball.

"On this lazy afternoon, I watch the cold, blurry white winter storms increasing across the rest of our country.  Yes, this is the time of the year I start daydreaming. I drift away on cloud nine with this distraction of watching baseball games while searching for local my next trips. It is starting... I see the San Francisco Giants playing at their spring training camp."

I came across this article about the San Francisco Giants - I am excited about going to Arizona.  I miss baseball. 

I love to go to a region where I find a superb mix of activities; hanging out with other baseball fanatics on a sunny afternoon watching exhibition games, hiking (or with me, slower morning walks now), swimming, spas, art and culture, shopping, unusual architecture, and of course culinary delights available. 

Cowboys and upscale city life combined – it is time for those of us in the northern states to pack our bags and head south. I like to pretend I am a baseball scout and talk with players on my favorite teams about what they are doing to prepare for the regular season.

Will Buster Posey be back behind the plate?

The Cactus League website says, “Visitor attendance has increased every year.”  You might want to call in advance and make a few reservations this year.

History of Baseball Spring Training

Official Spring Training Season started in the early 1900s.  Some people say it was as early as the late 1800s. I won't go into the details here, as you will find an excellent article outlining spring training history by Rodney Johnson, From Dust to Diamonds: The Evolution of the Cactus League, (c) 2012 - Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) Origins of Spring Training, on the Arizona Cactus League website. 

People have taken this break opportunity to relax with sun, fun, and ball games.  Remember the local stories of well known baseball icons like Ted Williams and Bob Fuller who spent their spring training heydays at the modernized mid-century hotel property of Hotel Valley Ho?

San Francisco Giants and Spring Training

The San Francisco Giants, a part of the Cactus League, hold their spring training camp in Scottsdale, Arizona.  You should participate in the spring training events.  Don't forget to keep your camera and iPhone close at all times for the surprise 'bump into favorite players' at local business shops and restaurants after watching them at the exhibition games. 

Spring training tickets are affordable.  Check in advance with the game schedules.  Add an extra fun day trip to see your favorite team play in 8 different cities across Arizona.

 
Other Local Arizona Attractions

There are many excellent activities to engage in.  I am not an architect student,  I became spellbound with Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home, Taliesin West tour as I listened to the well delivered docent stories.  And, the local jeep tours are easy should you not be as athletic as others to see the desert. 

There are multiple desert hiking trails to start the day with. Even a s-l-o-w morning walk in the morning sunshine is refreshing – be sure to keep water with you all of the time.  The Arizona culinary scene is incredible. Yes, mix exercise everyday to get ready for the evening dinner tasting.

Image courtesy of Scottsdale CVB

My Insider Information tips:

My favorite hotel – Scott Resort & Spa, with their open lobby is very affordable and within walking distance of old town Scottsdale, and stop by their restaurant for any meal. A fabulous ~ 5 Stars to the friendly hello's you receive from all employees, everyday.  

The chopped salads at Cowboy Ciao Restaurant are great finds, and with an extensive wine menu to choose from.

Oh yeah, back to the baseball spring training story..... batter up! 1 - 2 - 3 and you are out at the ol' ball game.

 The Fun Tour Guru Strays off the beaten path to enjoy Arizona and Baseball Spring Training.

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Trivia quiz: What is the change in the sign at the Giants Baseball Stadium in the first picture? 

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