2013 Spring Training | Jupiter, Florida

If you are a baseball fan then you already know the excitement surrounding spring training. Doug and I had experienced Spring Training before with the St. Louis Cardinals in Jupiter,. Florida for a few days last year and have since been hooked on attending. The atmosphere is very relaxed and the fans that you will meet are amazing. You won’t find a better time to be down in Florida than in March. There were a few things that we were looking forward to: the warm weather (an escape from the Illinois winter weather), shark migration season (a diver’s dream), and the up close and personal experience that you get with the players. We had a great stay in the City Place condo and we had great weather (warm, a little windy). Below we listed some of the places we really enjoyed while we were there:

Condo in City Place, West Palm Beach: City Place is great and really convenient. We hadn’t ever stayed there before but we found a great condo to rent and I think we are pretty much hooked on that location. The condo has several beautiful courtyards with fountains and ponds and having a pool and hot tub at our disposal was also very handy. It is a block from a Cheesecake Factory and a Publix, its very pet friendly, the surroundings are beautiful, and there are many shops and places to eat within two blocks. There is a great complimentary trolley system that accesses busy neighborhoods of West Palm Beach including Clematis Street. We had some great Italian food at City Pizza in City Place.

Clematis Street: A wonderful district in West Palm Beach full of shops, restaurants, and bars. In one day we managed to find a fantastic store, The Photographic Store and Museum that had an awesome selection of camera gear (within one block of our condo, not good, LOL). We also ate great meals at:

Roco’s Tacos: Great Mexican food and a good atmosphere. Get there early, its a popular spot!
Grease: Burger bar with an amazing triple decker grilled cheese and delicious cheese fries
Tin Fish: A small seafood joint at the end of the street. It claims to have a famous fish sandwich and I promise you, they make good on their word.

We also enjoyed great meals at the Tiki Waterfront Grill, City Pizza, JJ Muggs (Roger Dean Stadium area), and Two Drunk Goats (Riveria Beach). If you are looking at this post wanting more recommendations we also like Charlie’s Crab (West Palm Beach on Ocean Blvd).

Jetty’s Waterfront: We had a great meal at one of our favorite seafood joints and also a special surprise. The very first time we ate at this place one of the waiters happened to mention that it was a very popular spot for Cardinal players and coaches to eat after games so of course we would come hoping to see one of the players and this year we lucked out! We ate three tables away from Mike Matheny (Cardinals Coach) as well the Cardinals GM. He smiled and waved at us and it seemed he went pretty well unnoticed. This place has amazing food and a spectacular view of the Jupiter Lighthouse and Inlet. Request to eat outside, you won’t regret it. The long wait is worth it!

We attended several Cardinal practices as well as two games. We had great seats for both games, three rows from the field on each side and that gave us great opportunities for autographs (which we got). I got some great photos of some of my favorite players and we even organized a “happy birthday” song for John Jay before Friday’s game. We had a blast watching the players play, practice, and joke around with fans. We also enjoyed a day at the beach at Riviera Beach and Doug and I had a chance to stop by Juno Beach Park after the dive shop. Juno Beach had some high waves the day we were there and we got to see some surfers in action!

All in all we got to experience Spring Training the way any fan should. If you are thinking about making the trek down to Florida for Spring Training we highly recommend it for any true fan. Roger Dean Stadium is small and intimate and truly gets you closer to fans and surrounds you with great people who really have a passion for baseball. We always have an enjoyable time at the stadium and at the practice fields and the surrounding areas. We are grateful for the vacation before the craziness of wedding season begins. I hope these spring training photos get you in the mood for spring!

-Kate