Spring Training

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Contemplating a short family trip to FLA in March. Wanna see one daytime Mets game, don't necessarily care if its in St. Lucie or in another town they visit (Jupiter, West Palm Beach, Melbourne).

1) Fly to Palm Beach or Orlando?

2) Where's a good place to stay with a rambunctious kid (and his 1.5 year-old son?)

3) what places to avoid?

Heard some crappy things about PSL but if there's a resort-y thing there for a few days maybe that's best for us. I dunno.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'm also considering a March trip to Florida. I've heard that flights to Ft. Lauderdale are the cheapest. (And that seems to be true, at least for Philadelphia departures. From New York it may be different.)

If we do go, it will be FLL for us.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I'd want to go to PSL, just to see if it's as crappy as all that.

That morbid curiosity of mine has hurt more than one vacation. How many of you have dragged a significant other to Kingsport?

[Willets Point]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Heard some crappy things about PSL but if there's a resort-y thing there for a few days maybe that's best for us. I dunno.

I thought PSL was more pissy than crappy.

[metirish]

Avoid the Big Apple Pizza restaurant in PSL, never know who you'd meet in the parking lot.

I would love to go , in a few years we just might.

[soupcan]

Went to Port St. Lucie for spring training 2 years ago with my then 9 year old.

Flew into Palm Beach, rented a car and then drove about about 45 minutes to Port St. Lucie.

Stayed at a Holiday Inn that was pretty much just a Holiday Inn. It was about 5 miles from Tradition Field.

There is nothing to do in Port St. Lucie other than go see a spring training game. Nothing. If your toddler golfs maybe you can find a golf course but other than that man, I'm talking tumbleweeds.

I would avoid going to PSL if possible. I would especially avoid staying there. Do the Orlando thing and catch the Metskies on the road.

[seawolf17]

Fort Lauderdale is nice, and it's not a bad drive from Jupiter or whatever. We went down there a few years ago, but the Mets switched their game in Lauderdale to somewhere else, and I couldn't convince my wife to see the Orioles and whoever they were playing, so we sold the tickets to the game and just spent a long weekend. It's not a bad trip.

[Guest Edgy DC]

It would seem to me that, with every Met fan down on St. Lucie, and the Mets clearly geared to increase their profile over the next decade, we'd do well to pool our money and invest in some PSL-area attractions.

Waterslides or some shit.

[Farmer Ted]

Did the Palm Beach route and drove up. Damn if the game didn't get rained out. Went back to my pad in West Palm Beach (the Hilton right near the airport and I-95), did some work from the room, and hit the Ft. Lauderdale Hooters later that night (I wasn't as lucky as Chipper Jones if you know what I'm sayin). Just watch out for Jim Leyritz driving around FTL.

[Gwreck]

We went last year. Flew to JFK-Orlando (Jet Blue) simply because
1. More flights and they were cheaper;
2. Rental cars cheaper.

Granted, it's a 90min-2hr drive to PSL from the Orlando airport.

Staying in Port St. Lucie is convenient but aside from the bowling alley and the Outback Steakhouse there's not a whole lot going on. Ok if you're just there for baseball, maybe not if it's a bigger trip. Cheaper lodging can be found elsewhere -- try Fort Pierce, which was a 15 min. drive but much more inexpensive.

Buy tickets now (the Mets tix go on-sale Saturday, I think), whether for Tradition Field or for road games. A lot of games were sold out (including all 3 I went to).

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Yeah see, I'm only gonna get to 1 game and so I don't wanna build a whole vacation around baseball.

I guess what I'm asking is, where on Florida's Atlantic Coast is the best place to stay and have cool tropical drinks by the ocean that's also within an reasonable drive of a Met ST game?

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'm thinking of attending a road game against the Orioles in Ft. Lauderdale.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Maybe we'll see ya there

[seawolf17]

CPF ROAD TRIP!

[Guest Mr. Zero]

Another option. Fly to Miami. Did this last year. Stayed just north of South Beach. Took one day trip with the kids up to PSL (couple hour drive I think). Left the wife to do her thing in Miami. Everyone's happy.

[metsmarathon]

see a mets/braves game in disney. we did.

[MFS62]

="Edgy DC"]I'd want to go to PSL, just to see if it's as crappy as all that. That morbid curiosity of mine has hurt more than one vacation. How many of you have dragged a significant other to Kingsport?

Not to Kingsport, but to Columbia, SC.
We were driving from Myrtle Beach to Atlanta and stopped off there.
The trip would have been a total disaster if not for eating at The Lizzard's Thicket.
My wife still says they served the best cornbread she ever tasted.

As for Columbia, there wasn't a game that day, and I couldn't find a place open to buy a Bombers souvenir.

Later

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

Being in Columbia in the summer is like stepping into a blast furnace. I've been there two or three times over the years and each time I leave thinking it has to be the hottest and most humid place in the country. I'm sure there are more miserable places, but it's hard to imagine one when your melting like a popsicle on the sidewalk.

[Benjamin Grimm]

metsmarathon wrote: see a mets/braves game in disney. we did.

Don't go to Disney World until your child is old enough to ask you to take him/her there.

Otherwise, what's the point?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

We'll be at the March 8 split-squad Mets v. Orioles game at Ft Lauderdale!

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'll be making my first-ever visit to St. Lucie. I'm going to see the Mets play the Indians on March 19.

(The only other time I saw the Mets play in spring training was against the Braves in, I think, West Palm Beach in 1986. That season ended pretty well. Hopefully this one will have a similar conclusion.)

[MFS62]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I'll be making my first-ever visit to St. Lucie. I'm going to see the Mets play the Indians on March 19. (The only other time I saw the Mets play in spring training was against the Braves in, I think, West Palm Beach in 1986. That season ended pretty well. Hopefully this one will have a similar conclusion.)

Just don't associate any of the Mets with The Odd Couple.
(cross-forum allusion)

Later

[DocTee]

]Don't go to Disney World until your child is old enough to ask you to take him/her there.

I would add, "don't go to Disney World until the Hollywood writers strike is over"

(ABC and Disney are partners: picketers and protesters were making their case--effectively I might add-- outside of the local Disney store during Christmas week).

[Guest themetfairy]

We're planning to be there Easter weekend.

ON EDIT - There being Spring Training, not WDW.

[metsmarathon]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: ="metsmarathon"]see a mets/braves game in disney. we did. Don't go to Disney World until your child is old enough to ask you to take him/her there. Otherwise, what's the point?

well, if the wife really likes it, and/or they hold races...

[Farmer Ted]

This is the last year the Dodgers will have spring training in Vero Beach. A trip to Dodgertown may be worthwhile.