Let's Go Blue Jays!

Sunday, March 20th – Little Manatee River State Park, Tampa, Florida – Day 41

 Our exit plan from Florida consisted of a visit to Dunedin. We had been as far south in Florida as possible, and we planned on heading to Georgia next, but we had needed a way to get there. I had wanted to see a Blue Jays game at their spring training complex in Dunedin when we were in the area last, but Major League Baseball had a labour issue and nothing was happening. Luckily, the issues had been resolved and it was time to play ball. So, we made the plan to travel through the area on our way north and we purchased some $20 tickets to head to the ballpark. 

 It was a sunny, beautiful day when we showed up at the ballpark. Free hats were given to everyone. The girls, Gen and Mary were really excited about the hat. It probably saved us a bunch of money purchasing a souvenir from the team store. The hat didn’t fit on my gigantic melon, and I was already wearing my Jays hat anyway but I enjoyed the savings. 

The ballpark is much smaller than any major league park, so it provided fantastic views and a low-key atmosphere. I thought concessions would be cheaper, but they still had Toronto prices only in American dollars. We watched as the Jays won 10 – 4. The kids faded in the middle part of the game and went to play in the kids zone with bean bag toss, a radar gun for pitch speed and an area to run around in. Alejandro Kirk, Matt Chapman and Greg Bird hit dingers. Several runs were scored by the Jays on wild pitches. 

By the 8th inning we were sitting 7 rows behind home plate near some guys from Mississauga who were chirping the opposition pretty good. Hagen Danner, Mary’s new favourite player, pitched the end of the game. Aisling described the game as “fun but long”. 

 We were near Clearwater, and everyone told us how nice Clearwater was, so we went to the beach. Parking was a bit of a pain since the beach was busy. Another beach front play structure distracted the kids. Mary went to eat at a local restaurant while we ate bean wraps on the beach. There was a market on the pier so Gen went to take a stroll to look at the wares. I played monster on the playground with the kids; a few other kids wanted to join in, so it turned into me chasing the kids around the play structure. We watched the sunset which was stunning. I watched John on the beach while everyone else went for a swim.

 Last, an hour and a half drive back to the campsite.