(Do not copy photos)
I made it out to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. for the second to last Tampa Bay Rays' home game. I don't like crossing the Howard Franklin Bridge that connects Tampa to St. Petersburg - a 45 minute drive on a good day - but when there are ticket promotions as good as $9.53 for $40 or more seats (95.3 FM radio promotion), can't go wrong (about $11 with fees and tax).
As for parking, yes it can be costly if you don't car pool or don't want to walk a few blocks to park for $5 to $15. Or arrive early enough to park further on a side road at no cost. Stadium parking is $20.
We all know food at any sports event is expensive but at Tropicana Field closed water bottles and snacks are permitted; therefore, I did just that. I packed my cooler with frozen and refrigerated bottles of water, a bottle of peanuts and sliced up pizza in plastic containers. Once at the park I put one refrigerated and frozen water bottle in a plastic bag to place in my tote, the peanuts and pizza to enjoy while watching the baseball game.
It was Fun Day Sunday so there were many family activities for the children and the Raymond bobble head giveaway for kids 14 years and younger. If you arrive early, there is the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame (free admission), Rays Touch Tank (free), Tropicana Field Tours (free) and other events going on.
When I arrived the game had already started since I had a prior obligation. It was a good game although not as competitive as Friday's 18 inning game. The Rays had a second winning against the Baltimore Orioles 3 - 1 and did the same today to take the series sweep against Baltimore with a 4 - 3 win.
I was able to dance and sing to the songs played for the players and the game songs, clap, make lots of noise and scream as loud as I could - all part of watching live sports, right. Good way to release stress and tensions too. It also took me back to my young baseball days when dad played for non-professional Spanish leagues up north.
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I was in no rush to head back home and to avoid the traffic I hung out to watch the kids run the bases and play wiffleball. Yes I will admit I looked around to see if at least one Raymond bobblehead was left unclaimed. I wasn't as lucky with Raymond but was lucky with some other left behind finds - food serving helmets.
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So now the Rays are on the road to finish off their 2013 MLB regular season with three games against the New York Yankees and three with Toronto. And we hope they will continue to win to at least keep the wild card and make it to the next round of games.
For more photos check out my review Dominican Enny Romero's debut added to Tampa Bay Rays' wild card win (click the link).