1194. See the Spring Training Experience Exhibit

 My 101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out mentions the Spring Training Experience in Mesa. After a lot of Googling and what not, I discovered this moved to the Mesa Historical Museum. Then the hubby was watching something on TV that advertised it and said he wanted to go. With no spring training games to go to, we had plenty of time to check it out.

The Mesa Historical Museum is located on the very edge of town near the Salt River Reservation. It was an old school back in the day. It is open Tuesday-Saturday 10-4 and admission is $7/person which isn't too bad. Many places are closed on Mondays which makes our trip planning so difficult. I was glad this was open at least on Tuesdays.

The Spring Training Experience was the first exhibit we checked out since it was the reason we went to the museum. It was not a large exhibit. It filled one classroom. I honestly was expecting more. It was cool to see who was inducted into the Cactus League Hall of Fame and learn of the origins of the Cactus League. Some of the artifacts were neat like the prickly pear signed by Prince Fielder. 

The rest of the museum showed the history of Mesa and surrounding areas. It was nothing you wouldn't see in any other historical museum. Some of it had a southwest and/or Native American/Mexican American influence to it. The people in Arizona really didn't live much differently than the people in the Midwest.

Outside was an old school house -- again nothing really different than the ones in the Midwest.

For $7 it was well worth it. I don't know if I would pay much more than that. The hubby enjoyed it. For us, it's a been there done that don't need to go back kind of place unless the Spring Training Experience gets larger.

It is definitely worth checking out when you are down in Arizona for Spring Training as the Spring Training Experience is only open during spring training. It is definitely a stop for any baseball lover despite the size of the exhibit. Some of these things are only found here so go check it out.

2211. Go to the Beyer Stadium in Rockford

 When planning our trip to St. Louis, I was trying to find a stretch break attraction for the hubby between Madison and Springfield. There is not much between Rockford and Springfield to begin with. I checked the bucket list. I checked Roadtrippers app. I checked Roadside America site. I checked Atlas Obsecura website. There I finally hit jackpot. I found Beyer Stadium in Rockford.

Beyer Stadium was the home of the Rockford Peaches, a team in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team was also featured in the movie A League of Their Own about the Rockford Peaches.

The original entrance gate is still there and so are the dugouts.

The field itself is not in too bad of shape.

There are signs along the side of the field highlighting members of the team and the history of the league. There are also monuments about the league. It is very well done to highlight a mostly forgotten piece of history.

You want to park on Seminary Street as there is no parking on 15th Avenue. It is not a great area of town but then again it is Rockford. Just be aware of your surroundings and don't go after dark.

I was amazed to find this little piece of history and glad we stopped. Someone mentioned the field in Racine is still there too. I may have to check that out if that is the case. I love old baseball relics and so does the hubby. The field where the Rockford Expos played is also on 15th Ave the hubby believes as we drove by it.