Cubs Spring Training On The Cheap, Part 2

What does $800 get ya these days? How about a 10-day trip to three cities, six ball games, and two rock gigs? BCB's Danny Rockett continues his budget Spring Training trip with tons of pictures!

By Danny Rockett@SonRanto Mar 22, 2014, 10:00am CDT

If you are traveling, there are few better ways to meet strangers than to wear a Cubs hat. I would guess it to be rare that a stranger would strike up a conversation with a Yankee fan and congratulate them on their 27 World's Championships, but there are many who love to remind Cubs fans of a century of futility, goats and Bartmans. However, the Cubs faithful are everywhere too, and a Cubs cap stands as a symbol of membership to a world wide family that reaches the far and wide. I've been to Cubs bars in New York and New Orleans, chatted with a guy in an Andre Dawson jersey while eating Bull testicles in Denver, and argued with Cardinals fans on the side of the United States' largest sand dune. So, weather permitting, I wear a Cubbie Blue hat as my ticket to meeting baseball fans.

And there is no better place to meet baseball fans from all over the world than Spring Training. With 15 teams each in Arizona and Florida with their home ballparks and training facilities a short drive from each other, fans descend on the desert and tropics to swap war stories of harsh winters and watch their beloved teams get ready for a marathon season. There is nothing like it, especially at the brand spanking new Cubs Park. It's an impressive monument to the Cubs and a wonderful place to watch a baseball game, a veritable baseball picnic. If you haven't been yet, plan to go soon.

It's not even that expensive! Check out my first installment of Spring Training on the Cheap for some money saving travel ideas. All in all, my entire 10-day trip to three cities (Phoenix, Vegas, LA), which included six ballgames and two rock-and-roll gigs cost me roughly $800. This includes the fact that I rented out my apartment for $175 to some Brazillian girls to subsidize the trip, walked and rode bikes everywhere, bartered rides for tickets with musicians, stayed in questionable motels and with friends, and drank free at Casinos and rock gigs while gambling on a budget. It was the best $800 I've ever spent.

Here are some pics to demonstrate how much fun someone can have in Phoenix at Spring Training on less than a grand….and stay tuned for my next post and how I barely spent money in Vegas!