Getting the flavor of...Cactus League baseball

Cactus League baseball

A decade’s worth of trips to Arizona for spring-training baseball has taught me a few tricks, said Peter Hartlaub in the San Francisco Chronicle. Every March, I fly to Phoenix with some buddies to catch a few Major League spring-training games in places like Tempe, Mesa, and Scottsdale. Should you ever make the same trip, set the proper tone by catching a morning flight in and ordering a beer—trust me, “the flight attendant won’t even flinch.” For your rental car, “splurge on the convertible”—both to enjoy the sun and to try your hand at “rental-car-convertible football,” a game like H-O-R-S-E that’s played with parked cars and a Nerf ball. Scout out the bands playing at area concert halls; one night, “go for a guilty pleasure you wouldn’t normally see.” Most importantly, wear a team hat wherever you go. It’ll help spark friendships, even in opposing stadiums. “Everyone is on vacation,” after all, “and traditional rivalries are relaxed.”

Pre-high-season Savannah

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The Savannah that I like best will soon be ushered out with a big parade, said Chris Hewitt in the St. Paul, Minn., Pioneer Press. St. Patrick’s Day is this town’s Mardi Gras, and the festivities kick off a crowded spring tourist season that’s followed soon enough by summer’s mosquitoes. But picturesque Savannah is worth wandering most any time. A great sightseeing tactic is to simply amble between the 24 historic squares, the city’s “most distinctive” feature. You’ll see one unique neighborhood after another, all shaded by trees draped in Spanish moss. Of course, the city is also known for its historic homes, including the impressive Green-Meldrim House, where Gen. Sherman stayed after torching most of Georgia. I never have believed Savannah’s claim to being America’s “most haunted” city, but those squares do feel different after dark, when the Spanish moss hangs down “like cobwebby ghosts.”