The moment stands out in four decades of sportswriting because it spoke to the unmatched intimacy of spring training. Everything is so scaled down from regular-season major-league play that a dad's correction of a batting stance is audible to all.

The episode unfolded in Dunedin's old Grant Field, a rickety blue wooden bandbox. But there is intimacy still in Dunedin Stadium, ranked in the top five spring-training facilities by Sports Illustrated.

It's mostly metal and is bigger with about 5,500 seats but the players are still close and the flight of ball through blue sky is a unique arc of hope that spring back home in colder climes will soon follow.

The Blue Jays prep for their 2009 campaign with 20 games from late February to early April, but there are also games nearby featuring the storied New York Yankees in Tampa and the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater, which is hard by Dunedin.

Sixteen major-league teams call Florida home as they get ready for the regular season in a spring loop called the Grapefruit Circuit.

Fans of the Jays can work lots of other diversions in and around the ball game. They don't call it Delightfully Different Dunedin for nothing.

The little town has the Gulf of Mexico at its feet, an old-style Florida downtown that urges one to slow down and the throbbing commercial artery of Hwy. 19, where you can find just about anything.

The pristine jewel of the area is Caladesi Island, named last year by coastal expert Dr. Stephen Leatherman (a.k.a. Dr. Beach) as the top strip of sand in the United States. The barrier island sits about three kilometres out in the gulf and boasts white powder sand, excellent swimming and snorkelling and nature paths. You get there by a small ferry.

Meantime, Main Street in Dunedin offers galleries and boutiques and restaurants just five minutes from Dunedin Stadium.

Also, the Pinellas Trail is there, whether for a stroll, run or cycling and inline skating. The 55-kilometre paved trail runs along a reclaimed rail bed from St. Petersburg to Tarpon Springs.

Down the Gulf coast in Fort Myers, spring training is serious business to the folks of Lee County. So serious, the county is building a mini Fenway Park by 2012 to keep the Boston Red Sox around for another 30 years. Cost: $50 million to $70 million.

The Red Sox settle into cosy City of Palms Park and a nearby training centre in February and drag a big chunk of Red Sox Nation with them. Many fans own condos in the area, principally to watch their darlings, and folks pay anything from $10 for standing room to $46 for box seats to watch them play.

Shuttle buses hustle fans from the stadium to the training fields so every aspect of preparation can be scrutinized.

The toughest ticket on the Gulf is when the Yankees come to town. The hated rivals show up in force, flexing their long list of championships by bringing heroes of the past along with current stars.

And maybe the toughest two feet in spring sport is the first two rows on the third base side pre-game, where autograph hounds elbow for space.

Still, there's plenty of good viewing spots mere feet from the players.

The Minnesota Twins, meantime, operate a little more quietly across town, but have good reason to like Fort Myers. The Twins won the World Series the year after they moved to Hammond Field, 1991. Box seats there are $23, half Boston prices and a bargain for close encounters with players such as Canada's Justin Morneau.

These stadiums all have modern concessions and interactive games for kids such as mini batting cages and pitch-speed booths.

The Crown Plaza leads spots to hang out after the game. It's the official hotel of the Red Sox and has a lively sports bar called Shoeless Joe's where the beer is cold and the ball talk hot. Twins fans tend to stay at the Wynstar Inn & Suites, where former stars often drop by.

There's lots to sandwich in around ball games, especially if you like outdoor activities. They range from the sedentary champagne sunset cruises of Adventures in Paradise, where dolphins will oblige with a show of dorsal fin, to a number of outfitters who can arrange kayaking on the Great Calusa Blueway Trail.

This watery way has 305 kilometres of marked trails, with GPS co-ordinates available, and is a popular pre-game activity for families. A paddle from Bunche Beach to Hurricane Bay meant slipping quietly by stately grey herons or experiencing the thrill of a dolphin ducking under one's kayak.

Quite different, but also recommended, is The Dinner Train Theatre on the Seminole Gulf Railway. The three-hour evening trip along the coast features murder mysteries while you dine, actors working a linear stage between tables in the antique rail car. At $59, the entertainment was campy and the five-course meal surprisingly good.

For more information on spring training, the website springtrainingonline.com has lots of details and links to team sites. And visitflorida.com provides details on attractions and events at spring training cities.

jkernaghan@thespec.com

905-526-3422

John Kernaghan was the guest of Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau in Fort Myers. This article first appeared in Forever Young.