Exploring the World with Pokémon Go: Lake Mary Sports Complex
With perfect weather to motivate me to leave the house, I returned to Lake Mary, Florida to explore the Lake Mary Sports Complex. There was more here than I expected.
I came near the Lake Mary Sports Complex when I visited the park next door. And noticed the baseball fields immediately. Last time I chose not to come here because every single field was in use by a little league team. This time, the fields sat empty and signs all around the four fields not only advertised for the organizations funding thew park, but also helped explain why it was so crowded here.
Lake Mary has a talented little league team. I’m not sure what world series champions entails in this case. Specifically how far the team travels to compete, but at least among neighboring towns and cities, Lake Mary seems to be the best. If they went even further and competed with people all over Florida, or maybe even the entire United States, that only makes this place and the people who play here that much more impressive.
With it empty, I got to take a look at the facilities. Several baseball fields with plenty of greenspace around them got my attention. And although the back areas are a little prone to flooding, this place is perfectly designed to accommodate several games at once. There are even several warm up spots dotted around this section of the park to make sure everyone playing has a chance to be at their best.
Soccer Fields
I had planned to visit only the baseball fields while at the Lake Mary Sports Complex. But noticed that the soccer fields were also empty. Not wanting to miss a chance to explore this section of the park too, I crossed the nearby street and took pictures of here as well. This time of year has some temperature fluctuations which result in the grass turning brown for a bit. Its not quite like fall up north, but it is something.
Beyond the soccer fields sit some tennis courts. And here I did not proceed further. Unlike the sections I explored before that this area was filled with tons of people. And they were all using the tennis courts to play matches. I didn’t want to interrupt anything or get in their way. So I stayed back, turned around and headed towards one last section of the park.
Basketball and Skate Park
As fun as visiting the soccer fields as an extra assignment was, there was one last corner of the Lake Mary Sports Complex to explore. And not wanting to save one small corner for its own post, I decided to go walk across where I had been at the start to explore the final area.
This last section contains a skate park which was thankfully empty at the time. I know there are much larger skate parks at other places I have explored, but I was pleasantly surprised that Lake Mary had one at all, given the stereotypes I tend to attribute to this part of Florida. I would be curious to know how frequently people come to visit this spot and reevaluate my internal held beliefs.
Beyond the skate park, sat a set of basketball courts. Not only did I expect to find several of them at the sports complex, but several of them were in use too. So I was careful to only take pictures of the spots free of use. I do everything in my power to keep strangers out of my photos. I found a court that was clearly used often and it made me happy that this park is getting so much foot traffic. Its a lovely place and I hope more people come check it out.
Pokémon Go
Now that I have showcased and talked about the Lake Mary Sports Complex in reality, I want to review how this place is as far as Pokémon Go is concerned. It should be without question that this is a great place to play given the above images. And you would be right.
Any spot that has tons of gyms and pokestops tends to have plentiful spawns too. And there were even abundant power spots to do Dynamax Raids. Not every park and almost none of the trails have had those. And this one had several. This place gets crowded at times and that might be a big point against playing here during those hours. But if its a slow time and you have a chance to come here, you will not regret it.
Unlike my trail adventures, park journeys do not have me walk as much. As a consequence I only hatched this Bulbasaur. I don’t mind the candy, but as of late, eggs have really been a source of stardust and candy for whatever hatches. The Pokémon inside the eggs themselves have been less exciting.
I really do take bad pictures. Even trying to keep the sun out of my face failed here. Don’t let the picture convince you I was miserable. Any time I get to take a walk outside and explore somewhere new is therapeutic. I am all finished with this set of parks, but I have only started exploring Lake Mary. And its a fairly big place, so I’ll have more to show you soon.