More Things to Do in St. Petersburg, Florida

Previously, I wrote A Brief Overview of St. Petersburg, Florida- Where to Stay, What to Do, Where to Eat with some basics like where to stay and some of my favorite places to eat. In this post, I’m going to just talk about things to do since there are so many fun things to do in that area. I’ll start with outdoor activities since that’s my favorite. There are a crazy number of places in and around St. Petersburg to go walking, cycling, running, bird-watching, or just have a nice picnic lunch in nature. The town of Bradenton (a suburb of St. Petersburg) has a multitude of preserves so I’ll start there.

Preserves, Parks, and Trails in the Greater St. Petersburg Area

• Robinson Preserve- 682 acres that is a mix of preserved mangrove, tidal marsh, and former agricultural lands that have been converted to coastal wetlands. The “Expansion” which has even more coastal wetlands and other habitats, a 2.5k rubberized pedestrian-only trail, additional kayak launches and trails, restrooms, picnic areas, and the Mosaic Center for Nature, Exploration, Science and Technology, or “NEST.”
• Palma Sola Botanical Park- free. 10 acres. Yoga and other special events like Winter Nights Under the Lights the end of December. tropical plants, rare fruit trees, 3 tranquil lakes, a wealth of butterflies, screened pavilion and two gazebos.
• Perico Preserve- trails, birdwatching, no dogs allowed.
• Jiggs Landing Preserve- boat ramp, fishing, grills, open space, pavilion, playground, restrooms, trails
• Neal Preserve- 20 foot tall observation tower, shell trails, and boardwalks that wind through the coastal environment (no bikes on trails; no dogs allowed).
• Riverview Pointe- 11-acre site adjacent to the DeSoto National Memorial. Trails, fishing, wildlife viewing.
• Ungarelli Preserve- trails, pavilion.

Nearby Anna Maria Island also has Leffis Key Preserve with scenic trails.

Sunken Gardens

We visited Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg and loved it! In addition to the botanical gardens with waterfalls, winding paths, and more than 50,000 tropical plants and flowers, there are pink flamingos and many other tropical birds. There are also special events throughout the year. Admission is a reasonable $12 for adults and $6 for children. We found a special buy one, get one free on Groupon, so it was an even better deal for us.

Flamingos in Sunken Gardens

There are literally dozens of parks in the St. Petersburg area, some that are simply open spaces, while others have playgrounds, kayak/canoe launches, fishing, pavilions, soccer and baseball fields, tennis courts, swimming pools, splash pads, dog parks, grills, and so much more. You can check out this interactive map of parks and things to do in Manatee County.

Fort De Soto Park in Tierra Verde is on 1,136 acres made up of five interconnected islands (keys). In addition to the historic fort, there is over 7 miles of waterfront including almost 3 miles of white sandy beach, camping, seven miles of paved trail connecting North Beach, East Beach, the boat ramp and the camping area, two swim centers, 2 fishing piers, a 2.25 mile canoe trail, and short nature trails. There is a daily parking fee of $5.

Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo has 30 acres and over a dozen different gardens, aquatic habitats, artwork, a gift shop, annual events and programs, and best of all, it’s free. Also in Largo is the historical Heritage Village, set on 21 acres with 33 historical attractions including a variety of historic homes, general store, railroad depot, two schools, church, and more, and also all free.

Stand up paddle boarding in Weedon Island Preserve

Weedon Island Preserve is an expansive 3,190-acre natural area located on Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg. There is a cultural and natural history center, guided tours and nature hikes, boardwalks and trails, and kayak/stand up paddle board rentals. Weedon Island Preserve is also a well-known birding and fishing site. Here’s the link to Sweetwater Kayaks, where we rented stand up paddle boards and paddled through the mangroves there. The guys working there are extremely nice and the launch site is literally steps from where you rent the boards or kayaks. There’s a link where you can check the tides, too since it can make a difference if you’re going through mangrove tunnels.

You can find more information on parks, gardens, beaches, and preserves for St. Petersburg, Largo, and Tierra Verde at the Pinellas County Website.

The Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail (most people just call it Pinellas Trail) is a linear trail currently extending from St. Petersburg to Tarpon Springs and is a multi-use trail that runners, cyclists, and walkers can enjoy. The trail was created along a portion of an abandoned railroad corridor, providing a unique, protected greenspace. My daughter and I ran on the trail a couple of times in different directions each time and absolutely loved it. It’s safe, scenic (cool mosaics, flowering shrubs and other landscape typical to the area) and pancake flat. Parts of it are shaded but other parts are not, so I suggest getting out early to beat the heat.

Running on the Pinellas Trail

Museums and Galleries in St. Petersburg

Like the wide array of outdoor spaces available, there is no shortage of museums and galleries either. If I was short on time and had to choose just two or three, I would choose the Chihuly Collection, The Dali Museum, and Imagine Museum, but there are others that are fabulous as well, depending on your interests. Here are the major ones in St. Petersburg:

• Chihuly Collection presented by the Morean Arts Center- glass art by world-renowned artist Dale Chihuly.
• The Dali Museum- an impressive collection of works by Salvadore Dali and similar artists of his time.
• Imagine Museum- a stunning collection of American Studio Glass, rotating exhibitions, and a growing collection of International Studio Glass.
• The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art- over 400 works of art inspired by the history of the American West.
• Morean Arts Center- located in the Central Arts District with three other facilities in St. Petersburg.
• Morean Glass Studio- watch glassblowing demonstrations and sign up for classes to make your own masterpiece.
• Morean Center for Clay- watch local artisans at work and purchase some locally made pottery.
• Museum of Fine Arts- over 20,000 works of art from ancient to contemporary.
• Craftsman House- gallery with a collection of fine craft and artwork by American artists.
• St. Petersburg Museum of History- featured displays include Schrader’s Little Cooperstown, the largest collection of autographed baseballs and the world’s first commercial airline flight.
• Great Exploration Children’s Museum- designed for children ages 10 and under and filled with hands-on activities to stimulate learning through play and exploration.

Some of the impressive artwork we saw at the Dali Museum and Imagine Museum

St. Petersburg does not seem overly touristy to me, although there are places that fit the bill for that, such as the cheesy miniature golf spots, cheap beach-themed shops (where you can buy an umbrella that probably won’t last a full day at the beach), and other similar places. You won’t find a plethora of chain restaurants, though of course there are some here, but there are also a decent number of locally-owned restaurants. You also won’t see row after row of towering chain hotels like you see at some beach areas.

If you’d like more information on the beaches in the St. Petersburg area or Anna Maria Island, check out my previous post, as mentioned in the beginning of this post.

Have you been to St. Petersburg, Florida? Anything I missed here that you enjoyed doing while you were there?

Happy travels!

Donna

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Pain Cave

I couldn’t sleep last night for some reason. After tossing and turning for a while, some random thoughts began running through my head. I began thinking about how many times I’ve been in the “pain cave.” The pain cave specifically refers to the physical and/or mental pain one pushes through at a particularly difficult race or when training for a race.

One of the most prominent memories of me spending time in the pain cave was during the only full marathon I ever ran, the Long Beach Marathon in California. It was unseasonably hot on that October day and runners were literally passing out from the heat all around me. I’m not sure how I didn’t pass out myself, although I did experience tunnel vision at one point during the race. I remember I kept telling myself to just look straight ahead and just keep moving because I knew if I stopped even for a second, I would never start up again and it would be a DNF for me. I was a young, inexperienced runner and yet somehow I found the courage to dig deep inside myself and keep on moving, despite the difficult race conditions.

I was in the pain cave at this half marathon in Boulder, Colorado because of the altitude!

Another time where I was physically in the pain cave was when I was having problems with my iliotibial band on one leg and had developed iliotibial band syndrome, or ITBS. When I was training for a half marathon in Columbus, Ohio, I was coming back from having a baby and all of my ligaments and joints were not in the condition they were pre-pregnancy. I had the typical pain on the side of my knee that goes along with ITBS, which I quickly determined was from my tight IT band. It was excruciating to run more than a few miles. Once the pain started, there was no running through it. I would have to stop running and walk back home. This is around the time when I discovered massage therapy and foam rolling. However, too much damage had been done to my IT band and I literally limped to the start of the Columbus Distance Classic. I was in the pain cave pretty much from the start of this race. This is a race I obviously should have never attempted and by the end I was barely walking and certainly not running. After the race, I limped around for several weeks and learned my lesson to never toe the line of a race when I’m injured again.

Similar to poor racing conditions at the Long Beach Marathon, I’ve had my share of other races with poor weather conditions on race day, and I spent my time in the pain cave at those races. There was the Gold Rush Half Marathon, which I described afterwards as pure torture. It was hilly (one of those races where you run uphill, turn a corner, and never get to run back down hill), hot, and humid. This was one of my first half marathons, too, so I learned at an early point in my running life to push through the pain cave. Then there was the Laughlin Half Marathon  in Nevada, with extremely hot and windy conditions on a course made of loose gravel so I had trouble getting my footing. That was a race I was just happy to finish. Also there was the Covenant Health Knoxville Half Marathon in Tennessee with all of its insane hills and easily one of the hilliest half marathons I’ve run.

The race course for the Laughlin Half Marathon was supposed to be “scenic” but I thought it was a death march

Outside of heat and hills, I’ve run races where it was cold and rainy, like the Run the Reagan Half Marathon near Atlanta, Georgia. Not only was the weather poor (cold and rainy), that race was entirely on a freeway closed off to traffic, so it was also one of the most boring courses I’ve ever run on. I had to dig deep mentally just to get through that race. Then there were all of the races I ran when I was anemic, some of which I hadn’t been diagnosed yet so I didn’t know why I was so much slower than I previously had been. When I was anemic, just walking up a flight of stairs would cause me to be out of breath, so how I managed to run multiple half marathons while I was anemic is truly beyond me. I guess it shows how I can push through when I’m in the pain cave.

But why can some people push through when they’re in the pain cave and others have more difficulty? Does it have to do with our previous experiences in life? Does it have to do with a person’s pain tolerance in general? I know for sure I have a high pain tolerance and have had one for as long as I can remember.

This half marathon in Mississippi was when I was anemic and struggled just to finish

When I was seven years old, I broke my leg when riding my bicycle. I was by myself, riding around my neighborhood, when I made a turn too sharply and the bike and I fell to the ground. I still remember lying there on the street screaming out for help and crying loudly for what seemed like an eternity. One of my best friend’s moms even opened her back door, seemingly saw it was me, and shut her door back again. To this day I’ll never understand why she did that because it seemed obvious to me that I needed help. Maybe she was just making sure it wasn’t one of her kids or maybe she thought my mom would come and help me since I was in the cul-de-sac that our townhouse was on. Eventually I got up and hobbled home but I insisted to my mom that I was OK. For three days I limped around while I swore to my mom that my leg was not broken. Finally, despite my pleas to the contrary, my mom took me to the emergency room, where they promptly took x-rays then wrapped my leg in a heavy plaster cast from the tip of my thigh down to my toes. Yes, it was indeed broken but for some reason it didn’t hurt that much when I broke it so I thought it must not really be broken. Sure, I was crying when it happened but that was more to get someone to come and help me. The real pain came two months later when they finally took the cast off and I had to walk again.

I’ve been fortunate to have only broken one limb my entire life and have only had one sprain- my neck when I was in a car accident in high school and had whiplash. That was one of the most painful experiences I’ve ever had. Every little movement would send sharp, shooting pain through my neck, even if I just moved my foot or some other part of the body not even near my neck. I remember sitting at lunch at school with friends with my neck brace on one day after that happened and tears were streaming down my face from the pain. One of my friends told me I really needed to go and call my mom to have her pick me up and that I didn’t need to “be tough” and go through this at school. My mom picked me up and took me to the doctor who prescribed a muscle relaxer that only maybe numbed the pain a little. To this day I still have problems with my neck and most likely always will but that’s a pain I’ve just learned to live with.

Then we move on to childbirth and delivery. I decided when I was pregnant before I went into labor to skip the epidural and pain medicine. I had a good friend who had done that and I figured if she could do it, so could I. How did that go for me? Honestly, while it was intensely painful, it was nothing I didn’t feel like I couldn’t handle. I used my breathing techniques from yoga and ones I had learned in childbirth classes and I felt like my breath is what got me through the worst of it. When they stitched me up afterwards, that was painful and I agreed to let the nurse give me a Tylenol for the pain.

I don’t say all of this to sound like I’m bragging, because I certainly don’t feel like I’m a badass or anything. Like I said earlier, I just feel like I have a higher pain tolerance than some people do. Perhaps it’s because of my life experiences, or perhaps I was just born that way, who knows? I do believe my high pain tolerance makes it easier for me to deal when I’m in the pain cave, though. Maybe it’s true what they say about what doesn’t kill us only makes us stronger.

How do you deal with it when you’re in the pain cave? When is a time when you were in the pain cave?

Happy running!

Donna

 

 

 

A Brief Overview of St. Petersburg, Florida- Where to Stay, What to Do, Where to Eat

I feel like I’ve seen an awful lot of the state of Florida, from Pensacola in the far western edge to Tallahassee then over to Daytona Beach on the eastern part, down to Orlando, then south to West Palm Beach and further south to Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, the Everglades, and the keys all the way to Key West. I’ve also been to Naples and Ft. Meyers and those surrounding areas. Somehow I had never been to St. Petersburg before, though. I was truly missing a gem of the state!

Recently I went to St. Petersburg and also checked out areas around it including Anna Maria Island, Bradenton, and Gulfport. I absolutely loved the area and wondered how this had slipped under my radar before. While we were there we met with one of my husband’s friends he’s known since they were children who lives in Bradenton, so I also was able to get some input and the “insider’s scoop” from him.

St. Pete’s Beach- one of many white sandy beaches!

There are soft powder-like white sandy beaches all along that area, some with sand dunes (which I find especially beautiful), great restaurants, friendly people, and tons of things to do ranging from water sports and botanical gardens to top-notch museums. Winter reigns supreme here. During the winter months you can expect highs usually in the mid- to upper-70’s and lows in the mid-50’s to mid-60’s. Best of all, it’s sunny most days with little rainfall. What’s not to like about that?

So what’s there to do in St. Petersburg? Well, if you like beaches, there are plenty of them. We visited several different beaches in the area and most of them were pretty wide to accommodate plenty of people. Some were more crowded than others, but they all had the same white, soft sand. Some of my favorite beaches were Pass-a-Grille Beach and Manatee Public Beach but St. Pete’s Beach and Treasure Island Beach are also nice, just a bit more crowded. Bean Point Beach on the tip of Anna Maria Island is beautiful as well, but smaller than some other beaches in the area.

There are also some fun, unique shops on Anna Maria Island, like Pineapple Junktion, Island Charms, the Island Cabana, plus more locally owned gift and clothing shops. Although it was closed when we were there, the Anna Maria Island Historical Society (a museum) looked really cool. You can see the remnants of the original Anna Maria City Jail, which had no windows, no doors, no bars, and no roof, meaning the people who stayed there were eaten alive by mosquitoes and suffered in the heat. According to the posted sign, no one “misbehaved” after spending one night in the jail. There’s also a historical home and some signs with interesting historical information. Just be aware that traffic can get pretty bad during the winter months if you’re going to Anna Maria Island during peak times.

Anna Maria Island City Jail photo op!

There’s certainly no shortage of places to stay in all price ranges in the St. Petersburg area. Of course there’s Airbnb with hundreds of homes, apartments, and sometimes quirky places to stay like an Airstream travel trailer. There are also hotel chains, local hotels, plus bed & breakfasts in all price ranges. If you really want to splurge, you can stay at the TradeWinds Island Grand Resort. If you’re into massive resorts with activities, a kids’ club, water park, etc. and don’t mind paying for it, this is the place for you. Note, I did not stay here (I stayed in a house through Airbnb).

Likewise, there are so many great restaurants in the area, with prices to suit every budget. Some of our favorites were:

• Alesia Restaurant- Vietnamese/French/Chinese (trust me, it works)
• Snapper’s Sea Grill- seafood restaurant
• Caddy’s St. Pete Beach- sandwiches, salads, burgers, etc. with a nice water view (although not oceanview but more on that in a second, and don’t let the exterior deter you; it’s nice inside)
• 3 Daughters Brewing- plenty of beers on tap plus good food and fun outdoor seating area; there are tons of other breweries in the area as well
• Cafe Soleil- a French bakery and deli serving breakfast, lunch, and delicious flaky pastries

There are two main airports in the area, St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport and a little further away but still not that far and a bigger airport serving more cities, Tampa International Airport. Check prices into both airports and see which is best for you. Primarily Allegiant is the major airline in St. Pete-Clearwater Airport, but there are also flights through Sun Country Airlines and charter services to Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi plus Sunwing Airlines has a couple of flights to Canada. Tampa Airport has many more airlines serving them but is also harder to get into and out of since it’s more crowded.

Some things to keep in mind:

Winter is the “peak” season here, meaning it’s more crowded and hotels and restaurants are a bit harder to get reservations for. Traffic is more congested. The weather here December through February is absolutely perfect, in my opinion, and still warm enough to go to the beach. Spring break is of course more crowded, so plan on that if you’re going in April. The summer months are hot and humid, but there is a nice ocean breeze to help a bit. Fall is also nice, once the temperatures drop in October.

Traffic tends to bottle-neck in certain areas that have only one way in and out, like Anna Maria Island and Fort DeSoto. Plan accordingly and allow for extra time.

“Water view” does not mean ocean view. It means you’ll have a view of a bay or other body of water but not the ocean. St. Petersburg is on the western side of Florida, with Tampa Bay on the east and the Gulf of Mexico on the west (technically there’s Pinellas County Aquatic Preserve and then the Gulf of Mexico).

Have you been to St. Petersburg, Florida? If so, what did you think of it? What did you do there?

Happy travels!

Donna

 

 

What to Do If You Get Sick the Week of Your Race

I swear I wrote up this post before COVID-19 was even a thing. I had planned all along to put up this post around this date, but it seems perhaps even a little more apropos with all of the recent news. Anyway, what I’m about to get into has absolutely nothing to do with Coronavirus. If you have that, you absolutely shouldn’t be running in a race or even leaving your house for that matter. That’s all I have to say about that. Now onto my original post.

We’ve all been there. It’s four days before your big race and you come down with a cold. Now what? There are some things you can do to help you feel better. But first, should you even still run? I’m not a doctor but everything I’ve ever read and heard about this subject says if your cold is in your head such as your sinuses, it’s OK to still run but if it’s in your chest or you have a fever or have aches in your muscles like what comes with the flu, you shouldn’t run. My knowledge is based on my scientific background including the pre-pharmacy classes I took before I decided pharmacy school wasn’t for me and switched my major to biology plus all of the immunology, physiology, and microbiology classes I had and scientific journals I’ve read over the years on this subject as a scientist. In other words, although I’m not a medical doctor, I have at least a decent amount of knowledge on health and illnesses.

Of course there are the over-the-counter (OTC) medications that don’t really make you “better” but merely treat your symptoms and sometimes help you feel a little better. However, sometimes using these medications can actually backfire and make you feel worse after using them for a few days. Some people don’t realize this but you will actually get over your cold quicker if you can wait it out and not use harsh over-the-counter treatments. The worst are nasal sprays like Afrin that can cause tissue damage over time. Other OTC medications can exacerbate your cold and lead to a sinus infection.

Before my half marathon in Alabama. You’d never know from this photo how bad I was feeling (with a cold) but I ran anyway!

All of that being said, treating your cold with some good old fashioned remedies won’t hurt and some may actually help you feel better. Chicken soup has been recommended for people with colds for so many years for good reason. Consuming more liquids helps your body clear the infection easier and chicken broth is easy on the stomach as well. You can also flush out your sinuses with a saline spray or neti pot if you have congestion in your sinuses. Just make sure you use bottled water that has been distilled or sterilized if you choose to make your own saline solution. I’m also a fan of Nuun Immunity tablets, which have turmeric, elderberry extract, Echinacea, ginger, vitamin C, and other ingredients that will give your immune system a boost and help hydrate you. Wetting a washcloth and warming it in the microwave then putting that over your sinuses also helps temporarily relieve sinus pressure.

Honestly, the most important thing you can do if you get sick to help your body get better quicker is rest. Rest is so hugely important and effects literally everything we do in life, yet I feel like it’s often the first to be neglected when people get busy with life. If that means you have to skip a 40 minute run that you were supposed to do at 5 in the morning, but you’ve got a cold and your race is next week, you would be better off to skip that run and get some extra sleep instead.

What if you’ve gotten extra rest and hydration but you’re still sick and it’s race day? Like I said earlier, as long as you don’t have a fever and your cold is in your sinuses and not your chest and you don’t have body aches, you can go ahead and run. Just stuff some tissues in a pocket and realize it’s not going to be a PR for you, but try to make the best of it! I’ve run races with a cold before and while they weren’t exactly some of my most fun races ever, I was able to get through them and finish with a smile on my face.

Finally, you can do what Olympic athlete Clarence DeMar said and “Run like hell and get the agony over with.”

Have you run a race while sick? How did that go? Was it a bad decision or fine in the end?

Happy running!

Donna

 

Which US Airlines Have the Least Legroom?

If you’re a relatively tall person like I am, at 5 feet 8 inches, legroom matters on an airplane. I’ve been on planes before where my knees are literally right against the person’s seat in front of me. If they decide to suddenly put their seat back, well, let me just say it’s not pleasant and for that reason, I almost never put my own seat back unless there’s a small child sitting directly behind me. Airplane courtesy aside, I know some people like to know what they’re getting into before they fly, especially if it’s going to be a long flight.

Of course when you’re comparing airlines, you should compare apples to apples. It’s not a fair comparison to look at economy seats with one airline and business or first class seats for another airline. Let’s focus here on economy class seats in the Main Cabin. The numbers shown refer to seat pitch, which is the distance from the back of your plane seat to the seat in front of you. To make things simpler, I’m going to refer to seat pitch and legroom interchangeably here.

Photo by Sourav Mishra on Pexels.com

Most legroom in economy class:

• JetBlue: 33-34 inches.
• Alaska Airlines: 32 inches.
• Southwest: 32 inches.
• Hawaiian Airlines: 31-32 inches.
• American/United/Delta: 31 inches.

JetBlue is an economy airline that shines compared to other economy airlines, with the most legroom of any US airline being just one of their many perks. If you are able to pay more, JetBlue offers passengers the ability to upgrade to “Even More Space” seating. In addition to providing an extra 6 inches in seat pitch, JetBlue’s “Even More Space” provides passengers with early boarding privileges, early access to overhead bins, and a fast track through security (only available in select cities). “Even more Space” pricing varies by route length. These seats can be purchased from JetBlue directly at the time of booking or at check-in. Pricing will be dependent on duration of flight.

Alaska and Southwest Airlines offer similar legroom on their airplanes. If you can manage to snag an exit row or bulkhead seat, you will be rewarded with even more legroom on a Southwest flight. However, since Southwest does not have pre-assigned seating and no upgrade options, unless you’re in the front of the line for the first boarding group, there’s no chance you’ll get those seats. You can choose bulkhead and exit row seats with Alaska Airlines, however, and upgrades are available, for a fee.

Hawaiian Airlines seats usually have 31-32 inches of legroom, but on the smaller Boeing 717s mostly used for inter-island service, travelers will get 30 inches of legroom. On the flip side, for longer flights coming from the mainland US, you can purchase “Extra Comfort” seats. These extra-cost seats are available on Hawaiian’s Airbus A330 and A321 flights and offer a seat pitch of 36-inches.

American Airlines seats tend to vary widely because they currently operate many different airplanes. In general though, most seats have 31-32 inches of legroom, with the majority closer to 31 inches. You can purchase a “Main Cabin Extra Fare,” which will give you 2-3 more inches of legroom, depending on the aircraft you’re flying.

United Airlines seats are pretty standard with 31 inches of legroom, with a couple of exceptions on some Airbuses and 737 aircrafts that have 30 inches and the 787-8 Dreamliner that offers 32 inches of legroom. For their “Economy Plus” option, you’ll be rewarded with an extra 3-4 inches of legroom.

Delta Airlines is similar to American in that the have a wide array of aircraft, with varying legroom. The average legroom is 30-32 inches, with 31 inches the most common. For your extra money with Delta Comfort+ seats, you get an extra couple of inches of legroom. If you’re able to pay for “Delta Premium Select” seats, you’ll get a comfy 38 inches of legroom in return.

Least legroom in economy class:

• Allegiant Air:  30 inches.
• Spirit:  28 inches.
• Frontier:  28-31 inches.

Not surprisingly, Allegiant, Spirit, and Frontier are all budget carriers, and all offer their passengers the least legroom. As with the other airlines, however, you can purchase extra legroom with Allegiant’s Legroom+ and get an extra 4 inches. Legroom+ seats are in the first-row bulkhead section of the plane and exit rows over the wing. Another thing to note, none of the seats on Allegiant recline, which means no opportunity to bang the knees of the person sitting behind you. Also, Allegiant’s seat backs slope downward at an angle, so the seat in front of you isn’t even with your knees, shins, and feet. I recently flew with Allegiant Air and didn’t feel cramped at all.

It seems appropriate that the much-hated Spirit Airlines offers the least legroom of all airlines. You do have the opportunity to pay extra for “Big Front Seats” with a whopping 36 inches of legroom in the front of the plane. However, when you add up the cost of those seats in addition to the many, many other things you have to pay for with Spirit, you may see any savings you thought you’d have by flying with Spirit dwindle away.

Budget carrier Frontier seats do have a bit of a range in what you get, depending on the aircraft, but only a few of the older aircraft have the 31-inch pitch, and those are being phased out. Frontier’s newer aircraft have on average 28-29 inches of legroom. You can purchase “Stretch” seats which will get you a nice 36 inches of legroom and if you choose row 13 over the wing, you’ll be rewarded with a lucky 38 inches (something to remember if you’re flying with Frontier).

A bit all over the place in economy class:

Sun Country:  29-33 inches.

Minneapolis-based Sun Country is increasing the number of seats on its 737-800 aircraft, which will shrink the seat pitch to 29-30 inches, more aligned to its fellow budget airlines mentioned just above. Some of the aircraft will still have a 33-inch pitch, but they will also come with an additional fee. Depending on your route, it’s possible to have 31-32 inches of legroom but it seems inevitable that those aircraft will also eventually be retrofitted to the smaller seat pitch.

Do you even pay attention to seat pitch/legroom on airplanes or is it even an issue with you because you’re not tall enough for it to matter? Do you always choose an aisle seat and that’s good enough for you or do you prefer the bulkhead seats? Did you know about Frontier Airline’s mysterious extra pitch in row 13?

Happy travels!

Donna