After 15 days and almost 2,900 miles we arrived safely back in Williamsport around 4:00 this afternoon, but not before stopping by our “home” field at Rebel Park to play one more game of catch. We thought that doing so was the most appropriate way to conclude our sojourn. By the way, we appreciate the folks from New Market to Hagerstown arranging for the Florida-like weather for our homecoming.

Actually we felt at home for the final three hours of the trip. We stopped in Salem, VA for lunch at Mac and Bob’s which was one of our favorite places to eat when we would visit Becky at Roanoke College, and of course there were friendly milestones all the way down the Shenandoah Valley.

Within the next week (hopefully) I’ll post a link to a much more expansive photo album, as well as the second Off the Beaten Basepaths, which we shot at Twin Lakes Park.

One of the great joys of our trip was knowing that friends and family were following us. We joked about having fun in Florida because you couldn’t, but believe me, you were very much with us at every point. We eagerly anticipated reading the comments and thank each of you who did comment. Knowing that we would come home to share a great trip with special people made our Spring Training sojourn that much more enjoyable for us.

We found many diamond-shaped fountains of youth in Florida, but inevitably the effect didn't last.