Summer of 21 - #35 - Visiting Friends, Hotel Stay, Williamsport, Little League & Montgomery Pike

June 23rd, 2021 

We decided to do a road trip and visit some friends of ours at their summer campground. We met Jack & Bev when we went on our Space A flight from Jacksonville, Florida to Rota, Spain via Norfolk, Virginia in October 2017. We all got delayed in Norfolk overnight and ended up staying in the same hotel and sharing dinner.  We had quite a few laughs and exchanged phone numbers.  We have seen them a couple of times in Jacksonville since but wanted to meet up with them in their place in Pennsylvania.  

They have a lovely setup and we sat and ate lunch outside on their covered deck. We had a lovely visit as we sat and chatted. We will hopefully see them again when we all get back to Jacksonville this winter.

As it was a two hour drive we booked into a hotel for the night.  This meant I could have a nice relaxing bath which was wonderful.

June 24th, 2021

After a good nights sleep we decided to visit Williamsport, home of the Little League World Series, on the way home. 

We watch the World Series every year and enjoy seeing the kids play their hearts out on the baseball field. So, as we were so close we had to visit.

On the drive we passed a scenic overlook and stopped and stretched our legs.

We discovered we were on a Blue Star Memorial Highway. 

                      

The overlook was on Bald Eagle Mountain, although the 2,000 ft. summit is 1.2 miles southwest of here.    

                                

The views were lovely and we spent some time just admiring them and taking pictures.

                               

I think Bryan was more interested in the airport below.

We could hear a bird in the trees but couldn't see it.  Then it flew to another tree and I managed to get this picture of it after it landed.  He/she sure was making a lot of noise and I think there was a nest there.  Maybe warning us not to get any closer, although, of course, as we couldn't fly there was no way we would make it over there.

That was a nice stop, next stop was Williamsport. The World of Little League Museum was closed due to covid but we took some pictures outside. We may have to come back another year and see it.

Loved the baseball planter

Next door were the actual fields where the finals of the Little League World Series are played each year.  

The famous Howard J Lamade Stadium.  It was strange seeing it empty with no players or fans. It's estimated that 45,000 fans could watch a game here, including those on the terraced hills around the stadium. The stadium seats approximately 3,300 fans but the exact number is not known as admission is free and most of the seats are first come first served during the World Series.

It was immaculately kept as you would expect. 

We drove around the site and took some pictures.

They do whatever they can to look after the little guys who stay in "The Grove", dorm rooms, right next to the field. 

Carl Stotz was the founder of Little League and was from Williamsport.

We finished our tour around the site.  It was nice that we had the place to ourselves but also a little sad that there was no one else around. 

As I write this in August 2021, the Little League World Series is just starting and these areas will see teams competing. There will still be no general public access due to Covid. At least the games are being played, although there are no international teams this year. The tournament was cancelled completely last year.

We continued on our drive through Williamsport.

Interesting murals painted on buildings

One of the ballparks used during the series

We had an uneventful drive the rest of the way home. It was a nice mini break and we were so glad to catch up with friends we hadn't seen in a while.