Slippery Rock, PA.........where spring hasn't exactly sprung!

Springtime in Pennsylvania?

 

Last Thursday (March 24), we flew from Florida to Pittsburgh.  Spring was in full swing in Florida.  The beaches were packed with both families and drunken college students.  Thankfully, although it's more popular than ever, Anna Maria Island is mainly families, and the antics of the younger crowd is more or less isolated to the east coast beaches of the Sunshine State.  Baseball's billionaire owners and millionaire players came to an agreement and spring training baseball is underway.  The theme parks and roads are crowded...........I think you get the picture.  Spring has sprung in Florida.

Before leaving Florida, I did get to one Pirate's spring training game at LECOM Park in Bradenton.

The guy signing autographs is Zack Hample.  If you're not familiar with his story, it's an interesting one.  He's collected more balls at baseball games than any person on the planet (over 11,000).  He caught Mike Trout's first homerun, Alex Rodriquez's 3,000 hit (a homerun) and two homerun balls in a Red Sox/Ray's playoff game.  I talked to him for a few minutes.  He was a really nice guy, and he even made a short video shoutout for Ben, who was enjoying a typically frosty day in Western Pennsylvania.

Zack Hample

In western Pennsylvania..............not quite yet!  When Ben picked us up at the airport Thursday evening, it was a bit chilly (around 50).  Since then, the weather has been mostly on a downward spiral.  It snowed several inches over the weekend, which was followed by repeating rounds of snow, sleet, and sunshine and a very cold wind all day Monday.  Yesterday the sun was out, but the temperature never reached the forties.  This morning there was a little freezing rain, but by this afternoon the temperatures are supposed to be in the fifties............maybe spring is springing...........at least until Friday when there is more snow in the forecast!

Ben's backyard on Sunday afternoon.

Don't be fooled by the blue skies!  It was only 38 degrees at the time Slippery Rock University's baseball team had a game going on.  In spite of being a big baseball fan, I had no desire to sit out in the cold and although I didn't ask her, I don't think Beth did either!

Other than keeping us entertained, the weather has really not been an issue.  Our only plans for the week were to enjoy time with Ben (and his dog Allie), before the campground opens and he gets really busy.  We only left the house for a few minutes over the weekend, while we binged on basketball and Netflix.

We had driven the Silver Bullet from Sarah's house in California to Ben's house in Pennsylvania in February.  We'll slowly start making our way back to Florida on Friday.  If all goes according to plan, she'll arrive back in Florida about a year after leaving.  The Bullet's tires have touched the roads in way over half of the states in the continental United States.  I guess we meet the criteria for being Roadtrippers?  

A bunch of miles, a bunch of memories.  We're grateful that so many of them have been made with family!