Day -2: July 21, 2004
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My plans called for dropping by the office long enough to pack up necessities. I intended to be on the road no later than noon and hopefully a bit earlier. One of those necessities was my notebook computer. The notebook was DOMA (Dead On My Arrival) and did not respond to any of several resuscitation attempts. At about the time I had hoped to be departing, I found myself getting the necessary files and programs installed on another computer. The delayed departure moved my expected arrival closer to noon than to sunrise. My customer contact had something come up that made him unavailable in the afternoon so I found myself in Williamsport, PA, with no commitments until morning.

You cannot be in Williamsport long without knowing that this is the proud birthplace and home of Little League baseball. I grabbed the chance to visit the Little League Museum on the south side of town. There were only three teams in the league when it formed in 1939. By 1947, things had grown enough to justify the first Little League World Series and nearly 3 million players now set their sights on Williamsport each year. If I were handing out points, I'd certainly award a bonus to anyone knowing what Dan Quayle and Bruce Springsteen have in common without clicking here.

Three ball fields sit behind the museum. The Little League World Series is played at Lamade Stadium and the slightly smaller Volunteer Stadium. The third diamond is a practice field with no spectator seating.
Near the museum, I had spotted a billboard advertising the Bull Frog Brewery and I made that a late lunch stop. Good brew & food plus free wireless internet access. The hand carved tap handles are by local jeweler, Steve Bastion. Doug & Mary are the names inside the heart carved on the one-of-a-kind musical frog. Doug is a Williamsport area saxophonist who, I was told, can sometimes be found playing at the brewery.
Just outside of Williamsport, I reached Susquehanna State Park just as the Hiawatha was about to leave the dock so I climbed aboard for a short cruise. Besides pleasant scenery, I was treated to a recorded description of area history and learned a little of Williamsport logging history. They are pretty hard to see but inside the pilot house that's Captain Gary watching over First Mate Mike's boat handling.

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