From the crack of the baseball bat in Florida to clinking of cocktails in San Francisco bars, the sounds of spring are in the air as Americans start to return to many of the beloved pastimes they were forced to abandon 12 months ago.

With cities and states loosening restrictions as new Covid-19 cases recede and the rollout of vaccines accelerates, people are enjoying a taste of their old lives again, Reuters reports.

Over the past weekend, New Yorkers watched movies on the big screen, San Franciscans dined indoors, and baseball fans cheered on their favourite big-league players as spring training resumed in Florida.

“It feels awesome,” said civil engineering specialist Matt Skelton, 39, leaving a concession stand on Saturday afternoon clutching a bag of popcorn at TD Ballpark in Florida’s West Coast city of Dunedin, seasonal home of the Toronto Blue Jays.

“You can feel how it’s not as tense or stressed. People are feeling a sense of relief,” added Skelton, muffled by his mask.