[William]

This is a perfect answer to the question!

I would also like to add that you could really simplify the whole location.tpl as such:

{if $location}
{strip}
 <p class="theWhere">
   <a href="home.php">Home</a>&nbsp;&rarr;&nbsp;
   {section name=position loop=$location start=1}
     {if $location[position].1 ne "" }<a href="{$location[position].1|amp}">{/if}
     {$location[position].0}
     {if $location[position].1 ne "" }</a>{/if}
     {if not %position.last%}&nbsp;&rarr;&nbsp;{/if}
   {/section}
 </p>
{/strip}
{/if}