Royalty Tours USA

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Royalty knows the Mets Season Ticket Holder of the Game!

Ralph Ascanio
On Friday night at Citi Field, the King's co-worker, Ralph Ascanio was selected as the Mets season ticket holder of the game. As a result, he got on the diamond vision saying the two words a baseball fan longs to hear before the game starts. Those words are "Play Ball."

It was great to see Ralph do the honors. He was with his son Vincent who's a big baseball fan as well. Nothing beats seeing a father and son who enjoy watching the National Pastime together.

Ralph referred to the King as his inspiration for going to so many games. He said he's planning to see all 81 games at Citi Field this season. In addition, he said he wants to go to 100 games overall. The King lit up when he heard that.

Ralph is just another example of how the royal way has influenced his way of living in a good way. He said his son Vincent loves going too. They're planning to do some road trips when they have family gatherings in different parts of the country this summer.

The King and I have taken Ralph and Vincent a few times in the past. After talking to him the other day, it appears we've created a monster. That's a good thing. It's great that he can take his son around the country with him to see ballgames. That's what life's all about.

They know if and when they need our assistance we're here for them. Needless to say, that saying goes for everybody I come in contact with.

The King and I are known for living the dream. Let me know when you're ready to get a sample of the life of royalty.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Royalty w/o 4/18 in review

After spending Monday which was Patriot's Day in Massachusetts, the rest of the week I went to Citi Field to see the Mets play.

Here's how it played out:

Tuesday night the Houston Astros made their first and only visit to Citi Field this season.

The Astros got a stellar start from Wandy Rodriguez who allowed just one run over seven innings. The only run came when former Astro Carlos Beltran led off the seventh inning with a home run. The Astros went on to beat the Mets, 6-1.

Wednesday night the Astros beat the Mets again. This time the game was tied at three when Hunter Pence hit a solo home run to lead off the eighth inning to give the Astros the 4-3 victory.

Thursday night the Astros were looking for the sweep but they didn't get it as the Mets finally woke up and beat them, 9-1. It should be noted that Mets catcher Mike Nickleas hit his first major league home run.

More importantly, the King and I were able to meet up with one of his co-workers from the Post Office, Ralph Ascanio who was there with his wife and son Vincent. It was great to see them again. They were selected as the Uncle Jack's Steakhouse fans of the game too. They won a gift certificate to enjoy a dinner at Uncle Jack's.

Furthermore, I plan to do a special post about Ralph and his son Vincent. Stay tuned for that.

Friday night I passed up the opportunity to go to Madison Square Garden for game 3 of the best of seven series between the Knicks and the Boston Celtics.

Instead I decided to go to Citi Field again to see the Mets play.

As for the game I saw, the Mets beat the Arizona Diamondbacks who rattled their way to New York. The Mets got a fine pitching performance out of starter Mike Pelfrey who allowed one run over seven innings to pick up the victory. In addition, centerfielder Jason Pridie made his major league debut and he got his first major league hit as the Mets went on to win the game, 4-1.
Saturday afternoon I went back to Citi Field to see if the Mets could get back online. They were searching for their third straight "W". Despite a rain delay that delayed the start of the game, the Mets wound up winning again. They beat the Diamondbacks, 6-4. In the process, rookie Jason Pridie hit his first major league home run.

On a personal note, this game was my 4,000th baseball game that I've seen live in person.

More importantly, the King and I got to see a few baseball fans who we hadn't seen in a while but they go way back with us over the years. They were Fred Lack from Jersey City, NJ and his friend Jeff who lives in nearby College Point, NY. These guys are good people and big Met fans. It was great to see them again. Good people are find to find but we have a way of attracting them. Despite the rain delay it turned out to be a fun day thanks to them. We were able to chat and catch up on things.

I look forward to seeing them back at Citi Field in the near future.

Sunday was Easter and I decided to press my luck and I went back to Citi Field to see if the Mets could sweep the Diamondbacks and win their fourth game in a row.

The Mets did indeed beat the Diamondbacks by a score of 8-4.

By doing so, the Mets wrapped up a successful homestand by winning four out of six. They did it against lesser competition but a win is a win. Over the course of a full season, you have to beat whoever you play as often as possible to be successful. Hopefully this is a start to a new trend for them. Time will tell. It's a long season. At least for the time being, they've given their fanbase a glimmer of hope.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Royalty schedule w/o 4/25

Here's the game plan:

Monday April 25th White Sox at Yankees 7:05PM

Tuesday April 26th White Sox at Yankees 7:05PM

Wednesday April 27th White Sox at Yankees 7:05PM

Friday April 29th Blue Jays at Yankees 7:05PM

Saturday April 30th Mets at Phillies 1:10PM

                              New Hampshire Fisher Cats at Trenton Thunder 7:05PM

Sunday May 1st Blue Jays at Yankees 1:05PM

                          Mets at Phillies 8:05PM

Check back to see how it played out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned for my w/o 4/18 in review.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty returns to Wrigley Field and Miller Park in the middle of May!

Here's the game plan:

Friday, May 13th

The King and I are flying into Chicago O'Hare airport in the morning. We leave NY LaGuardia airport at 8AM Eastern Time. We arrive on American Airlines in the Second City at 9:40AM Central Time. Upon arrival, I'll be renting a car for the weekend.

We plan to spend some quality time with fellow roadtripper Andrew Van Cleve and his family while we're there. Andrew has arranged to get us tickets for the three Cub games we'll be seeing there. In addition, we'll be driving up to Milwaukee to see the Brewers play at Miller Park.

Andrew has a great website and blog, here's the link, it's also on my blog list:

http://www.anygame-anywhere.com/

As for the games we're planning to see, they are as follows:

Giants at Cubs 1:20PM

Pirates at Brewers 7:10PM

It should be noted we're planning to meet up with another road tripper Bob DeVries and his fiance Charlie Cahill too. I had the privilege of meeting these great people over Christmas weekend when I was there for the Jets/Bears and Blue Jackets/Blackhawks doubleheader. Bob said he wanted to join us as we make our way to Milwaukee to see Miller Park again. It will be a treat to have him along with us.

Saturday, May 14th

Giants at Cubs 6:10PM (a rare night on a Saturday night no less)

Sunday, May 15th

Giants at Cubs 1:20PM

After the game we're flying home.

Our flight leaves O'Hare Airport at 8:15PM Central Time and arrives at NY LaGuardia at 11:25PM Eastern Time.

This will be another blast courtesy of Royalty.

When you're ready for a sample you know who to contact.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Clam Digger

Seafood and King Kong Dog
Clam Digger
Thanks to another fellow roadtripper I was able to find this place to eat.

I'm talking about Jake Cain who has made some road trips with his father Dale in the past. His website is called http://www.ballparksavvy.com/, which is also on my blog list.

Jake lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. I got in contact with him thanks to Andrew Van Cleve, another roadtripper who met him at Wrigley Field back in July 2010.

In December, the King and I went to Cincinnati to see the Bearcats, Cyclones and Bengals play. A few days before I got a call from Jake that he wasn't going to be in town that weekend. He told me that he had a few tickets for the Bearcat game that he wasn't using. He arranged to have me meet his father Dale to pick them up on our way from the airport to the game.

Needless to say, we were very grateful for the opportunity. In addition, I got to meet and greet his father for a few minutes. During the conversation, his father mentioned that Jake plans their trips and places to eat. He told me of a place somewhere in Connecticut that they went to. He said it was called Doogie's. He didn't know exactly where it was.

I proceeded to do a google search and I saw a few locations listed that seemed to be in the Hartford/New Britain area.

On Patriot's Day, the King and I went to Boston and then we were going to New Britain so I decided this is the perfect time to go to this place to eat.

The week before I did another search and I found out there was a place called the Clam Digger in nearby Bristol, Connecticut, home of ESPN.

I noted the location down but I didn't have an exact address so when we were getting gas at the last exit in Massachusetts I decided to call them to find out exactly how to get there. I spoke to Betsy who gave me the directions.

The King and I found it with relative ease but it was not right off the highway. We had to drive three miles down the road to get to it.

It's the home of the King Kong Dog which is a mere 16 inches long. They claim to have the best burgers in Connecticut according to their sign as you can see in the picture. In addition, they have fresh seafood. Their motto is and I quote "where the food is the only thing taken seriously".

We proceeded to go in and we were greeted by Betsy. She was impressed that we drove all the way from Massachusetts to go there. We told her that we went to the Red Sox game and that we were heading to New Britain for another game. We decided that this would be a perfect time to stop in.

It was a small place and she gave us time to get situated and to be able to check out their extensive menu with numerous choices of toppings to dress up your meal.

She said and I quote "we don't have salads here".

If you want something healthy I don't suggest you go here.

I want to thank Jake and Dale Cain for their recommendation and idea.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Friday, April 22, 2011

Sausage Connection outside Fenway Park!

Sausage Connection
The King and I have gone to Fenway Park for 25 years together now. When we go there we look forward to seeing familiar faces before and after the game on the street right outside that beautiful ballyard.

Royalty hates to eat in any ballpark unless we have no choice and/or we're starving to death. Most ballparks allow you to bring food and/or drinks into inside.

When we go to Fenway Park though we like to enhance the unique experience by visiting the vendors on the street. Way back in the day, we find a stand that sold sausages and we decided to buy from them. Mind you, there's competition out there. For some reason, we wound up making a "connection" if you will with these special people. They are Harry and his mother who we call Mama. Over the years, Harry has always been there. As time has gone on though his mother comes once in a while. God bless her.

Luckily for us, she was there on Patriot's Day. What a pleasure it was to see her again. She's such a good person. We got to talk to her before and after the game. She remembers when we were there back in the day. Time does really fly by.

Their stand is now located by left field gate E right under the monster seats on Lansdowne Street.

If you see them, tell them the guys from New York sent you. That's how they know us when we see them there.

Before we departed the area we both indulged in a bite to eat. I had a hot italian sausage which was truly amazing and the King decided to have their steak tips.

In addition, they also sell kielbasa, hot dogs and chicken teriyaki which go along with the variety of soft drinks they have to offer to wash it down.

If you haven't been to Fenway Park yet then you don't know what you're missing inside or out. What a place to go for a real baseball fan regardless of your rooting interest and/or bias. Do yourself a favor and go there with an open mind. Trust me you won't regret the decision.

If and when you decide to go, you can also consult me first for advice. I'll be more than happy to guide you along.

That's what I mean by royal treatment every step of the way.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty celebrates Patriot's Day at Fenway Park!

Dice-K delivers first pitch at 11:06AM at Fenway Park
In case you didn't know the third Monday in April in the state of Massachusetts and Maine is known as Patriot's Day. It's a legal holiday that commemorates the Battles of Lexington and Concord back in 1775.
To celebrate the holiday in Boston they have an annual race called the Boston Marathon. In addition, the Boston Red Sox always play a morning baseball game at 11:05AM too.

As for the Red Sox, the King and I have now gone to six different Patriot Day games together at Fenway Park, America's Most Beloved Ballpark which is now 99 years old.

We were there in 1993, 1994, 2003, 2004 and 2006.

In matter of fact, Monday morning was my 92nd game I saw there. I've now seen at least one game there every year since 1986.

As for the King, that game was his 6,700th baseball game that he's seen in person live.

I'm closing in on my 4,000th baseball game which should take place this weekend at Citi Field.

Ironically back on April 18, 1994, the King and I saw the Red Sox play the Chicago White Sox on Patriot's Day. The Red Sox lost that day, 12-1. After the game, we decided on the spur of the moment to drive to Philadelphia for the Phillie game at 7:35PM that night. We drove 310 miles and we parked the car in Philadelphia at 7:45PM. We ran into some traffic when we got to the Bronx. If not, we would have gotten to Philadelphia on time that night. What a day of adventure that was for us.

17 years later to the day, we were in Fenway Park for another Patriot's Day game. This time the Red Sox played the Toronto Blue Jays and this time they won, 9-1. Daisuke Matsuzaka aka "Dice-K" pitched a gem for 7 innings. He struggled for the first few innings giving his only hit and walk of the game then he went on to retire the last 16 Blue Jays he faced. He left with a shutout but the Blue Jays got a run in the ninth inning when Yunel Escobar took knuckleballer Tim Wakefield deep for a solo home run to break the shutout.

It should be noted before and after the game, the King and I visited our favorite vendor outside the left field gate right by the Monster seats, the Sausage Connection. Stay tuned for the special post I'm going to do about these special people.

After the game, we took a quick peak of the marathon that runs right near Fenway Park, we got to the car and drove towards New Britain, Connecticut for another game before we headed home. We saw the New Britain Rock Cats, the Minnesota Twins affiliate of the Eastern League play the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Blue Jays farm team. The Fisher Cats won this one, 7-3.

Before the game we made a special stop in nearby Bristol, Connecticut which happens to be the home of ESPN.

We didn't go to ESPN but we did past one of its buildings. We did go to a place called the Clam Digger to have dinner though.

Stay tuned for the special post I'm going to write about this place and how we find out about it. Trust me it's going to be a great story to read.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Royalty spends some quality time in the Keystone State over the weekend!

Saturday morning I rented a car from Avis for the weekend. First stop was to pick up the King on my way to the Bronx to see the Yankees play the Rangers in the afternoon.

As for the game, the Yankees rebounded to even the series at one game a piece as they beat the Texas Rangers, 5-2.

Luckily I didn't stick with the original plan I had made. I was looking to go to Washington D.C. but as it turned out the Nationals game got rained out.

Our luck ran out as the game we were planning to attend in Philadelphia was also washed out thanks to mother nature.

Thankfully that game was called very early so we had plenty of time to seek out an alternative. We did our research and found out that there was an AHL hockey playoff game in Wilkes Barre-Scranton, Pennsylvania at 7:05PM. The baby Penguins were taking on the Norfolk Admirals who we saw play in Norfolk last month.

I drove us there instead. We dodged the lousy weather and we arrived in the parking lot around 6:45PM. After I parked the car, the King went ahead towards the box office to buy us tickets. When he opened the door to go in, someone gave him two free tickets. They said they didn't want them to go to waste. That made our night complete. We made the best of the situation. That's the way royalty rolls on the fly.

As for the game we saw, the visiting Norfolk Admirals came into the game ahead one game to none in the best of seven series. When the game was over they left the building heading back home with a two game lead. They scored the first goal of the game very late in the second period. They added an empty net goal with 5.3 seconds left to seal the deal. The home crowd left the building in disbelief.

After the game we drove back to Astoria, New York to the King's place to get some sleep.

We got up Sunday morning and we picked up our friends Bryan Gilligan and Rich Wolber who joined us for another visit to Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to see the Phillies take on the Marlins at 1:35PM.

We saw our friend Frankie Centola who had his brother Nicky and his son Frank Jr. With him. It was great to catch up with them while we were there.

They plan to come to Citi Field over Memorial Day weekend to see their Phillies play the Mets.

As for the game we saw, the Phillies scored early and late to squeeze past the pesky Marlins, 3-2. The Marlins fought back to tie the game but Carlos Ruiz delivered the game winning sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth inning to the delight of the. Philly faithful.

After the game, we drove back to Yankee Stadium for Sunday night baseball. When we got to our season seats in section 420B row 7, we were greeted by our fan club from Citi Field, Manny Bonilla and Arjun Lal who were also in the house. As usual, they were so happy to see the King and I. It was a pleasant surprise to see them there.

As for the game, the Yankees beat the Rangers in a seesaw battle as Eric Chavez of the Yankees delivered the game winning hit in the bottom of the eighth inning, 6-5. Thankfully the game didn't go into extra innings.

After the game, the King and I drove towards Boston, Massachusetts so we could be at Fenway Park Monday morning.

Stay tuned for all the details from that memorable day as I'll be doing a special post.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Royalty w/o 4/11 in review

Another week of baseball is in the books. Here's how it played for royalty.

Monday night after work I took the 7 train to Citi Field. If I remember correctly it was a smooth ride. Once I got into Citi Field all of a sudden things got rather "rockie". The Colorado Rockies were making their only visit to Queens this year. They do return to New York late in June for a weekend series in the Bronx with the Yankees. Furthermore, they play there on Oldtimer's Day too. That could be a World Series preview. Like the lottery, hey you never know.

One thing I do know is the Rockies are a good solid young team that's on the rise. You'll see what I mean as the week wore on.

As for the game I saw, the Rockies wound up scoring three runs in the eighth inning as their young superstar shortstop Troy Tulowitzki aka "Tulo" delivered a big two run homer which broke the game open as the Rockies held off the Mets, 7-6 in game one.

Tuesday night I went back to Citi Field for more punishment even though the Yankees were also home against the Orioles. Well mother nature had to get involved and she washed out both games so I got to go home earlier than expected.

Wednesday I repeated the process by opting for the Mets again over the Yankees. The Mets didn't learn their lesson from Monday night as they didn't walk "Tulo" in the fifth inning ahead 3-1 at the time. No walk, no problem. "Tulo" hit a three run home run instead to give the Rockies the lead for good. They went on to win this time, 5-4 in game two.

It should be noted the King and I got a special visit from a fellow baseball fan who we see every so often. His name is Eddie Masone. It was great to see him again. We spoke and enjoyed each other's company. Eddie is notorious for telling us that "we know how to live". He always calls the King and I "livers". Needless to say, he's very impressive with our lifestyle. He's had the luxury enjoying the life of royalty with us in the past. He knows he's always welcome to come with us on a future road trip.

Thursday luckily for me I had to work. Since the Rockies were making their only visit they had to make up the game that was rained out on Tuesday night so they played a rare straight single admission doubleheader. The originally scheduled game was for 1:10PM but they moved it up to 12:10PM so the Rockies could have more time to get out of town afterwards.

After work I went to Yankee Stadium to see the Yankees play the Baltimore Orioles. The King and some other people we know wound up seeing all three games.

I would have loved to have gone too but I can't do everything. As Mick Jagger says and I quote "you can't always get what you want". Instead I got what I needed money and I was spared from watching the Mets lose two more games to the Rockies who went on to sweep the four game series.

As for the Yankee game, the Orioles were looking for the split in the shortened two game series. They started well as they led 5-0 midway through the game. The Yankees chipped away to get within one 5-4 going to the bottom of the ninth inning when the Orioles called on relief pitcher Kevin Gregg to pitch. Jorge Posada hit his very first pitch into the right field bullpen to tie the game. The game went into extra innings. Mariano shut the Orioles down in the top of the tenth. In the bottom half, Nick Swisher delivered the game winning sacrifice fly to win it for the Yankees, 6-5. Needless to say, he had his "pie" and he ate it too. Swish was all fired up and he motioned to the happy people who remained in the stands.

Friday night after work I went back to the Bronx to see the rematch of the 2010 ALCS as the Texas Rangers made their first of two visits to the Stadium on Jackie Robinson Day in major league baseball.
It was the 64th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking barriers as he was the first Black player to play in the Major Leagues. In his honor, all the players wore his number 42.

As for the game that was played, it seemed like October all over again for the Rangers as they went on to win this one, 5-3.

Quite amazingly the Rangers' pitchers got the Yankees to hit into six double play balls.

Stay tuned as I will write a special post that will recap the adventurous weekend we had.

As always, I want to thank all my readers and followers for following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Time for NFL to unlock the doors!

In preparation of playing a full season in 2011, the NFL will be releasing its schedule tonight on http://www.nfl.com/.

Royalty is anxious to see it but with the locks still on the doors and the uncertainty for the future it's not the same excitement for me as in years past.

I will plan my schedule of games and trip options for others that we hope to attend accordingly but it will be done with extreme caution.

Stay tuned for the details just in case they do get to play.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, April 18, 2011

Royalty schedule w/o 4/18

Here's the game plan:

Monday April 18th Blue Jays at Red Sox 11:05AM

                                New Hampshire Fisher Cats at New Britain Rock Cats 6:35PM

Tuesday April 19th Astros at Mets 7:10PM

Wednesday April 20th Astros at Mets 7:10PM

Thursday April 21st Astros at Mets 7:10PM

Friday April 22nd Diamondbacks at Mets 7:10PM

Saturday April 23rd Diamondbacks at Mets 1:10PM

Sunday April 24th Diamondbacks at Mets 1:10PM

Check back to see how it turned out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week and a Happy Passover and Easter.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned for my w/o 4/11 in review.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Royalty enjoys the return of Mets baseball at Citi Field over Opening Weekend!

The King and I
When the schedule was released back in the middle of September I marked down April 8th, that was when the Mets would open their home schedule at Citi Field.

With that being said, I arranged to work a half a day so I could be there for the special occasion. After work on Friday I went out to Citi Field for the Mets home opener against the Washington Nationals at 4:10PM. It's been an annual tradition since 1982 for me to see the Mets home opener. In 2000, the King and I went all the way to Japan to see them open the season there.

Ironically the Mets lost their Opening game in Japan which was designated as a "Cub" home game as pitcher Mike Hampton who was on the mound wound up walking 9 Cubs in that one. He still induced them to hit into 5 double plays in the 5-3 defeat.

This time the Mets pitching staff issued 8 free passes while they got the Nationals to hit into 3 double plays as they lost this one, 6-2 in front of an alleged sellout crowd of 41,075. It should be known that there were noticeable areas of empty seats scattered throughout the ballpark. The Mets classified this game as a "platinum" game so the ticket prices were just as expensive as if they were playing the Yankees in a subway series game in July.

Honestly speaking, they didn't deserve to sell this game out because they were only playing the Washington Nationals even though it was Opening Day which is the only reason why they charged so much. In my view, it was a typical modern greedy business move by the Mets. In other words, a sign of the times. My advice is to get used to it because this is fast becoming the norm not the exception I'm sorry to say. My just telling you the truth. The media doesn't get paid to bad mouth. I write to to enlighten you and to enhance your knowledge. That the way royalty likes to roll. It works for us so it should work for you.   

As for the actual people who really did show up, it was nice to see some fellow season ticket holders in our section that also renewed their seats for another season. It's always nice to see familiar faces.

Speaking of familiar faces, upon entry to the ballpark, I was greeted by Sam who checked my bag before I got to the ticket taker to have my ticket scanned. It was nice to know Sam is back for another year. I saw him many times last year and it was always a pleasure to see him because he always made me feel wanted.
After I spoke briefly to Sam, I went to the ticket taker who happened to be Tony, another familiar face. I told him this is my lucky day. That was being a little premature though. Things actually got better. Not only were they giving out Mr. Met bobblehead dolls, I saw a ticket taker who I knew from Madison Square Garden, that being Rose who always has a happy face and a big sincere smile. I got to speak to her for a short time too. Now my royal entry was complete.

Before I could make my way to the escalator to head up towards my seat I ran into fellow Met fan and big fan of royalty, Cory Zimmerman who was all dressed up in his Met gear and he was all fired up for the new season that was finally upon us.

In addition, he also sells tickets to Met games. If you need tickets to see the Mets play and/or you want to see Citi Field in style, I strongly suggest you contact him so he can satisfy all your needs and wants.

Needless to say, tell him the Prince referred you so he can provide the royal treatment you expect and deserve.

Once I finally got to my seat in Section 516 row 3 I received visit from our friend Eddie who's also a road warrior and fan of the royalty way. It was great to see him again. Royalty has a knack of attracting good people.

For example, I got to see a few young kids who we met last season here at Citi Field, Manny Bonilla and Arjun Lal. It was a thrill to see them again especially since they were so happy to see the King and I. We have built up quite a fan club over the years.

In matter of fact, we all spent the weekend together at Citi Field as they came back for more too. The Mets got their first home win as they beat the Nationals, 8-4 on Saturday night.

Sunday afternoon in the rubber match of the series, it took a few extra innings to decide the winner. Thanks to Mets reliever Blaine Boyer who pitched a 1,2,3 10th inning but he couldn't duplicate that in the 11th inning as the Nationals broke through as Ivan Rodriguez delivered a clutch single to snap the 3-3 tie. Laynce Nix put the game out of reach as he hit a three run blast. The Nationals won the game and the series, 7-3.

There's plenty of baseball left to be played so if you want to come out to a ballgame let me know so I can make your experience more enjoyable home or away.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 4/4 in review

The first full week of baseball is in the books. Here's how it played out for me.

Monday night after work I went up to the Bronx to see the Yankees play the Minnesota Twins. The new Yankee Stadium has been a house of horrors for the Twins. That trend continued right off the bat as the Yankees build a 4-0 lead after the first two innings as Alex Rodriguez aka A-Rod and Jorge Posada each delivered two run homers.

The Twins chipped away to get within one at 4-3 but the Yankee bullpen shut them down over the last three innings to preserve the victory for starter Ivan Nova and the Bombers.

As for the crowd, they got what they expected on this night another Yankee win.

Tuesday night it was time to do it again. The Twins were back for more punishment. Well for most of the night it seemed that way but miraculously they awoke from the dead in the eighth inning. They were down 4-0 because they couldn't touch CC Sabathia who was in total control. Thanks to Yankee manager, the genius Joe Girardi. He decided it was time to overmanage. Instead of letting his ace CC Sabathia pitch the eighth inning, he brought in Rafael Soriano, their overpaid set up man. He proceeded to walk in a run with the bases loaded after he walked two others to help fill them up. The Twins took full advantage of his wildness as they tied the game at 4 as right fielder Nick Swisher played a two run single into three run triple off the bat of Delmon Young and reliever David Robertson.

Girardi had the greatest closer of the modern era in his bullpen and he didn't bring him in with the game on the line to preserve the lead. Apparently I thought he was giving him the night off. Once the game was tied going to the ninth inning, the genius called on Mariano to hold it down. Brilliant modern move by Girardi.
After 9 innings, the game remained tied so it was time for bonus baseball.

In the top of the tenth inning, Joe Mauer of the Twins delivered the game winning single to give the Twins a rare win at the new Yankee Stadium as the Twins won, 5-4.

Wednesday night after work I went back to Yankee Stadium in hopes of seeing a baseball game but all I saw was the tarp on the field. At 7:48PM, they made the announcement that the game was postponed.

Thursday night I went home after work to get a much needed night of rest. I wound up recharging the batteries to brace myself for Opening Day and weekend at Citi Field.

Stay tuned for the special post I'm going to do that will go into all the details.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Royalty schedule w/o 4/11

Here's the game plan:

Monday April 11th Rockies at Mets 7:10PM

Tuesday April 12th Rockies at Mets 7:10PM

Wednesday April 13th Rockies at Mets 7:10PM

Thursday April 14th Orioles at Yankees 7:05PM

Friday April 15th Rangers at Yankees 7:05PM

Saturday April 16th Rangers at Yankees 1:05PM

                               Marlins at Phillies 7:05PM

Sunday April 17th Marlins at Phillies 1:35PM

                             Rangers at Yankees 8:05PM

Check back to see how it played out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned for my w/o 4/4 in review.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Royalty is going to Philadelphia and Boston next weekend 4/16-4/18!

Here's the game plan:

I'm renting a car from Avis for the weekend.

I'm going to pick up The King and we'll be going to Philadelphia not once but twice next weekend. I'll be driving back and forth both days. In addition, we'll be going to Boston for the traditional Patriot's Day morning game at Fenway Park then we'll be going to to New Britain, Connecticut for a minor league game that night before we return home after that game.

Saturday, April16th Texas Rangers at Yankees 1:05PM

                               Florida Marlins at Philadelphia Phillies 7:05PM

Sunday, April 17th  Florida Marlins at Philadelphia Phillies 1:35PM

                              Texas Rangers at Yankees 8:05PM

Monday, April 18th  Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox 11:05AM

                                New Hamphire Fisher Cats at New Britain Rock Cats 6:35PM

If you're interested in going on this getaway royalty style let me know so I can arrange to have you join us.

It's going to be a blast so why not come for a "royal" ride. You can witness firsthand how royalty rolls and makes things happen.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Friday, April 8, 2011

Royalty is live at Citi Field for the Mets Home Opener!

View from Section 516 Row 3
The Mets opened their 50th season on the road in Florida and Philadelphia. They split the six games they played against their division rivals.

Today they open their third year of play at Citi Field against another division foe, the Washington Nationals in their home opener.

Speaking of home openers, I've seen every one since 1982. Once again today the tradition continues. It should be noted that my Opening Day streak includes the two games the Mets played against the Chicago Cubs in 2000 in Tokyo, Japan.

If you happen to be in the ballpark and you want to meet up with the King and I, please feel free to come over to our seats which are located in section 516 row 3. These are our season tickets and we plan to be at most if not all of the games throughout the season.

I hope to see some of you today and if not today then sometime during the season. Whoever pays us a visit will get a mention on my blog assuming you give me permission to do so. If you need help getting tickets to a future game please let me know.

Baseball's back let's play ball. For us Met fans, Let's Go Mets!

Ralph Kiner threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

R.A. Dickey delivered the first pitch of the game at 4:11PM to Nationals lead off hitter shortstop Ian Desmond who flew out to left to get things started on that pitch. See the picture above for the actual action shot.

Enjoy the game. After the game, Royalty is planning to have dinner at Donovan's Pub in Woodside. If you want to join us, please free to do so.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Royalty meets up with one of the ESPN.com Page 2 Editors at Yankee Stadium!

Sunday the King and I were back in the Bronx to see the Yankees play the Tigers in the afternoon and then we went to Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks play too. By doing so it wrapped up seeing 8 games in  a 4 day stretch if you weren't counting or keeping track.

During the week, I received an e-mail from Thomas Neumann, who happens to be one of the editors for ESPN.com Page 2. He asked me if I was willing to answer some questions for him. He said he was planning to do a story on "superfans". The King and I fit that category perfectly. I e-mailed him my answers.

Ironically Saturday night I received an e-mail from him saying he was going to be at the Yankee game Sunday and he wanted to see if the King and I were going to be there too. I wrote him back and I told him we were. With that being said, we arranged to meet up.

Thomas proceeded to ask the King some questions. The King complied with some input. He said he's working on the story and once it's published he said he'll let us know.

Ironically he got in touch with the Buffalo Boys as well. He mentioned to me that they had our Net tickets for the Heat game. I told him yes they do. He said he was going to that game too.

I told him that Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell from Buffalo are good guys. We meet up with them every so often. Whenever we need Sabre tickets they always arrange to accomodate us. This time it was our turn to take care of them.

We're looking forward to the story that's going to be written. It will be interesting to see if we know any of the other people who get mentioned.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees suffered their first loss of the young season as they fell, 10-7. Thomas being a Tiger fan was a very happy man.

After the game, we parted ways. I look forward to being in touch with him.

After the game, the King and I made our way downtown on the D train as we headed to the Garden to see the Knicks play the Cavaliers.

The question was will the Knicks beat them for the first time this season. They came into the game 0-3.

The answer was yes. The Knicks got off to a big lead but the Cavaliers got back into it in the third quarter to put a scare into the crowd but the Knicks managed to pull away in the fourth quarter to win, 123-107.

With the victory, the Knicks clinched their first playoff berth in 7 years.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Looney's Pub

Looney's Pub
This is an another favorite place that Royalty likes to visit when we're on the road.

Thanks to our good friends Peter and Carmen Agnew we were introduced to Looney's Pub in Baltimore.

This is their original location which opened back in the Spring of 1993. They have opened three other locations since then.

We have only gone to the Baltimore one which is located in the neighborhood of Canton. The address is 2900 O'Donnell St.

This location is mainly comprised of a few bars on two different floors. They've scaled back on their eating area but they always treat us like Royalty there when we come to have a meal.

It's like Peter and Carmen second home to eat since they live only a few blocks away. Billy the chef is a great guy. He not only does the cooking he also brings us our food which always tastes tremendous.

As for the food, they have great burgers, chicken wings, steak, and seafood. In addition, they serve cream of crab soup which tastes really good.

If you happen to be in the Baltimore area and you want to hang out eat, drink and be merry then I strongly suggest you give Looney's a try.

Ask for Billy and tell him you know Peter and Carmen and the guys from NYC. That way you will be treated royally.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty meets up with roadtrippers to start the new baseball season!

I took off from work Friday so I could be part of the reunion.

I was originally planning to spend the Opening weekend in sunny Florida but I knew in the back of my mind, the Buffalo Boys, Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell were planning to be in Philadelphia and Washington D.C. so I decided I'll go there instead.

The weather wasn't great but the company was so it was well worth doing what I did.

As a result, we all got to see the Phillies open the season at Citizens Bank Park in the afternoon with Cy Young winner Roy "Doc" Halladay pitching. He didn't pitch great but he managed to keep the Phillies in striking distance. He went only 6 innings.

The Astros lead the game 4-2 going to the bottom of the 9th inning. The Phillies did what they do best. They got 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th to comeback to win the game 5-4. Pinch hitter John Mayberry Jr. delivered the game winning hit. USRT karma worked their magic again.

Thankfully the game didn't go into extra innings. With that being said, we had enough time to take a walk to the Oregon Diner for a full course dinner. The Buffalo Boys got to experience the way Royalty rolls on the road.

After we ate we all walked back to the Wells Fargo Center for game two of our doubleheader. We saw the Nets play the 76ers.

As for the game, it was a blow out from the start. The 76ers got off to a fast start and they never looked back as they cruised to an easy 115-90 victory. With the win, the Sixers clinched a playoff berth.

After the game we drove to Elkton, Maryland which is 90 miles from Washington D.C. and we got a good night's sleep.

Saturday morning we went to the Waffle House that was conveniently located right across from the hotel. It should be noted there was a Cracker Barrel nearby as well.

After eating a hearty breakfast, we hit the road to get to Nationals Park for the afternoon game between the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals at 1:05PM.

We were in contact with the Buffalo Boys since they were going to join us too. They got off to a late start so they said they would meet us at the ballpark. They wanted to park their car by the Verizon Center where they were going after the baseball game to see their Sabres play the Capitals. They proceeded to take
the Metro, which is the subway in our Nation's Capitol right to the ballpark.

I told them we'll get tickets for them. There was six of us all together which included our friend Bryan Gilligan who drove the King and I. As for Andrew and Peter, they were meeting a friend of theirs, Mark Byrnes who used to live in Buffalo but now resides in Baltimore. He joined them for the game too.

Upon arrival at Nationals Park, we decided to go to the box office since we got there early. We were hoping they still had some $5 tickets available. When we got to the window they said they do but it's one per person for those. So we each bought one then we went to a different window and bought three more so everybody was covered. We were able to upgrade ourselves once we got inside the park too.

We got our money's worth and then some. Unfortunately we had to suffer through two rain delays.

However they did manage to get the whole game in. Royalty reluctantly left in the bottom of the 7th inning due to time constraints. The Nationals went on to beat the Braves, 6-3.

We went back to Philadelphia to see the Phillies play the Astros again.

We wound up missing the first inning in Philadelphia too. Mother nature made it impossible for us to follow the game plan that we had drawn up. That's the way it goes sometimes. We can't control the weather.

Once we got settled in, we did see Cliff Lee dominate on the mound for the Phillies as he struck 11 Astros in 7 innings.

Despite the cool weather, the ballpark was still mobbed with people standing everywhere. They announced a crowd of 45,000 plus but I would like to believe they had 50,000 in there.

After the game we came back home.

Stay tuned as I recap the interesting day the King and I had on Sunday in a special post.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Nightmare when you go to the Prudential Center

When I attend a live sporting event these days, it's usually a fun experience.

Since I live the New York Metropolitan area, I have many places to choose from to see a live sporting event.

Some of these places are better than others. In my personal opinion, I love going to Madison Square Garden and New Yankee Stadium as opposed to going to Citi Field and the Prudential Center.

When I go to MSG and New Yankee Stadium, I feel welcome the moment I step foot on the property. In particular at New Yankee Stadium where they have people outside with signs up saying "How may I help you?". That's instant customer service for those who need it.

Those venues are notorious for attracting tourists from other parts of the world and our country. As for us New Yorkers, we usually know where we're going but it's nice to know someone is there if and when we need their assistance.

On the other hand, Citi Field isn't quite as fan friendly. It's not terrible but I don't care for it their phony way of treating people.

Furthermore, the Prudential Center which is located in Newark, NJ is known as the "arm pit of America" according to a co-worker of mine.

Newark in my opinion is a war zone area. Over the years, it has been classified as one of the high crime cities in the country.

With that being said, it made all the sense in the world to build a brand new arena there.

When you go there they tend to go overboard with their policies of operation.

From the moment you step foot on the property until you leave, you feel unwanted and bothered by the brain dead robots they hired there to enhance your experience.

It starts with the security force upon entry into the building. Since 9/11, we all know that things have changed forever especially here in the NYC area but they don't have to use and abuse their paying patrons to the extent that they do in Newark. They should know when to draw the line.

I believe the perception of the surrounding area has a lot to do with it.

Unfortunately they employ people who have no common sense so it just makes the situation worse.

As for security there, I try my best to deal with it. Most nights are okay but occasionally I've been harassed too.

For example, they'll ask me what's in this pocket and what's in that pocket. It's annoying and frustrating to deal with when all I want to do is come in from the cold and go up to my seat and relax and watch the game I came to see. They wand you then they bother you further. I think that's taking it a bit too far.

Their response when you have something to say is we're doing it for your safety. If something is going to happen, it's going to happen anyway. They're just making look like they care about our safety.

Many people believe that, I don't necessarily. In that case, to each is own.

Once I get by security, the next obstacle is to go to my seat.

Well the night the Nets played the Rockets I went up to the upper deck to get ready to watch the game. I was running late since they were announcing the starting lineups so I hastily went up find a seat to sit in so I could score the game.

Upon trying to do so, I had to run into the only usher in the upper deck where I was planning to sit. Mind you, the seating area was deserted. You should have been able to sit where ever you wanted to. That's being logical in my way of thinking. If I had gone up a different section nothing would have happened.

That's great guest services as they call it there. I went to school and they always teach you to treat people right so they'll want to come back again and again. Here they do whenever it takes to chase you away.

I was already in a bad mood since I had to rush to get ready for the game to start. With that being said, I lost my composure and cool so I exploded instead. I stupidly refused to show this dumb lady my ticket upon request. She decided to come upstairs and ask again and I still said no since I wanted to watch the game that I came to see.

Shortly thereafter, she got a supervisor after me and I wound up being thrown out of the building.

Since I have season tickets for the Nets and the Devils, I need to write a letter now to ask for reinstatement.
Once I do so, I expect to be allowed back into the Prudential Center.

I've been told by friends not to do that but the bottom line it was my fault for acting the way I did. I had already renewed my tickets for next season and I don't like to burn bridges so I plan to take my medicine and return in the future.

As for everybody else, you make the call to go there or not.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 3/28 in review

After work Monday I went to Madison Square Garden as the Magic came back to play the Knicks for the second time in 5 days. This game wasn't originally scheduled but back on November 2, 2010 the game was postponed due to an asbestos scare. As a result, it was rescheduled for this night instead.

The Knicks came home in a downward spiral. The last time they played each other the Magic beat the Knicks, 111-99. This time the Knicks played better but they blew a 6 point lead late in the last minute of regulation. The game wound up going into overtime. The Knicks managed to overcome the letdown and they went on to beat the Magic going away, 113-106.

Tuesday night I went out to Newark, NJ with the intention of seeing the Nets play the Houston Rockets at the Prudential Center.

As it turned out, my plan of action didn't turn out as expected.

Stay tuned for a special post that will describe what happened on this particular night. If you've been there you'll know what I'm talking about. If not, this will give you reason to reconsider if it's worth the hassle or not to go there.

Wednesday I decided to take the night off so I could recharge the batteries and brace for the beginning of the new baseball season.

After working a half a day I went up to Yankee Stadium to start the baseball season. Please feel free to see the live post I did from my season seat in Section 420B row 7 seat 3.

As for the game, the Yankees opened the new season with a victory. They beat the Tigers, 6-3. Mark Teixeira hit a three run home run to open the scoring for the Yankees after the Tigers took a 1-0 lead. The Tigers came back to tie the game at 3. Former Tiger Curtis Granderson came back to haunt his former team when he hit a home run in the 7th inning. The "Grandy Man" delivered off former Yankee pitcher Phil Coke. With that being said, Curtis had a "Coke" and a smile.

The Yankees added a few insurance runs before Mariano Rivera closed it out in the ninth inning 1,2,3. It should be noted Granderson made a nice running catch to get the second out.

After the game, the King and I went to the Nassau Coliseum to see the Islanders play their crosstown rivals, the Rangers.

It was a playoff like atmosphere as these two teams battled it out.

The Rangers scored the first goal of the game but the Islanders went on to score the next six before the Rangers squeezed one more by former Ranger Al Montoya who thought he had it.The Islanders won, 6-2. As a result, many Ranger fans who were in attendance stormed out of the building.

As for the weekend which started early for me on Friday, stay tuned as I'll be writing a special post that recaps the adventurous getaway we had.

As always, thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, April 4, 2011

Royalty schedule w/o 4/4

Here's the game plan:

Monday April 4th Twins at Yankees 7:05PM

Tuesday April 5th Twins at Yankees 7:05PM

Wednesday April 6th Twins at Yankees 7:05PM

Friday April 8th Nationals at Mets 4:10PM Home Opener

Saturday April 9th Nationals at Mets 7:10PM

Sunday April 10th Nationals at Mets 1:10PM

Check back to see how it turned out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned for my w/o 3/28 in review.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Yours truly,

Gary Herman