Royalty Tours USA

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Royalty w/o 8/22 in review

Cyclones win!
After work on Monday I took a subway ride back out to Coney Island to see the completion of the game that was suspended with one out in the top of the fourth inning Sunday night with the Tri City Valley Cats leading 6-2. I missed a few innings since I had to work. I arrived in the seventh inning. I met up with my friend Phil Butleman, William Frank Guthrie and his wife Beth who were also there. We enjoyed each other's company for the rest of the night.

The Valley Cats wound up winning the suspended game by a score of 7-4.

As for the second game, it was supposed to be a seven inning game but since the score was tied at 2 they needed to play extra innings. We were one strike away from going to the ninth inning when Cyclones catcher Amauris Valdez ended the game with one swing as he delivered an unexpected game winning home run to give the Cyclones a 3-2 victory in the bottom of the eighth inning to earn them a split of the two games.

Tuesday night I went up to the Bronx to see the Yankees. On my way there on the subway, I wound up meeting a few people from Austrailia who were going to the game. Stay tuned for the special post I'm going to do about them.

As for the game I saw, the Yankees fell behind to the visiting Oakland Athletics, 6-0. They scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and they added two more in the ninth thanks to a solo home run by Jorge Posada and a bases loaded walk to Robinson Cano but they couldn't get one more big hit as they left the bases loaded to end the game. They lost, 6-5 as the Athletics tried their best to give the game away.

Wednesday night I back to Yankee Stadium for more. I had my co-worker Stephen Orefice with me because he was meeting a friend up there and he wanted to go the royal way. It was a pleasure to have him along for the ride. Once we got up to the Stadium we parted ways.

As for the game I saw, it was a seesaw battle that was tied after nine innings at three. In the top of the tenth inning, the Athletics took the lead thanks to Coco Crisp who hit his second home run of the game. This one was a three run shot that gave the A's a 6-3 lead. In the bottom of the tenth inning, the Yankees scored a run on Nick Swisher's second home run of the game, a solo blast but they came up short as they lost, 6-4.

Thursday night I went home after work.

Friday night I went to Citi Field to see the Mets host the Braves that turned out to be a one game series since they decided to call off the games over the weekend with the threat of Hurricane Irene coming up the coast from the South.

The Mets went to beat up the Braves, 6-0. During the game, the King was trying to figure out his options of how he could avoid staying home since the subways were being shut down starting at Noon on Saturday.
After exhausting all his options, he told me to get him a car rental for the weekend. I went on my Blackberry and I went to work. Late in the game, I knew I could get him a car. Once I found the best deal I could get, I booked it. In addition, I booked a hotel for us to stay in Somerset, Pennsylvania.

He went to get the car Saturday morning and I did my wash. Once he came back, we left to head out to Cleveland, Ohio. Stay tuned for the special post that was written by Rick Morris in the FDH Lounge who met up with us while we were there.

After spending time at the game with Rick, we arranged to meet our friend Bessanne Hustosky who joined us for a quick meal at Steak N Shake. Even though the Indian game went very long, we decided to still make some time for her. It was great to see her again. It was short but it was definitely sweet. Thank you Bessanne for meeting up with the King and I.

After we said our goodbyes we drove to Somerset, PA where we got some sleep. We continued on in the morning as we decided to go to Baltimore, Maryland to the Orioles play the Yankees in a day/night doubleheader.

In the first game, the Orioles shutout the Yankees, 2-0 as Zach Britton threw seven scoreless innings to earn the victory.

Since the game went so fast we had plenty of time to have dinner between games.

Unfortunately our good friends Peter and Carmen Agnew were busy with family so they couldn't join us.
We decided to go to Looney's Pub, one of our local favorites for our between games meal. We saw Billy the chef who cooked us up some great chicken wings and burgers.

After we ate, we went back to Oriole Park at Camden Yards for game two of the twin bill.

We had some company thanks to Andrew Van Cleve from Chicago who was visiting the area as his wife Nicole is getting ready to start her new job at Temple University as a professor in Philadelphia.

As a result, they were visiting family and friends in Falls Church, Virginia which wasn't that far from Baltimore so Andrew knew the King and I were there so he decided to join us. He brought his cousins Timothy and Jonathan with him. It was their first game at Camden Yards.

It was a pleasure to have them with us.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees bats came alive as they overpowered the Orioles in this one, 8-3.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, August 29, 2011

Royalty schedule w/o 8/29

Here's the game plan:

Monday August 29th Marlins at Mets 4:10PM Doubleheader

Special appearance by the CitiFSHooligan's it's going to be a festive evening to say the least.

Tuesday August 30th Marlins at Mets 7:10PM

Wednesday August 31st Marlins at Mets 7:10PM

Thursday September 1st Marlins at Mets 7:10PM

Another special appearance from the CitiFSHooligan's

Friday September 2nd Omaha Storm Chasers at Iowa Cubs 7:05PM

Saturday September 3rd Eastern Kentucky  Colonels at Kansas State Wildcats 6PM

Sunday September 4th Indians at Royals 1:10PM

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 8/22 in review.

In addition, I'll be doing some special posts from this eventful and interesting week. Trust me it will be worth the wait. Please bear with me.

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

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Royalty w/o 8/15 in review

Shea Bridge at Citi Field
This past week was a rather uneventful one for me. Since the schedule makers had a brainstorm it prevented me from seeing any major league baseball for most of the week. Neither the Mets or Yankees were home Monday-Thursday. So I had to resort to going all the way to Coney Island to see the Brooklyn Cyclones play.

With that being said, Wednesday night right after work I met the King and we took a long subway ride out there. We got there with just enough time to go to Nathan's Famous the original one I might add for a few hot dogs, crinkle cut fries and a lemonade. A great pre game meal on our way to the ballpark which is called MCU Park these days. It used to called Keyspan Park.

Once we got inside, we met up with plenty of familiar faces. We got to see many people that we know which made for a nice night out which enhanced the royal experience.

As for the game we saw, the Brooklyn Cyclones went on to beat the Jamestown Jammers who we saw play in Jamestown on our recent road trip at the end of July. The Cyclones built an early 4-0 lead after two innings as they cruised to an easy 5-2 victory.

After staying home again Thursday night, I went back to Citi Field Friday night to see the Mets play the red hot Milwaukee Brewers. Thanks to mother nature, the game was delayed just before game time. After a lengthy almost three hour delay they finally started playing just before ten o'clock. As a result, I was forced to leave the game early due to the fact I had to count on public transportation to get me home. In addition, I had a long day in store on Saturday to deal with so I departed Citi Field in the top of the seventh inning at midnight.

The Mets were trailing 6-0 at the time. After I left the Mets wound up breaking the shutout as they scored a run. They lost the game, by a score of 6-1.

Saturday the game was originally scheduled for a 7:10PM start but Fox decided a few weeks ago to change the starting time to a 4:10PM first pitch so I knew with my game plan I was in jeopardy of having to miss the game. The way it turned out, I did indeed. That's just the way it goes sometimes. I had more important things to take care of on a personal level so I did what I needed to do.

Sunday I went back for more punishment at Citi Field. After coming back on Saturday to take a lead against K-Rod no less, the Mets still found a way to lose anyway. The Mets once again fell behind this time, 2-0. Lucas Duda hit a two run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie the game at two and it gave the Mets a glimmer of hope. Unfortunately that was short lived as their lousy bullpen gave the game away again. The Brewers scored two runs in the eighth inning and two more in the ninth inning to sweep the Mets, 6-2. This time K-Rod pitched a scoreless eighth inning to help the Brew Crew leave New York in style. Unlike their last visit to NYC, when they got embarrassed in the Bronx by the Yankees.

I was happy for the great people I know who happen to live in Milwaukee.

After the game, the King and I got a ride to Brooklyn thanks to our friend Bryan Gilligan who took us to see the Cyclones play again. Well that would have been true if mother nature didn't interfere. We got to see three plus innings. During the top of the fourth, the umpires decided to tarp the field. The Cyclones were losing to the Tri City Valley Cats, 6-2 at the time. After waiting over an hour, they suspended the game.
That's how the week ended. They were completing the game on Monday night before the regularly scheduled game which was now going to be a seven inning game. Check back next week for all the details.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Royalty schedule w/o 8/22

Here's the game plan:

Monday August 22nd Tri City Valley Cats at Brooklyn Cyclones 6PM Doubleheader - Completion of suspended game and regularly scheduled game

Tuesday August 23rd Athletics at Yankees 7:05PM

Wednesday August 24th Athletics at Yankees 7:05PM

Friday August 26th Braves at Mets 7:10PM

Saturday August 27th Braves at Mets 4:10PM

Sunday August 28th Braves 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 8/15 in review.

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

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Thursday, August 18, 2011

2011-2012 AHL Schedule


To all my readers and followers,

The 2011-2012 AHL schedule has been released:

Please see the link below for all the details:

http://theahl.com/2011-12-ahl-schedule-released-p172293

If you need any assistance don't hesitate to ask or consult me that's why this blog is here.

If I can make a difference in your life I will, all I ask for is a fair opportunity to do so.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Royalty meets up with Bike Rider Darren O'Donnell at Citi Field!

Darren O'Donnell, My Cousin Andy, Me and The King
Last Wednesday night August 10th when the Mets played the San Diego Padres at Citi Field, we had a very special guest in the house.

His name was Darren O'Donnell. Who is he and why is he so special you must be wondering?

Well back in the middle of June, I saw an article on the internet on the TampaBay.com website.  I couldn't believe what I was reading.

The article spoke about a young man who was a mere 24 years old from Bellingham, Washington. For those of you who don't know, Bellingham is practically by the Canadian border. It's about 90 miles North of Seattle on I-5. In other words, it's a long way from New York City as well as parts of the country.

This young man, Darren O'Donnell decided to ride his bike to all the different major league ballparks this season, which in itself is quite a feat.

Most people over the years who have decided to attempt to this kind of journey would either fly, drive, take a bus and/or a train. This is the first time I've ever heard of someone doing with a bike.

It's a rather unique and novel idea to say the least. This isn't something anybody can do. First and foremost, you must know how to ride a bike. I'm not trying to be funny, some people don't know how to. In addition, you have to be in great shape to endure all the obstacles you'll encounter along the way such as riding up and down hills. Furthermore, you have to ride on certain roads. For the most part, you can't take interstate highways like driving a car. On the other hand, you have to deal with weather issues so you have to be prepared to do so.

These were the types of questions I asked Darren when we met him because in my wildest dreams I couldn't picture myself doing what he's doing even if I was capable of doing it.

Needless to say, he blew me away with his amazing ability to attempt to achieve this incredible accomplishment. I know it was true but I still had a hard time believing it.

In matter of fact, he said this was his very first time to New York City. I had offered my assistance to him back in June via e-mail. He like most didn't take advantage of my kindness and my willingness to help out any way I could. I guess it didn't want to impose on me. If I really didn't want to be bothered, I wouldn't have volunteered to help. I always offer my assistance because I like to treat people the way I want to be treated. I know it's a very cruel world out there. I'm an exception to that rule. I wish he would have. That way he could have had an easier time while he was here in NYC getting around.

Luckily he was able to make it to Citi Field on that day. With his odd way of traveling, it's not easy to maintain a set schedule.

With that being said, he was supposed to be at Yankee Stadium on that Tuesday night but for some reason he wasn't able to make it. I was caught by surprise. He said he was going there Thursday afternoon instead. I asked him if he had a ticket for the game yet. He said he might. Between the King and I, we had an extra ticket that we couldn't use so we decided to give it to him. He was very grateful. Instead of the ticket going to waste, we made sure it went to good use.

Darren said he was planning to continue on his trip to Boston once he left the New York City area where he got to spend some quality time with his Uncle Terry who lives in New Rochelle and a good friend of his who lives in Manhattan.

He has visited many people he knows across the country either family or friends. In my case, a perfect stranger.

If you want to meet and greet Darren if and when he comes to or passes through your town or city, please let me know so I can get you in contact with him. He has given me his permission to do so. He's a really nice intelligent young man who can share his adventures with you firsthand.

I told him I know people in many of the cities he still has to visit before he heads back West.

They include Toronto and yes he'll be riding through Buffalo in order to get there so my Buffalo Boys should be able to see him as he passes through within the next week or so.

In addition, he'll be going to Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minnesota and Kansas City before ending his journey in St. Louis in late September.

For further details and his tentative schedule, look him up on Twitter @Baseball_Biking and make sure you follow him. In addition, if you're not following me for some unknown reason please do so @royaltytoursusa.
Furthermore, he's on Facebook. Look for Baseball Biking Tour and you should find him. He does quite amazing put up posts of his excursions with pictures and plenty of detail on there. You can also feel free to comment accordingly. For example, his visit to Citi Field was Day 125.

I strongly suggest that you reach out and give this fellow human being the love and care he deserves. After all, he's an inspiration to all of us in one way, shape or form.

Thank you for taking your precious time to follow and read along.

I personally greatly appreciate it.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Royalty enjoys the added entertainment of the Hooligan's and Hooligals at Citi Field!

CitiFSHooligan's in Section 516
Back in the good old days when the King and I went to see the Mets play at Shea Stadium, the place always seemed to rock and occasionally shake from time to time thanks to the people who were in the building.

The King was always notorious for his signature strikeout call which some people liked and others didn't. But like anything else that's just the way it is
.
Nowadays the people who go to a game seem like robots all the time. When the scoreboard says make noise, they make noise.

Citi Field is nothing like Shea was. I know some people think it's such a better place than Shea. That's only true you're a corporate person or somebody who happens to have a lot of money to burn. For us real baseball fans and/or everyday people, that's not the case.

Needless to say, I miss Shea big time. That place was not as bad as people said. The City of New York owned that building and they never properly maintained it. That's why people mainly influenced by the media preferred to call it a "dump".

Shea Stadium held 55,000 people and majority of the seats were in foul territory which meant most of the views weren't bad and they were much more affordable to all walks of life.

Citi Field on the other hand, has many obstructive views or "blind spots" if you will. That's not an opinion that's a true fact. It's sad but true. It only holds 41,000 give or take. A good number of them are horrible seats mainly in the outfield. Fortunately for the King and I we were blessed to have a few of the better seats as we see it at a somewhat reasonable price. In matter of fact, our seats are a bargain compared to many others there.

Furthermore, the Mets had a distinct advantage playing at Shea, where those of us who were old enough witnessed two World Series Championships in miraculous fashion. I was only a year old when they won in 1969 so I can't relate to that. But in 1986, it was an unbelievable feeling to be a Met fan.

With all that being said, I want to point out and acknowledge a special group of people who have been coming to Citi Field a few times a month and they happen to sit in our section 516.

They refer to themselves as the "CitiFSHooligan's". They consist of a bunch of guys who they say are the "Hooligan's and there are some young ladies as well who go by the name "Hooligals". They also wear their own personalized jerseys so they're easy to distinguish amongst the rest of the section.

They like to enjoy the game, get the crowd involved, drink their beer, have lots of fun and be merry.

They have different antics that they roll out as the game goes on. For example, they sing different songs for the Mets when they come up to bat. They have different chants as well for opposing fans. They do everything in good fun which makes for an entertaining night out at the ballpark for everyone who's there.

When they show up at the game, they say and sing I quote "I believe the Mets will win." That doesn't always hold true but it doesn't hurt to believe like the late great Tug McGraw said "Ya Gotta Believe" back in the day.

Their record is 6-3 they said when then show up. Based on my math, that's the equivalent of the 1986 Mets overall record of 108-54. That's a winning percentage of .667. So like Meatloaf sings, "two out of three ain't bad".

Last Tuesday night, they kept us entertained and their belief willed the Mets to an improbable 5-4 win.
Even when the Mets lost a few weeks ago, Christine aka "Bean" one of the Hooligals said and I quote "I try to keep it positive".

We need more people like them on a daily and nightly basis to inject some life into the building.

For some reason, the Mets have had a hard time winning at home.

Don't blame it on the spacious field of play, that's one of the few things they got right with the ballpark in my eyes.

The Mets need to build a team that strives on speed so they can take full advantage of their new home field.
After all, the dimensions are for both teams. It would help if they could add a true power hitter or two so we can see the "Apple" in centerfield go up once or twice a game.

This year and last year the Mets have been like a roller coaster ride with plenty of ups and downs.

I think going forward in 2012 and beyond, they need to take my advice. Hopefully they can find a way to keep Jose Reyes in a Met uniform and hopefully he'll stay on the field so he can spark the Mets resurgence to the glory days here at Citi Field.

Off the field, I think the Mets should set up a special section so people like the "CitiFSHooligan's" can take over and energize the rest of the crowd throughout the game. For further details about them, look for them on Twitter and follow them and while you're at it, you can follow me @royaltytoursusa if you're not already doing so.

Believe it or not, I'm trying to be realistic in my thoughts and ideas, we'll have to wait and see what actually happens in the future.

Met fans, hang in there. I expect to enjoy another World Series Championship before my time is up.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 8/8 in review

Monday night after work I went out to Citi Field to see the Mets play the San Diego Padres who were making their first and only appearance at Citi Field this season as they opened up a four game series.

As for the game, the Mets and Padres went back and forth in this one. It turned out to be a wild night at the ball yard. The Mets lead early on, 4-1. The Padres came back to tie the score at four in the sixth inning. They broke the tie in the top of the eighth inning as they scored four more runs to take a 8-4 lead off the Mets lousy bullpen. The Mets stormed back with two more in the bottom half. With score remaining 8-6 Padres going to the bottom of the ninth inning, we fastened our seat belts hoping for the tide to turn again. Heath Bell came on to try and close it out for the Padres. Instead the Mets singled him to death as Lucas Duda delivered the big game winning hit up the middle that scored two to make the Mets winners, 9-8.

Tuesday night I went back to Citi Field in hope of seeing more heroics on the field.

I got a lot more than I bargained for as we had some added entertainment in the stands in our section 516.
Stay tuned for the special post I'm going to write to explain in detail what transpired during the game.

As for the game on the field, the Mets and Padres battled it out again. The Padres and Mets went back and forth in the middle innings. The Padres broke through first scoring two runs in the top of the fourth inning. The Mets responded with two of their own to even the score. The Padres regained the lead in the fifth inning, 4-2. It stayed that way until the Mets batted in the eighth inning. Angel Pagan lead off with a solo home run that put the Mets within one at 4-3. They scratched and clawed their to tie the score again at four thanks to a sacrifice fly by pinch hitter Nick Evans after they loaded the bases thanks to a few hits, a sacrifice bunt and an international walk. The Padre bullpen blew the game as they proceeded to walk Ronny Paulino to reload the bases then they walked Ruben Tejada to give the Mets the lead, 5-4. Thankfully Jason Isringhausen was able to hold down the lead this time as the Mets came away with another dramatic home victory.

Wednesday night after work I met up with my Cousin Andy who was going to join me for the game. On the way to Citi Field we met up for a pregame dinner at Subway which is connected to a Carvel right off the 7 train at the Junction Blvd. stop. Needless to say, we both had a "royal" meal and we got a tremendous deal. If you don't believe me then ask my Cousin. He always gets the royal treatment when he sees me and that's not just because he's family. That's just the royal way of how we roll at home or away. What else can I say.
Once we finally arrived at Citi Field we were greeted by my boy Vincent Ascanio. He was all smiles when I told him about our "royal" dinner and dessert. After all, he's the one who told me about it.

We all got situated for the game in our seats in section 516 row 3. As we did I was greeted by a number of familiar faces who were in the house too. We had our pal Manny Morales there, Frank Anichiarico, Al Linderman and a very special guest was there as well.

Stay tuned as I go into further detail in a separate post regarding this amazing young man. This will definitely be a must read.

As for the game, the Mets ran out of luck. They fell behind early, 5-0. They fought back to get within two at 5-3 but they couldn't stop the Padres as they extended their lead. The Mets eventually lost, 9-5.

Thursday was an afternoon game so since I was working I had to skip it. After work I went home to rest up and recharge the batteries.

Friday night after work I went up to the Bronx to see the Yankees play the Rays. With CC Sabathia pitching, I expected to see a decent game.

Unfortunately CC who sailed through the first two innings decided it was time to serve up batting practice. He certainly did. He wound up giving up five solo home runs to the Rays as they went on to beat the Yankees, 5-1.

On Saturday afternoon, I went back to the Bronx again. Before the game, the Yankees had a special pregame ceremony for their Captain Derek Jeter who back on July 9th joined the 3,000 hit club. Jeter was honored by his teammates and the Yankee organization for becoming the first player to get 3,000 hits all in pinstripes. They gave him some really special gifts so he can always remember this special milestone for the rest of his life.

As for the game, the Yankees proceeded to beat up the Rays, 9-2.

On Sunday afternoon, I was planning to go back to the Bronx for the finale of the three game series but mother nature wouldn't cooperate as it rained all day and the game was postponed.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Remember to check back for the two special posts I'm going to do. Trust me you don't want to miss them.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Royalty schedule w/o 8/15

Here's the game plan:

Wednesday August 17th Jamestown Jammers at Brooklyn Cyclones 7PM

Friday August 19th Brewers at Mets 7:10PM

Saturday August 20th Brewers at Mets 4:10PM

Sunday August 21st Brewers at Mets 1:10PM

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 8/8 in review.

In addition, I'll be doing a few special posts from this eventful week. It will be intriguing to say the least.

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

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should be always be in touch. Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Friday, August 12, 2011

Royalty w/o 8/1 in review


Mike Jaffee, Bryan Gilligan, The King, Vincent Ascanio, Fuzzy, Michael Abrams, Steve Tepperman, Me and Nelson Greer  

After my road trip ended it was back to work Monday morning.

After work it was back to my home routine. I went to Citi Field to see the Mets play the Marlins. I had some familiar faces in the house. Vincent Ascanio, Steve Tepperman, Martin Caamano and Michael Abrams showed up to keep us company.

In addition, we were treated to some more in-house entertainment as the Hooligans and Hooligals showed up as well. It's always fun to have them in our section 516. They always bring an added dimension to the live game experience.

As for the game we saw, the Mets fought hard but they fell short in 10 innings when Mike Stanton of the Marlins hit a game winning grand slam to give the Fish a 7-3 victory.

Tuesday night I went back for more at Citi Field after work. This time the Mets had a 3-2 lead going into the ninth inning. Justin Turner aka "Ginger Boy" made a costly error that gave the Marlins a 4-3 decision over the Mets.

Wednesday night I went to Subway and Carvel thanks to my boy Vincent Ascanio who discovered a new place to eat on his way to Citi Field. I met him there and we both ate like royalty.

After we ate we got back on the 7 train and we hoped to see a baseball game even though it was raining at the time.

We finally got to Citi Field and we went upstairs and once we got off the elevator we were treated as we saw a bunch of old time baseball fans and members of our group that we know who we haven't seen in quite some time.

It was quite a gathering as you can see in the picture above. Our pal Cory Zimmerman was also at the game took our picture. While we waited to see if the game would be played we got to catch up and have plenty of laughs like we used to back in the good old days at Shea Stadium.

Unfortunately they decided to call the game off so we didn't get to enjoy the game together. Hopefully we will get another chance to do so in the future.

Thursday night I went home after work since there was no game in the area to go to. I didn't mind since my body needed to rest up after running around rigorously.

Friday night after work I went back to Citi Field as the Mets were hosting their division rival, the Atlanta Braves.

The Mets took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning but that's all the runs they scored for the game. The Braves went on to beat the Mets, 4-1.

Saturday night it was back for more punishment. First mother nature decided to interfere. The game was delayed by an hour and two minutes at the start.

Luckily the Mets found a way to win this time. It was a seesaw battle but they managed to pull through, 11-7.

On Sunday I went back for the rubber game of the series. It was another heart breaking loss by the Mets as their nemesis Chipper Jones of the Braves delivered the game winning hit in the ninth inning to win the game and the series for the Braves, 6-5.

It should be noted that impressive rookie Jose Constanza who killed the Mets all weekend long with his speed, arm and bat hit his first major league home run.

Another week in the life of royalty is in the books.

Remember if and when you want to take part in the live experience please let me know so I can arrange to accomodate your needs and wants.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Royalty meets up with Darren O'Donnell, the Biker who's riding around the country at Citi Field!

http://fb.me/1dulP7JzP

Please see the link above for Darren's visit to Citi Field last night.

Stay tuned for my personal take on him when I do my special post sometime next week.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty wraps up the road trip in Washington D.C.

View from Nationals Park
After we left Twinsburg, Ohio we continued on to our Nation's capital.

I apparently had my mind in auto pilot when we were cruising along the highway. For some reason, I went on I-80 instead staying with I-76 which becomes the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

The King was in the back seat and he wasn't paying attention at the time. No big deal. We just got to take a more scenic and less expensive alternative. More importantly, we had the time to do so.

We finally arrived in the Washington D.C. area around 6PM for the 7:05PM first pitch.

We parked in a lot for $5.00 and we took a nice walk to the ballpark in the blazing heat.

In retrospect, being in the car slightly longer was actually a good thing.

Wisely we had our tickets in advance for this game since it Jayson Werth Bobblehead Doll night for the first 15,000 fans.

They had a big walk up crowd at the box office. Despite the heat, people decided they needed to spend some quality time at the ballpark.

For those who got in late they missed all the action as Jayson Werth was the hero on his Bobblehead night as he blasted a three run homer over the centerfield fence to account for all the scoring in this one as the Nationals beat the Mets, 3-0.

We did have a pleasant surprise too. When I was checking out Facebook, I noticed another Stadium Journey writer was in the building. I'm talking about Geoff Crawley, who's a big fan of the Philadelphia teams. He happened to come to this game with a group of people. I wrote to him and he came up to meet and greet us. It was very nice of him to do so. I hope to see him again down the road.

After the game, we drove to the King's Castle if you will and we got some sleep. Three hours or so that is.
The King and I had to get up to play softball early in the morning. On the way to the field, we dropped off Paul Derrick at the airport so he could catch his flight home to Houston. I purposely arranged it so he would have plenty of time to catch his 10:29AM flight.

Overall, it was a very memorable week indeed. I want to personally thank Paul for coming in and joining us as we showed him exactly how Royalty rolls home and away.

I know he was very grateful for the opportunity and we were thrilled to have him along for the ride.
I look forward to doing it again in the future.

As for the King and I, after we played our two softball games we still went to Yankee Stadium to see the Yankees beat the Orioles, 4-2.

After the game on my way home I returned the car to Avis that I rented for 9 days. I wound up driving 3,510 miles altogether.

Once I checked the car in, the trip was officially over.

I want to take the time to personally thank all those that were able to join us along the way to help make this journey of a lifetime for Paul even more memorable. For those that weren't able to make it, you were there with us in spirit. Hopefully we'll meet up again in the near future.

Stay tuned for my w/o 8/1 in review. I'm trying my best to play catch up.

As always, my assistance is always available if and when you decide you need me.

Don't hesitate to ask, I love to make life better for others. I live the life of royalty on a daily basis so I never mind sharing a taste of what it's like.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Royalty meets up with Rick Morris in his mobile FDH Lounge at Cracker Barrel in Twinsburg, Ohio!

The King, Rick Morris and I
After driving back from Detroit to head towards Washington D.C. on Friday night, we stopped off for a late night snack at Steak N Shake in Brooklyn, Ohio which was about 20 miles from the Super 8 we were staying at in Twinsburg, Ohio off I-480 Exit 36.

As many of you know back on January 18th, I had the privilege and honor of being interviewed by Rick Morris on Internet TV in the FDH Lounge. It was the 4th anniversary of his show at the time. The audio is posted right here on my blog for your listening pleasure. Please allow some time if you want to listen because it's 37 minutes long.

I've stayed in contact with Rick since I was on the show and I told him I was planning to be back in Cleveland on July 27th for the Indian game against the Angels at 12:05PM.

Rick tried his best to get the day off from his day job but his boss told him no. That was too bad. To add insult to injury, Ervin Santana of the Angels pitched a no-hitter. Even though it was against the Indians, Rick was still upset that he missed a chance to witness history. We had him there with us in spirit though.

Despite the unfortunate way things turned out that Wednesday afternoon, I told Rick beforehand that I had a plan B in place. I knew Rick didn't live terribly far from where we were staying in Twinsburg.

In addition, I know that area well from many years of experience on the road. I knew there was a Cracker Barrel up the road from the Super 8.

I arranged to have Rick meet us for breakfast so he could talk to the King and I as well as our new sports traveler Paul Derrick.

Rick was more than happy to make some time to join Royalty.

We got to catch up on things and we discussed our bigger and better plans for the future. With Rick's aid, I see Royalty taking off fast and furiously in the public eye.

Rick is fascinated by our story and he has positioned it to his network of contacts that he has. They are very interested in getting involved to back us up.

I feel thrilled and honored to go forward with this brilliant idea.

In the upcoming months, I plan to be in constant contact with these special people to help make this a reality.
As Rick says and I quote "you guys are living the dream." Now I want to take it to the next level as we'll decide what the best way is to market how we live the life of royalty.

Stay tuned as this amazing opportunity starts to unfold.

Furthermore, check back for the wrap up of this memorable week of sports travel as it comes to an end after many months of planning.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Royalty goes to Motown to see the Tigers play!

View from lower level at Comerica Park
After having a "Frickin" good time, we continued on our way to Detroit to see the Tigers play at Comerica Park.

Over the years, I've always had to drive quite a distance to see a Tiger home game. This time was no different. Back in the day, it was always worth going to the corner of Trumbull Street and Michigan Ave. where there once stood a baseball cathedral. It was known as Navin Field when it first opened in 1912 then it was referred to as Briggs Stadium in 1938 then in 1960 it was called Tiger Stadium. In the mortal words of the late great Tiger radio announcer Ernie Harwell, it's "long gone."

Nowadays going to a Tiger game is nothing like it used to be. Comerica Park in my eyes is the worst of the new modern ballparks that have been built.

They did a very nice job honoring the storied history of the Tiger franchise though. I always give credit where it's due.

But as far as watching the game goes, the intimacy here is totally lost in this cavernous ballpark. The seating area is so pushed back especially on the lower level and it's seems very far away which is typical of any of these modern buildings these days.

Don't get me wrong, Tiger Stadium had a lot of bad seats and obstructed views too but when you sat upstairs behind home plate, you felt like you could reach out and touch the batter you were that close to them especially in the last season of 1999 when they removed the screen from behind the plate which was right above the press box.

Those of us who were fortunate enough to go there know exactly what I'm talking about. For those who are too young or for whatever reason didn't get there, I feel for you. You missed out on an amazing experience.
As for the game we saw, the Tigers beat up the Angels, 12-2. No history on this night from the Halos just an old fashioned butt whipping.

Stay tuned as this journey heads towards its end but there are still some good stories still to be told.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty has a "Frickin" good time on our way to Motown!

Fricker's 
Over the years, I've gone to many great restaurants and sports bars around the country.

When I happen to be in the Toledo area, I've had the privilege of going to a sports bar called Frickers. They have a number of locations mainly in Southern Ohio but they have a few in the Toledo area that I've been to.

This time we went to their downtown location in Toledo which is connected to the Toledo Mud Hens ballpark, Fifth Third Field, which happens to be one of the best modern minor league ballparks around on our way to Detroit which is only 60 miles away.

In addition, the Huntington Center, the home of the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL is another beautiful venue which is a few blocks from Fricker's as well.

Back in November, we took in a Walleye game followed by a post game meal at Fricker's.

As for Fricker's, they were established back in 1985. They have great chicken wings and potato wedges. They also serve excellent burgers as well as ribs.

It's always a "Frickin" good time for the locals as well as experienced sports travelers like the ones who go with me.

If you haven't got to experience Fricker's yet, I strongly suggest you do.

If you need company, I'm always available to keep you company and I'll make sure you always eat well on the road.

I provide added entertainment and I'll give you an education too as long as you want to learn.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, August 8, 2011

Royalty meets up with Andrew Kulyk of USRT for breakfast!

After seeing Peter Farrell in Auburn, NY at the game and we also went to Jim's Steakout with him afterwards Thursday night. Friday morning, it was Andrew Kulyk's turn to see us again.

Andrew had contacted me about wanting to meet up for breakfast before we left the Buffalo area to make our way to Detroit.
I always feel the need to start my day off right by eating breakfast. It is the most important meal of the day even though others may beg to differ.

With that being said, I arranged to have us meet up with Andrew at an IHOP. As we were driving there, Andrew called to tell me the IHOP is closed. He had no idea.
As a plan B, there was a Denny's across the street so we reluctantly decided to go there. It was a convenience not a first choice.

Everything turned out fine. We got to have breakfast and more importantly we got to spend some more quality time with Andrew.
I want to personally thank Andrew for making some time for us while he was out on calls working for his family exterminating business.
Andrew like myself is a multi tasker. He was able to eat and answer phone calls in between.

After we ate, we said our goodbyes and we parted ways.
We got in the car and drove towards Detroit and Andrew went on his way to take care of business.

Stay tuned for the next installment of this adventurous getaway.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Royalty schedule w/o 8/8

Here's the game plan:

Monday August 8th Padres at Mets 7:10PM

Tuesday August 9th Padres at Mets 7:10PM

The Hooligan's and Hooligals will be in attendance.

Wednesday August 10th Padres at Mets 7:10PM

Special appearance by Darren O'Donnell who will be visiting Citi Field as part of his Biking Tour of all the Major League Ballparks

Friday August 12th Rays at Yankees 7:05PM

Saturday August 13th Rays at Yankees 4:10PM

Sunday August 14th Rays at Yankees 1:05PM

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 the rest of the road trip recaps. Trust me it will definitely be worth the wait.

In addition, I'll be doing my w/o 8/1 in review when time allows. Please bear with me as I try to catch on all my different whereabouts.

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

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should be always be in touch. Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty goes to Auburn, NY to see nightcap of minor league doubleheader!

Ticket and Credential courtesy of Stadium Journey
After we had early dinner in Rochester, we went to Auburn, NY which is about 100 miles from Rochester.

We arrived in Auburn just before the gates opened at 6PM. Paul Derrick went to the window to pick up the credentials and tickets for the game that they left for us as guests of Stadium Journey. See picture for proof.

In addition, it was dollar beer night. They also sold hot dogs and peanuts for a buck as well.

We all got our money's worth and then some.

Furthermore, our pal Peter Farrell from Buffalo surprised us and he showed up just before the first pitch.
I want to thank him for being part of our night.

As for the game we saw, the Auburn Doubledays lost to the Hudson Valley Renegades, 3-1.

After the game, Peter asked to join him at Jim's Steakout which is a Buffalo institution for the last the 30 years.
Since we we're spending the night at the same Super 8 in the Buffalo area, we decided to join him.
They claim to have the best damn hoagies in Buffalo, No Bull.

After having one, I must say I definitely agree with that statement wholeheartedly.

It was a great way to end another great day in the life of royalty.

Stay tuned for the next installment of this memorable journey.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty goes to Batavia, NY for a 11AM morning game!

Royal View of the game 
After spending the night in the Buffalo area at Super 8, we were in position to go to Batavia, NY which was only 40 miles away.

We saw a minor league game that was scheduled to start at 11AM. The Batavia Muckdogs were playing the Staten Island Yankees. Our friend Bryan Gilligan who left us in Cleveland joined us in Batavia too.

Thanks to Stadium Journey, Paul Derrick arranged to secure us free tickets for the game.

We arrived with plenty of time to get situated right in front of the press box which is located behind home plate as you can see in the picture above.

We all sat down and relaxed and enjoyed the game. The Staten Island Yankees came in with a league best 29-9 record.

As for the game saw, the Staten Island Yankees built an early 3-0 lead but the hometown Muckdogs fought back to tie the game at 3 in the seventh inning. They took the lead in the bottom of eighth inning and they held on to beat the Yankees, 4-3.

After the game, our friend Bryan Gilligan wanted to have Pudgie's Pizza after reading on my blog how great a place it was. Thanks to our friends, Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell aka the Buffalo Boys who told us about Pudgie's a few years ago. It's a franchise that's located mainly in Central New York with locations in Binghamton and Elmira. They expanded into Rochester and they have a new location near Scranton, Pennsylvania as well as Clarksville, Maryland.

With that being said, we headed to Rochester, NY since that was the closest one to where we were.

Afterwards, Bryan was grateful for the opportunity. It turned out to be a wise choice.

Stay tuned for the next leg of the journey as we made our way to Auburn, NY for another minor league game that night.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Royalty meets up with other great sports travelers as our "Stadium Journey" took us to Jamestown, NY!

Andrew Kulyk, Josh Guilher, Peter Farrell, The King, Paul Derrick and I
How can a day get better after we just saw baseball history in Cleveland in the afternoon?

Leave to Royalty to find a way.

After Ervin Santana threw the Angels' 9th no-hitter in team history in a mere 2 hours and 22 minutes, we had plenty of time to get to our next game in Jamestown, NY which was 145 miles away. Despite a slight delay along the way, I still managed to put us in position to make this dinner happen.

While we were at the Indian game, I surfed the internet on my Blackberry to see if I could find a place for dinner since it looked like we would have some spare time to do so.

I searched and I found a restaurant called http://www.alfieswny.com/ which looked like a nice reasonably priced establishment.

We got in contact with Josh Guilher, who we were meeting up with for the first time. Josh like Paul Derrick writes for the website run by Paul Swaney called http://www.stadiumjourney.com/. I've chipped in with some reviews for the site too from time to time when I've have some free time to do so.

As a result, we arranged to all meet up at Alfie's for a pregame dinner. It turned out to be a very wise choice since there were very few places to eat along the way to the ballpark.

Once we arrived at the ballpark, we met up with the Buffalo Boys, Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell aka USRT. I might add they write occasionally for Stadium Journey too. I found out that they were Josh's sports travel heroes and they initially inspired him to travel to different venues to see sporting events.

Please see the tremendous article that Josh wrote about all of us. I greatly appreciate his kind words. In addition, he has a great website called http://www.collegiatestadiums.com/ which is also on my blog list now.

We enjoyed spending our precious time together. Ironically Josh was in Erie, Pennsylvania in the afternoon where he saw the Erie Seawolves of the Eastern League play. He was thinking about going to Cleveland too. He regretted the fact that he didn't because he missed out on history. He's not a huge baseball fan he said but he would have loved to witness the no-hitter since he's never seen one before.

As for the game in Jamestown we saw together, the hometown Jammers beat the visiting Aberdeen Ironbirds, 8-3. We saw Austin Barnes of the Jammers hit his first professional home run.

After the game, we said our goodbyes. We all hope to meet up again down the road.

Stay tuned for the next installment of this amazing journey as it unfolded.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Friday, August 5, 2011

Royalty witnesses history in Cleveland!

Ervin Santana throws a No-Hitter
After Paul Derrick and I got barely enough sleep it was time to get ready for another day on our epic excursion.

We decided to pass up a recommendation to go to a local place to eat breakfast due to time constraints. Instead we went to the Waffle House which was conveniently located right next to the Super 8 where we spent the night.

After we had our All-Star breakfast we were ready to make our way to Cleveland for the next leg of the journey.

We got back on the highway and I drove 130 miles to Cleveland. It was an interesting ride to say the least.
I was going at a pretty nice speed and then I let a car pass me. Thankfully I did. The lady in this car stayed ahead of for quite some time. She was driving very erratically mainly in the left and occasionally the middle lane of the three lane road. It was only 10:15AM in the morning. She appeared to be either drunk or falling asleep. I laid back still doing a comfortable speed. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. She was drifting from lane to lane and at times she was riding on the shoulder. It was scary, I couldn't believe what I was seeing in broad daylight.

Thankfully about 50 miles down the road a state trooper pulled her over. I hope she lost her license and/or went to jail. Fortunately she didn't kill anybody or herself for that matter.

After that adventure, we continued on our way to Cleveland. Our friend Bryan Gilligan and the King who went back to New York after the Phillie game Monday afternoon reunited with us in Cleveland.

They called to tell us that they parked their car in a $5.00 lot within a short walk from Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Indians in downtown Cleveland.

I wound up parking in the same lot.

We met up with them outside the ballpark. We went to the box office and bought ourselves $8.00 tickets for the game.

We got our money's worth and then some.

In fact, we all witnessed history. Thanks to starting pitcher Ervin Santana of the Angels who walked one batter, struck out ten and he gave up a run due to an error on the first batter of the game but thankfully he didn't allow any hits in his nine innings of work.

As a result, he got credited with a no-hitter, the ninth in Angels history. It was the first one ever thrown at Progressive Field formerly known as Jacobs Field which opened its doors for the first time in 1994.

It was a day for us to remember forever. The Angels beat the hometown Indians, 3-1.

It was the first no-hitter that I've seen on the road. In the past, I've only seen a no-hitter and/or a perfect game at old Yankee Stadium. This was my fifth one overall.

As for Paul and Bryan, it was their first no-hitters they've ever seen in person. What a great way to enhance an already amazing journey.

As for the King, it was his ninth no-hitter he's seen over the years. The majority of which were at old Yankee Stadium but he did see Bob Forsch throw one back in 1983 and Doc Halladay last October in the Division Series.

After we came to our senses and we realized we just saw more history, we went back to the car and we headed to our next destination. All of us went to Jamestown, NY except Bryan he was there last year so he decided to go to Akron, Ohio for a minor league game instead.

Stay tuned for the recap of the nightcap after our historic afternoon.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Royalty visits the Queen City of Cincinnati!

Royal view of Great American Ballpark
After Paul Derrick and I spent the night in Hancock, Maryland, we had a hearty breakfast at the Little Sandy's Truck Stop in town.

After we ate, I drove us 420 miles or so to Cincinnati, Ohio. We took a very scenic route to get there. We got on I-68 West which starts in Hancock.

We stopped off at the Welcome Center in West Virginia for a quick break. We got back into the car and we passed near Morgantown which is the home of the West Virginia Mountaineers.

We continued on the highway and we picked up I-79 South which starts in Washington, Pennsylvania. We took that to I-70 which goes right through downtown Wheeling, West Virginia. We drove through the tunnel and over the bridge that runs over Wheeling Island.

After another brief stint in West Virginia, we finally crossed into the state of Ohio. We drove on I-70 West until it split off with I-71 by Columbus which is the state capital.

We then headed South on I-71 so we could arrive at our destination of Cincinnati, the Queen City.

We circled the downtown area which is located within walking distance from Great American Ballpark, home of the Cincinnati Reds.

We drove around to see if we could find a free parking spot. After trying for a short time, we found one by a meter that expired at 6PM. We parked the car at 6:10PM which was an hour before the game. We proceeded to take a short walk in the blazing heat to get to the ballpark.

The Reds were hosting the Mets at 7:10PM. Paul and I walked up to the ticket window and bought ourselves two $5.00 tickets so we could get in.

We upgraded ourselves once we were inside to the upper deck behind home plate as you can see in the picture above.

As for the game we saw, it turned out to a long one almost three and a half hours but fortunately for me the Mets came back and held on to beat the Reds, 8-6.

After the game, I drove us over the bridge that runs over the Ohio River to Covington, Kentucky so Paul could visit another state on this epic excursion. We wound up getting some refreshments to help us cool down from the brutal heat at a local gas station.

After that, we headed back towards Columbus where we were spending the night.

On the way there, we decided to stop at Steak N Shake to have a post game meal. It was delicious as Paul likes say when he likes what he's eating.

We got back in the car and we drove to the Super 8 that we were staying at. We arrived there shortly after 2AM.

Stay tuned for the next installment of our memorable journey together.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Kansas City here I come and then some over Labor Day Weekend!

Back on December 30, 2010 when I was at the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium, I had my good friends from Kansas, Dorothy Straney and her Mom with me.

They were dressed up in their Wildcat colors that being purple and silver to see their Kansas State Wildcats play. I told them I'm finally going to get the "Wildcat" off my back.

True to my word this time, I have booked a trip to go back to the Heartland over Labor Day weekend.

Here's the game plan:

I'll be flying out there on Friday September 2nd on American Airlines. I leave New York-LaGuardia Airport at 7:45AM Eastern Time. I have a connecting flight in Dallas-Ft. Worth and I land in Kansas City at 1:40PM Central Time.

Upon arrival I'm going to rent a car from Alamo and drive myself to Des Moines, Iowa which is about 200 miles from KC.

I'm going to see the following game there:

Friday September 2nd Omaha Storm Chasers at Iowa Cubs 7:05PM

After the game, I'm going to drive back to the Kansas City area where I'll be spending the night to sleep.

Saturday September 3rd I'll be going with Dorothy and her Mom to Manhattan, Kansas for the following:

Eastern Kentucky Colonels at Kansas State Wildcats 6PM

As Dot says and I quote "it's going to be a hoot." Trust me I can't wait to see those 'Cats!

Sunday September 4th I'll be seeing the Kansas City Royals play the surprising Cleveland Indians at Kauffman Stadium at 1:10PM.

I plan to see my boy Chris Coats aka Superfan who attends all the Royal home games as well as many on the road.

I most likely will have to leave this game earlier because I have to catch my flight on Frontier Airlines at 6:15PM to come back home. I arrive at LaGuardia Airport at 9:59PM Eastern Time. It's the last flight out of KC.

Monday September 5th I'll be renting a car so the King and I can go from the Yankee game in the afternoon at 1:05PM with the Baltimore Orioles to Philadelphia that night to see the Phillies play the Braves in a National League East Showdown at 7:05PM at Citizens Bank Park.

If you want to join me along the way please feel free to do so. All you have to do is let me know so I can arrange to make it happen.

Stay tuned when I get back so I can fill you in on how it played out. I promise it's going to be a "royal" blast.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman