A Royal visit to Annapolis, Maryland to see Navy Football!

Navy Football

After a few years of trying, the opportunity finally presented itself. I was able to go to see the Naval Academy play football in person in Annapolis, Maryland which is located outside of the Baltimore-Washington area near the water in the surburbs once and for all.

I rented a car from Avis early Saturday morning for the weekend and off I went. The only detour I took was a ride to the dentist on Long Island to get a small cavity filled and another one that was cracked, I had replaced.

I planned to get to the dentist early and I did. The only problem was I still had to wait 45 minutes to be seen. As a result, I left there a lot later than I wanted to.

With that being said, I didn't get to the Navy game on time as I planned to. It was out of my control. I did my very best to make up some of the lost time. I parked the car at 3:40PM for a 3:30PM start in the neighborhood nearby. I want to personally thank my pals from Buffalo, Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell for the tip. They were there last year for a game. This was my first time near the stadium so I had no clue. Without their advice, I would have wasted more precious time. That's why I also like to know before I go. By doing so, I can save time and money.

I proceeded to walk over to the stadium which wasn't terribly far away. As I walked through the parking lot I noticed a number of people of tailgating. I assumed that they weren't planning to see the game. They wanted to be part of the atmosphere instead. I continued towards the gate area and I saw only a hand full of late arrivals heading inside. Luckily I came across a young man who had a few extra tickets. I told him I just needed one. I asked him what he wanted. He said $10. Naturally I gladly coughed up the $10 and I literally ran into the stadium.

As I ran through the run way, Kriss Proctor, the quarterback of Navy was running into the end zone from a yard out to give Navy an early 7-0 lead over the visiting Troy Trojans with 6:04 left in the first quarter. The Trojans were playing Navy for the very first time in their history.

Both teams came into the game with losing records so I thought I may see a somewhat competitive game. That didn't happen as Navy built a 35-0 lead as they cruised to an easy 42-14 whipping of the Trojans.
Regardless of the outcome, its the experience of being there that really matters. With Veteran's Day fast approaching, it was fitting that I got to take in an American military setting. I savored my time there.

After the game, I went back to my car and I since I was starved, I went out to feed my empty stomach.

On my way to the car rental, I surfed the internet to line up a potential place to eat dinner after the game. I looked up a place that I like to visit on the road when I'm very hungry and I since I didn't have a fortune of money to burn, I decided to see if I could find a Golden Corral in the area.

After looking at their website, I found one that wasn't too far out of my way so I said to myself, I'm going to help myself to happiness which is their slogan.

I checked into the Golden Corral near Arundel Mills at 8PM and I checked out at 9:30PM. In between, I was a very happy person. My empty stomach not only left happy but filled to the rim and then some.

For a very reasonable amount of money, I ate like a King. Nothing beats a royal meal at a royal deal.
If you happen to see a Golden Corral in your travels, I strongly suggest that you stop in especially if you have a family to feed. Let the kids run amuck and everybody can stuff themselves and you'll still have some money left for a rainy day.

As you know from reading and following my whereabouts, I practice what I preach so I wisely think you should take my sound advice.

Stay tuned for another special post that I'm going to do as my weekend wrapped up as I met a special guest in Washington DC at FedEx Field for the Redskin game on Sunday.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman