Royalty Tours USA

Monday, November 25, 2013

Royalty schedule w/o 11/25

Here's the game plan:

Monday November 25th 49ers at Redskins 8:40PM

Tuesday November 26th Fordham Rams at Manhattan Jaspers 7PM

Wednesday November 27th Hurricanes at Devils 7PM

Thursday November 28th Steelers at Ravens 8:25PM

Friday November 29th Jets at Flyers 11:30AM

                                     Pelicans at 76ers 8PM

Saturday November 30th Manhattan Jaspers at Hofstra Pride 4PM

                                         Capitals at Islanders 7PM

Sunday December 1st Dolphins at Jets 1PM

                                    Pelicans at Knicks 7:30PM

Check back to see how it played out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

I want to personally wish everybody a very Happy Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for all of you who read my blog.

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

Stay tuned as I plan to do some special posts that will go into detail about the rest of my adventurous month of October as well as November. Please bear with me as I try to find time to catch up. I keep falling further behind. Please be patient. It will be worth the wait.

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

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Royalty sees the Jets play the Steelers at MetLife Stadium!

After I came back to NYC bright & early on Megabus Sunday morning October 13th, I still found a way to have enough energy to go to MetLife Stadium to see the Jets play the Steelers that afternoon.
I got home 7:30AM. I barely slept on the bus because it was hard to get comfortable. I tried to laid down for a little while when I got home. I tossed & turned most of the time. I got up & I went out to meet my pal Larry Peim in Midtown Manhattan who drove me out to the Meadowlands since he had a parking pass that day.

After we parked the car in the lot, I wound up meeting my friend Rich Wolber at the MetLife Central gate who like me needed a ticket for the game. Larry had a ticket already so he went inside. I wound up getting two tickets for $35 each. I decided to stay downstairs with Rich who likes to sit or stand in section 146 which is in the corner of the end zone. It's under the overhang which protects you from the sun & the wind. In addition, you can turn around & see the replays as well as the highlights from other games there.

Prince at MetLife Stadium for Jets & Steelers
As for the game we saw, there were a good number of Steeler fans in attendance despite their awful 0-4 start. The Jets & rookie quarterback Geno Smith had a rough day. Geno threw two interceptions in the red zone that killed a few drives. The Jets managed to hang around at halftime as they trailed, 9-6. In the second half, the Steelers turned it up a notch as they got big games from their receivers Antonio Brown & Emmanuel Sanders as well as tight end Heath Miller as they went on to beat the Jets, 19-6. The Steelers' defense shut down the Jets' offense all day.

After the game, I met Larry at the car & he drove me back to Manhattan. He asked me if I wanted to go out for dinner but I said no because I was exhausted. I wound up going home & I made myself dinner.

I wound up watching ALCS Game 2 on TV for seven innings. The Tigers were ahead when I shut it off. When I got up Monday morning I found out they blew the game as the Red Sox evened the series at one.

Stay tuned for a special post that will recap the great weekend I enjoyed after having nights off after work during the week.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Royalty goes to Fenway Park for ALCS Game 1!

On Saturday October 12th, the King, our friend Phil Butleman & I went up to Yankee Stadium so we could meet up with our pal Bryan Gilligan who drove up all up to Boston to Fenway Park for Game 1 of the American League Championship Series. The Red Sox were hosting the Detroit Tigers that night.

The Thursday before I left to go down South I was able to purchase tickets to that game because I had registered for the lottery they were having online to get tickets. I received an e-mail a day or two prior letting me know that I won a chance to have an opportunity to purchase tickets. It said it wasn't guaranteed that I would be able to secure the tickets though. I was able to get up to four tickets for one ALCS game if I got lucky & tickets popped up. With that being said, I decided to get the cheapest tickets I could so we could all get into the ballpark without losing a limb. I wound up getting three standing room tickets & a grandstand seat in section 33 in left field next to the Green Monster after I let some other pricier seats go. The King & I didn't care about having a seat so to speak. Phil on the other hand wanted a seat. With that being said, I told him he could have the seat I got. Bryan didn't seem to care one way or the other. He was happy to be in. In fact, he thanked me when informed him that I got us all tickets. He said & I quote "you did the job." It turned out that Bryan decided he would rather have a seat after all. He did manage to get himself one. As a result, I wound up with an extra ticket since a few other friends of ours decided for whatever reason they didn't want to join us. As I like to say, it's their loss.

Me & Joey Kraft outside Fenway Park
 Bryan parked the car on the street for free around 6PM & we walked a mile or so to Fenway Park. We decided to stop off by our favorite vendor outside the ballpark, Sausage Connection. Surprisingly, we got to see Mama & Harry who were both working there that night. It was great to see them again. Over the years it's become a tradition of ours to stop by to say hello even if we're not hungry. This time we certainly were. The King ordered a steak tips sandwich & I had a sausage. While we were eating & talking to them, our pal Phil was having a smoke. We thought he went into the ballpark. Luckily he didn't. The King went in when he finished eating. Then I saw Phil so I told him that we thought he went inside. I told him I have to try & get rid of the extra ticket I had. He told me they have a scalp free zone up the block. He said do you want me to show you where it is. I told him yes, that would be great. We proceeded to walk down the block together. As we were walking down, I got the impression there wasn't a big demand for tickets for some reason. I remember going to Game 2 of the 2007 ALCS against the Cleveland Indians & tickets were very hard to come by. That wasn't the case on this night. Everybody says how loyal Red Sox fans are, I found out firsthand that's not really true. It was Saturday night & it wasn't brutally cold outside either. When we finally got to the scalp free zone that Phil told me about there was a guy standing there with a clipboard. It appeared that I needed to give him my contact information in order to try & sell my extra ticket. Shortly thereafter, I heard a guy nearby yell out my name. He said & I quote "Gary Herman, it's me, Joey Kraft." To be perfectly honest, I was totally beside myself. I couldn't believe it. I was in a state of shock. We shook hands & we exchanged pleasantries. He said he needed a ticket for the game. He came all the way from Seattle at the last minute he said. He had just enough frequent flier miles to make it happen. He told me he was thinking of contacting to see if I was going. For whatever reason, he didn't. With that being said, without any hesitation I gave him my extra standing room ticket that I had. We stayed outside for a while because he met a perfect stranger named Dominick earlier when he got there who also needed a ticket for the game. As game time was fast approaching, I told him I'm going inside. I also told him that I plan to look for an empty seat in section 24 right in front of the grandstand which is just to the left of the screen behind home plate. They told me to try & get them a few seats too.

Joey Kraft & I inside Fenway Park

When I went into inside the park, I got my baseball passport book stamped & validated since I didn't have it when I made my only visit there back on Patriot's Day in April. This time I did. I also picked up a program for my Mark Chesna who requested one. After I took care of those priorities, I proceeded to press my luck. I went to section 24 & I wound up lucking out big time after I moved once. I got not one, not two but indeed three seats to myself. I wrote Joey Kraft a text message to let him know how lucky I was. Finally in the fourth inning, Joey & Dominick joined me. They had found a few empty seats in section 29 which was further out towards left field. When they came by me, they got to enjoy a major upgrade. We wound up spending the rest of the game together there. The King who found a few seats towards the back of the grandstand in section 23 wanted me to join him. I would have but Anibal Sanchez of the Tigers was throwing a no hitter. Mind you it was a very sloppy one as he walked six & he struck out a dozen. He lasted only six innings since his pitch count was so high. The Tigers' bullpen managed to keep the Red Sox hitless until Daniel Nava broke it up after fouling off a number of pitches off of reliever Joaquin Benoit who gave up a bloop single which prevented us from seeing history. I wasn't totally disappointed because I prefer to see one pitcher throw a no hitter not a bunch of them. It's not quite the same. The Tigers managed to win the game, 1-0 as they took a one game series lead in the best of seven series.

After the game, Bryan was nice enough to drive me to South Station in Boston so I could catch my 2:15AM Megabus back to NYC. The King, Bryan & Phil decided to stay over for game two on Sunday night. As for me, I wanted to get back home so I could go to the Jet game. The bus I took back left late at 2:28AM but it got back to NYC early at 6:28AM instead of the scheduled arrival time of 6:45AM. I proceeded to walk to the subway. I got home around 7:30AM. I laid down for a few hours before I met up with my pal Larry Peim at 31st Street & 8th Avenue at 11:30AM. He drove me out to MetLife Stadium for the Jets & Steelers game that day.

Stay tuned for all the details of that day.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, November 18, 2013

Royalty schedule w/o 11/18

Here's the game plan:

Monday November 18th Trailblazers at Nets 7:30PM

Wednesday November 20th Pacers at Knicks 7PM

Saturday November 23rd Knicks at Wizards 7PM

Sunday November 24th Jets at Ravens 1PM

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 as I plan to do some special posts that will go into detail about the rest of my adventurous month of October as well as November. Please bear with me as I try to find time to catch up. I keep falling further behind. Please be patient. It will be worth the wait.

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

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Royalty returns to NYC & sees the Islanders play the Coyotes at the Nassau Coliseum!

Monday night after the football game I stayed at a Travelodge by the Atlanta airport so I could be in position to catch my flight back to NYC Tuesday morning. I got up early because I wanted to make sure I got to the airport without a problem. I returned the Chevy Cruze I rented for the long weekend to Hertz after driving 921 miles safely.

As for my flight on Delta, I got back to NYC a half hour early. I wound up taking three buses to get back home from LaGuardia Airport. I get in the house at 1:41PM. I was able to unpack before I went back out with the King. We wound up taking public transportation to & from the Nassau Coliseum. We stopped off at Popeye's in Hempstead for dinner on the way to the game.

When we got to the Nassau Coliseum, we were joined by some people we know. We had Michael Abrams, Domish & Vincent Ascanio there with us.

As for the game we saw, the Islanders wound up cruising to a 6-1 victory. John Tavares scored a pair of goals to lead the way.

Stay tuned for another special post that will go into detail about how my baseball season continued.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees the Jets play the Falcons on MNF with another fellow roadtripper!

After landing in Atlanta back on Saturday, October 5th, I drove to Tennessee where I spent the weekend. Monday morning October 7th, I woke up & I planned to drive back to Atlanta for Monday night football as the Jets were on the road in Atlanta at the Georgia Dome. When I checked out of the Knights Inn in Cookeville, Tennessee, I went to Cracker Barrel which was nearby for breakfast to start my day off right. I enjoyed my Uncle Herschel's favorite which consisted of scrambled eggs, hash brown casserole, biscuits that came with sawmill gravy along with grits & a piece of farmed raised grilled catfish.

Uncle Herschel's Favorite at Cracker Barrel
After I finished my hearty breakfast, I drove towards the Great Smoky Mountains. I wound up taking a ride
back through Knoxville then I went to Pigeon Forge but when I saw how far out of the way I went, I decided to turn back so I could get to Atlanta. I arranged to meet up with another fellow roadtripper, Mark Chesna who lives about an hour from downtown Atlanta. It should be noted that Mark has been to over 2,700 live sporting events in his life. In addition, he's been to quite a number of countries in different parts of the world. I wanted to meet him earlier than I did. I called him with a progress report. It turned out he was kind enough to wait for me at the CNN Center by the food court. I finally found a parking spot on the street by a meter. Since I arrived around 6:45PM I just needed to feed the meter until 7PM which cost me $2. That was better than paying $10 or $20 in a parking lot and/or garage. In that regard, things turned out well. I wound up walking to the CNN Center which was maybe 10 minutes away. I went by the food court where Mark was holding a table for me. Upon arrival, we said hello to each other. We finally got to put a face with a name. For the past year, Mark & I have been in contact thanks to social media & modern technology. Since time was of the essence, I wound up going to Arby's for dinner. I had a roast beef sandwich with fries & a drink. It worked out well. When I finished eating, Mark & I walked towards the Georgia Dome. We ran into a scalper that Mark recognized on the street. He asked me what I wanted to pay. I told him $20. Surprisingly he was willing to meet my asking price. He had a few seats in the end zone in the upper level. I wasn't thrilled at first but after trying to wiggle my way out of the deal, we gave him $20 a ticket. We continued walking to the Dome.

Mark Chesna & I at the Georgia Dome
When we got there, we walked inside & we walked around the concourse. This was my first visit since 2002 so I didn't mind refreshing my memory of the building.

I was wearing my Gio Gonzalez jersey. As a result, I got some comments from people as I walked around. The best one was from a Latin gentleman who was so happy when he saw the name Gonzalez on my jersey. Mark said the guy must have thought it was a Tony Gonzalez jersey since he plays for the Falcons. It was hilarious. Regardless I enjoyed showing my Gio pride off.

After walking around we decided to go up to section 302 row 15 where my pal Ira Lieberfarb aka Ira from Staten Island was sitting which was in the corner of the end zone. We wound up lucking out into a few seats next to him. It turned out that his seat was better than what we had. It worked well as we got to enjoy the game with him.

As for the game we saw, the Jets lead most of the game. It should be noted they were up 27-14 in the fourth quarter with 12 minutes to go when the Atlanta faithful started to head to the exits. Typical Atlanta sports fans. Quite amazingly, the Falcons stormed back to take a 28-27 lead late in the game. The Jets did get the ball back with some time left. Geno Smith lead the Jets back as he put them in position to win the game. Thanks to the right foot of kicker Nick Folk who booted a 43 yard field goal at the gun which gave the Jets a 30-28 comeback victory. It was a perfect way to end this memorable weekend down South.

It should be noted that during halftime, the Falcons honored former running back Gerald Riggs as they put him in their ring of honor.

After the game, Mark & I walked back to the car that I rented for the weekend. I wound up giving him a ride to the train station where he left his car. We proceeded to say our goodbyes. We both enjoyed each other's company. I want to personally thank Mark for joining me while I was in the area.

Stay tuned for another special post that will go into detail about my return to the Big Apple.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, November 11, 2013

Royalty goes to Nashville, Tennessee for football & meets up with roadtrippers old & new!

After spending the night at Knights Inn in Cookeville, Tennessee, I woke up early on Sunday morning October 6th so I could meet up with some people I know who drove from Kansas City to see their football teams play on the road. Thankfully I gained an hour once I left the Knoxville area as I went from the eastern time zone to the central time zone. I drove 180 miles to Nashville so I could meet up with Chris Coats aka KC Superfan & his girlfriend soon to be a Mommy, Brittani Murphy in February. Despite her stomach starting to show, she decided to go with her future husband to Nashville for the weekend. They drove 550 miles each way by car. They went to see their Missouri Tigers play against Vanderbilt on Saturday night. They arrived in the area early in the afternoon. When they did, they came across a brochure for a restaurant called the Loveless Cafe which was located in the western part of the city. Chris wrote me & he asked me if I ever heard of it. I told him no. Luckily while I was at the football game in Knoxville, I asked the young lady I was sitting next to about it because she told me she lived in Nashville. She told me it was very good. With that being said, I wrote Chris back & I told him I'll meet him there in the morning for breakfast instead of Cracker Barrel where we were planning to go. I told him I'll meet him there around 9AM. Unfortunately it wound up taking longer than I planned because this restaurant wasn't right off the interstate which cost me some time. In addition, I needed to stop for gas along the way. Thankfully they got there early & they put their name down for a table for us. When I finally arrived around 9:30AM or so, they were there waiting for me. We still wound up waiting for a while because this place was jam packed with people. It was an interesting set up there. They had a motel, a few stores to shop in as well as the restaurant to eat in. It was Sunday morning & everybody in the area was hungry. Finally around 10AM or so, we were seated.
We ordered our food & we spoke to each other while we waited for it to arrive. When it did, I told Chris this place is like Cracker Barrel on steroids. I had a massive ham steak that came with eggs, grits, homemade biscuits with sausage gravy & pancakes. It was a royal meal in every respect. I'm so glad we all decided to go there.

Prince at LP Field
After we ate, we followed each other so we could get to downtown Nashville together. We were going to LP Field, home of the Tennessee Titans who were hosting the Kansas City Chiefs who came into the game with a 4-0 record under new head coach Andy Reid who I saw when he returned to Philadelphia on Thursday night football in week three. We wound up parking our cars on the street for free & we took a nice stroll over to the Stadium. Chris told me he went on Stub Hub that morning & he bought tickets for him & Brittani. They got seats in the second row behind the Chiefs bench in section 113. I didn't have a ticket yet. As we were walking over one of the bridges that runs over the Cumberland River that goes to the stadium, I saw a guy who had an extra ticket. He said he wanted $40 for it. I told him I'll give him $20. After he thought about it, he decided to give to me for $20. It was located in the upper level in section 313. Since it was close to game time & there was a threat of rain, I decided to stay downstairs instead. I lucked out into four empty seats in the last row of section 114 which was on the 35 yard line. I even had cover since the last two or three rows were protected by a slight overhang. I wrote Chris & I told him if he & Brittani wanted to join me for the second half they could. I also didn't want them to get wet since it did start raining in the second quarter. I was nice & dry where I was sitting. The rain came & went throughout the rest of the game.

Scoreboard at LP Field
As for the game we saw, it turned out to be a good one. The Chiefs raced out to a 13-0 lead in the first half. The Titans came all the way back & they took a 17-13 lead in the third quarter. The Chiefs wound up scoring 13 more unanswered points to beat the Titans, 26-17. As a result, Chris & Brittani had a very happy ride back to Kansas City.

Brittani Murphy, Chris Coats & I at LP  Field
After we got back to our cars, we said our goodbyes. It was great to see them both again.

As for me, I drove to a nearby local bar/restaurant where I was meeting a guy who I know from Twitter who lives in Nashville. His name is Tyler Garret Smith. His twitter handle is @ArenaFanatic. I strongly suggest that if you're on twitter you should give him a follow. I wound up parking in front of the restaurant he suggested. Shortly after I did, he showed up. For some unknown reason, it was closed that day. Luckily there was a Logan's Roadhouse across the street so we went there instead. It was raining so I wound up moving the car into their parking lot. We went inside & we enjoyed dinner together. We got to talk for quite some time. I had a great meal that consisted of wood fired grilled salmon that came with broccoli & cole slaw. It was delicious.

As for Tyler, he works in management for Kroger which is a local supermarket. With that being said, his hours always change. With that being said, he couldn't join me for the football game because he was working. In his spare time, he does like to visit different sports venues on the pro & college levels. He does his own reviews when time allows after he goes somewhere. For example, I looked at his website, Arena Fanatic & I saw his take on different college football venues. He ranked the University of Tennessee as his number one college football venue. He also had Auburn at number four. I was considering going there. I asked him for his personal opinion & he told me & I quote "Neyland Stadium takes the cake." I was leaning towards going there the whole time. He put the icing on the cake for me if you will. He's married to a young lady who went to school at the University of Tennessee. As a result, he got to see some games there in the student section he said. It was an amazing experience. I can only imagine since my experience is so memorable.

After spending some quality time with him, we said our goodbyes. I want to personally thank him for making time to meet me when I was in the area. It was one of the many highlights of that weekend.
I got back in the car & I drove Tyler to his car that was parked on the street in the neighborhood. I then proceeded to drive back to Cookeville where I spent another night at Knights Inn. Before I got there, I stopped off at Steak N Shake which was at the exit before the hotel. I went inside & I ordered a vanilla shake to go for dessert.

Stay tuned for another special post that I'm going to do about that Monday night In Atlanta where I saw some football & I met another fellow roadtripper.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty schedule w/o 11/11

Here's the game plan:

Tuesday November 12th Predators at Islanders 7PM

Thursday November 14th Rockets at Knicks 8PM

Friday November 15th Kings at Devils 7PM

Saturday November 16th Navy Midshipmen at Binghamton Bearcats 2PM

                                        Texas Stars at Utica Comets 7PM

Sunday November 17th Jets at Bills 1PM

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 as I plan to do my some special posts that will go into detail about my adventurous month of October. Please bear with me as I try to find time to catch up. I keep falling further behind. Please be patient. It will be worth the wait.

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, November 7, 2013

Royalty goes to Knoxville, Tennessee to see a college football game at legendary Neyland Stadium!

My Name in Lights at Hertz in Atlanta #338
On Saturday morning October 5th I got up early so I could catch a 7AM flight on Delta Airlines to Atlanta, Georgia. I arrived there a half hour early than scheduled. As a result, I was able to go to Knoxville, Tennessee which was 220 miles was the airport. Upon arrival, I took the new ATL Sky Train from the airport to the car rental center. When I got there, I went to Hertz to pick up my car rental for the long weekend I had. When I got to the car they initially gave me as a #1 Club Gold member I was disappointed. It was a Chevy Aveo. When I turned it on, I saw the odometer said the car had 59,000 miles. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I've never rented a car with more than 35,000 miles. So I walked back to the area where I saw my name in lights. Shortly thereafter, I saw a customer service agent. I told her I can't take this car because it has too many miles. She proceeded to an exchange for me. She gave me a Ford C which was a hybrid car that I never heard of before. I walked over to the car & I saw it was a hatchback without a trunk so I went back again to get another car. This time she gave me a Hyundai Elantra. I was almost ready to drive off with it but when I went to adjust the rear view mirror it fell off. After trying to fix it myself, the manager came over to me. I told her what happened. She told me to pick out a car that was nearby. I decided to take a Chevy Cruze that she was kind enough to drive over to me. Finally after four tries, I got a car that met my standards. This car had only 4,397 miles on it & it was equipped with XM radio. Even though I wasted the time I made up thanks to Delta, I still decided to go to Knoxville so I could see Neyland Stadium which is located in downtown. The game between the Tennessee Volunteers & the visiting Georgia Bulldogs was kicking off at 3:30PM Eastern Time. I wound up leaving Hertz shortly after 10 AM.

First car space I was given
I wound up getting to Knoxville at 1:36PM that afternoon. I had to dodge some pockets of game traffic as I got closer. When I got off the interstate, I drove around the downtown vicinity looking for a parking spot. I noticed parking for $25, $20 & $10 before I came across a lot for $5 which I pulled into. I couldn't park at a meter since there was a two hour time limit. With that being said, I got a real bargain. Once I got myself situated, I walked over towards the stadium.

Since I didn't know for sure I was going there I didn't buy a ticket in advance. They did have tickets at the box office for $80 though. I didn't want to pay that much for the game. So I walked around until I found an area where people were trying to sell their extra tickets. I decided to pass up tickets for $60, $50, $40 & $30. I offered a guy $20 & he said he would take $30. I insisted on $20. He decided to settle for $25 for a seat in the end zone that was 32 rows up. I told him you got a deal. I proceeded to walk inside the stadium. When I got to see the field, I was in awe. I've always heard great things about it. When I finally got to see it for my own eyes, I wasn't disappointed. What a venue it was. It sits over 100,000 people. I savored the moment long before the game even started. I got my money's worth & then some. After I took in the different views on the lower level, I walked along the concourse before I decided to go to my seat so I could get ready for the game. I also got to enjoy the band who were performing on the field especially when they played Rocky Top, the unofficial school fight song. They finished their routine by forming the Power T. Seats in general appeared to be few & far between but I lucked out as I had an extra seat on the bench I was sitting on. I did have a nice young lady sitting next to me. She told me she went to school there. I told her about some of the different college venues I've been to since she asked me who I was rooting for. She was very knowledgeable & I enjoyed her company. During the first half, a guy who was all the way down low in the section got her attention & he told her to come down. It wound up being her husband. She decided to wait until half time before she joined him. When she left I had more space for myself. During the intermission, I turned around & I started talking to some more friendly people who were behind me. They were also fans of the Volunteers. We wound up chatting the rest of the game.

View from my seat at Neyland Stadium
Tennessee Band in the Power T formation
As for the game we saw, the Volunteers fell behind 17-3 in the first half. In the second half, they staged a comeback. They even took the lead late in the game but the Georgia Bulldogs were able to tie it up late as they were able to force overtime. The game was tied at 31. The Volunteers got the ball first in overtime. They appeared to be on their way to a possible touchdown but they wound up losing the ball as they fumbled. The ball went out of bounds in the end zone which resulted in a touchback for the Bulldogs. They took over & they kicked a field goal that gave them a 34-31 victory. It was an exciting game that the Volunteers should have won but they wound up giving it away.

After the game, I walked back to the car. I had to deal with some game traffic as I made my way towards Cookeville where I was spending the night at Knights Inn. I wound up driving 10 miles from Knoxville so I could have my post game dinner at Sonny's Bar-B-Q which I had mapped out in advance. I was so hungry. I wound up getting the all you could eat ribs that they were offering. Luckily I got there just in time to do so. Shortly after I placed my order, other people came in but they were told that deal was no longer in effect.

I took full advantage as I filled up my empty stomach. I came hungry & I left very happy. You can't beat southern hospitality. When I finally finished eating, I got back in the car & I drove 90 miles to the hotel where I called it a night.

Stay tuned for another special post that will go into detail about my latest visit to Nashville.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, November 4, 2013

Royalty goes to Prudential Center to see NJ Devils' Home Opener!

When September ended so did the regular season for baseball. As for me, my baseball games were going to be few & far between if I got to see any more.

With that being said, it was time to gear up for the fall & winter sports on a regular basis.

With a limited number of sporting events in the area during the month of October, I had to find a way to keep myself busy. Luckily I was able to go out to Newark, NJ after work on Friday, October 4th as the NJ Devils played their home opener against their local area rival, the NY Islanders at the Prudential Center. The Devils lost their first game the night before in Pittsburgh as the Penguins shut them out.

I wound up meeting my pal Mike Carroll who bought the King's ticket for the game since he wound up going to Boston to see the Red Sox play the Rays in the American League Division Series at Fenway Park instead. After I got delayed due to signal problems on the Path train, I finally got to meet up with Mike outside the arena around 6:40PM. As a result, I decided to get a spinach stromboli at the Rock for dinner. It turned out to be a wise move since it was getting close to game time.

Home Opener at Prudential Center
When I finished eating, I went up to my seat in section 226 row 6 where I was joined by Mike Carroll & my other buddy Vincent Ascanio who was present & accounted for. After the first intermission, I walked around the concourse & I saw Domish, the hockey king if you will.

As for the game we saw, the Devils scored their first goal of the season 2:59 into the first period when Damien Brunner lit the lamp to give the Devils a 1-0 lead. The Islanders tied the game at one later in the period when Michael Grabner of the Islanders got the equalizer. Both teams exchanged goals in the second & third periods as Michael Grabner got two of them. As for the Devils, they tied the game at three 7:34 into the third period when Damien Brunner added his second goal of the game. After playing a scoreless five minute overtime session, the game was decided by a shootout. In the skills competition, both teams showed their incompetence. Neither team could score for the first five rounds. Finally in the sixth round, Matt Moulson of the Islanders scored the one & only goal of the shootout. As a result, the Islanders emerged victorious, 4-3.

Stay tuned for a series of special posts that will recap my memorable weekend getaway to the Southeast over the first weekend in October.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Royalty schedule w/o 11/4

Here's the game plan:

Tuesday November 5th Jazz at Nets 7:30PM

Wednesday November 6th Houston Dynamo at Red Bulls 8PM Eastern Conference Semifinals Leg 2

Friday November 8th St. Francis (PA) Red Flash at Fordham Rams 8:30PM

Saturday November 9th Richmond Spiders at Stonybrook Seawolves 1PM

                                      Pacers at Nets 7:30PM

Sunday November 10th Raiders at Giants 1PM

                                      Predators at Devils 7PM

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 as I plan to do my some special posts that will go into detail about my adventurous month of October. Please bear with me as I try to find time to catch up. I keep falling further behind. Please be patient. It will be worth the wait.

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

Friday, November 1, 2013

Royalty w/o 9/23 in review

Monday night after work I came home & I made myself dinner before I went around the corner & did my laundry.

Tuesday night after work I went up to the Bronx to see the Yankees play the Tampa Bay Rays as they were wrapping up their last home stand of the regular season with a three game set before they went to Houston for the final weekend. It was also farewell to Mariano Rivera as he was retiring at the end of the season. When I got off the subway I went to the Court Deli Restaurant & I bought myself a corned beef sandwich to take into Yankee Stadium.

When I got to the Stadium there was a mob of people looking to go inside. It was Mariano Rivera bobblehead doll night for the first 18,000 fans who entered the ballpark. Due to a transportation issue, the bobbleheads weren't at the ballpark when the gates opened. While they waited for them to arrive, the Yankees gave out a voucher to those who were able to get inside before they ran out of them. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't one of the lucky ones. I wasn't alone. There were many disgruntled fans at the guest services booth inside gate 6 in right field when I was trying to get my ballpark pass-port book stamped. I really didn't care if I got a bobblehead doll or not. There were plenty of other people who did but they got turned away when they ran of the vouchers which people were able to exchange during the game once they made an announcement that they finally arrived. I heard rumors that the people in the legends seats got theirs delivered to them by Yankee Stadium employees. Everyday people like myself got treated like second class citizens. That's just the way it is. In all fairness, they should given out the bobbleheads to all fans in attendance. That way if you were able to come to the ballpark that night you got rewarded with a bobblehead doll. That is the case in some ballparks but not here in the Bronx. After I survived the chaos in the Great Hall, I took the elevator upstairs like I always do.

When I finally arrived at my seat in section 420B row 7, I was greeted by William Frank Guthrie & Larry Peim who were present & accounted for that night. They both got vouchers since they were able to get to the ballpark early. However, they still had to go all the way out to left field to pick up their bobblehead dolls. I was told the line was wrapped around the ramps. It was a total inconvenience for those who indeed got the vouchers. With that being said, I'm glad I didn't get one. In that regard, I consider myself lucky. It wouldn't have been worth the hassle to miss part of the game just to get the bobblehead doll even if it was Mariano Rivera. I heard they were instantly being sold on e-bay for $65-$100 each. I wouldn't have minded getting the money for it if I was able to get one. I mainly came to see the game first & foremost. If I got a bobblehead it would have been a bonus for me.

Speaking of the game, it didn't start off well for the Yankees as the Rays scored three runs off of Yankee starter Hiroki Kuroda in the first inning which included a lead off home run by Matt Joyce. It was a pop up that landed on the porch in right field. The Rays added insult to injury as they went on to beat the Yankees, 7-0. By doing so, they pushed the Yankees closer to the brink of elimination.

Wednesday night after work I returned to the Bronx for game two of the three game series between the Yankees & the Rays. Before I went into the Stadium, I stopped off at Burger King for dinner.
When I made up to my seat that night, I was joined by my pal Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich & fellow sports traveler Charlie O'Reilly who was also there.

As for the game we saw, the Rays had their hitting shoes on again as they beat the Yankees, 8-3. David Price started the game for the Rays & he threw seven strong innings allowing just two runs. He was aided by teammate Evan Longoria who hit two home runs, a three run blast in the sixth inning & a solo shot in the ninth for good measure. As a result, the Yankees were officially eliminated from the postseason for only the second time in 19 years. The other time they were knocked out was in 2008 that was the last year of the old Stadium that was across the street. The irony this time is that Andy Pettitte & Mariano Rivera are both retiring.

Thursday night after work I decided to pass up the opportunity to see Mariano Rivera's last game at Yankee Stadium. Instead I decided to go to Citi Field since the Mets were also home as they opened a four game season ending series with the Milwaukee Brewers. By doing so, I got to say hello to my pal Sam Citron upon entry to the Rotunda. In addition, I decided to have dinner at Shake Shack out in the area beyond the Apple in center field. It was a wise decision since there was nobody on line like they're normally is. I wound up getting myself a double cheese burger, an order of fries & a vanilla shake for $21.50. Thankfully I had some Citi Tuesday cards left over so I decided to splurge. It was really good but I don't think it's worth the money they charge for it. When I got done, I walked around to the other side of the ballpark then I took the elevator up to my usual perch on the promenade level. On this night I sat in section 515 along with Alan Gimpel, Frank Anichiarico, Pat Gorman, Vincent Ascanio & Manny Morales. Of course the King was also present & accounted for. In addition, later in the game I got a special visit from another ballpark chaser who happens to live on the Upper West Side here in NYC. I'm referring to David Schaffer who came up to meet & greet me. He said he was sitting downstairs on the field level with people he went to college with at Albany back in the day. I want to personally thank him for coming up. It was an absolute pleasure to meet & greet him. We got to exchange different travel stories from some of our adventures over the years. I hope our paths cross more often in the future.

As for the game we saw, the Brewers went on to beat the Mets, 4-2 in front of a sparse crowd who showed up that night. It was nice & relaxing to be there as opposed to the Bronx where it was jam packed due to Mariano Rivera's last game at Yankee Stadium.

Rose honored at Citi Field before the game
Friday night after work I returned to Citi Field for game two of the four game series with the Brewers. This time after I saw Sam I went up to field level. I stayed there before the game started because a lady I know from going there all the time named Rose was being honored as for being team member of the year. She's such a nice person who definitely deserved to be recognized & she was. When she walked back into the stands I got her attention from a distance. After that, I went upstairs & I bought myself a few slices of pizza from Two Boots which is really good as well.

When I finished eating I went up to section 515 where I met up with Alan Gimpel, Al Linderman, Pat Gorman, Frank Anichiarico & Michael Carson.

As for the game we saw, the Mets fell to the Brewers again, 4-2. After the game, the King, Bryan Gilligan, Frank Anichiarico & I went to Donovan's Pub where we met up with Charlie Casiano, the King's brother for a post game meal.

Saturday afternoon the King & I got to Citi Field early because it was season ticket holder appreciation day. We got to partake in a gathering in the center field area where they served us food & soft drinks. It was a nice social get together. When we got done we went upstairs to section 516 where we met up with some special guests. I'm talking about the King's father, Miguel Casiano who was celebrating his 83rd birthday along with his son & the King's brother, Charlie. In addition, Pat Gorman, Manny Morales, Marc Beck & Alan Gimpel were on hand for the festivities.

As for the game we saw, the Brewers beat the Mets again, 4-2 in ten innings as former Met Carlos Gomez delivered the game winning hit to give the Brewers the lead & Yuniesky Betancourt got a hit to provide insurance just in case.

After the game, we went to Donovan's Pub again to celebrate the special occasion which turned out to be a family reunion as Susan Casiano, their sister joined us for the post game celebration. It turned out to be quite a day.

Mike Piazza gets inducted into Mets Hall of Fame
Sunday afternoon the King & I returned to Citi Field for the last time this season as the Mets closed out the season by honoring former Met catcher Mike Piazza who was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame that afternoon. As a result, there was a rare capacity crowd on hand to salute him.

As for people we knew, we had Mike Carroll, Michael Carson & Alan Gimpel there with us. In addition, a few fellow ballpark chasers who I met at Citi Field in the beginning of August were back. I'm referring to Stephanie aka Snarky Mamacita & her boyfriend Todd Dupee. It was nice to see them both again.

As for the game we saw, the Mets managed to salvage a game after losing the first three games of the series. The Mets took advantage of a few costly errors by the Brewers in the bottom of the eighth inning which helped the Mets score a pair of runs as they beat the Brewers, 3-2 to end the season on a high note.

Stay tuned for a number of special posts that will go into detail about my adventurous month of October.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,


Gary Herman