Royalty Tours USA

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Royalty is going back to the Bay Area in November!

Now that the World Series is over & the San Francisco Giants are World Champions again, the King & I are returning the City by the Bay in November. Better late than never. We missed out on going to the World Series but we have other places to see & do. After all, we're human & we can't do everything.

Here's the game plan:

Thursday November 20th we have a flight booked on Delta Airlines that departs JFK Airport at 7AM Eastern Time we're scheduled to arrive in San Francisco, California at 10:39AM Pacific Time.

Upon arrival, I'll be renting a car from Alamo for the weekend.

Thursday November 20th Chiefs at Raiders 5:25PM Pacific Time
                                              
Friday November 21st Utah Jazz at Golden State Warriors 7:30PM Pacific Time

Saturday November 22nd Stanford Cardinal at California Golden Bears TBA

                                          Bakersfield Condors at Stockton Thunder 7:30PM

Sunday November 23rd Redskins at 49ers 1:25PM  


 
                         
We'll be flying back home Sunday night. Our flight on Delta Airlines departs San Francisco at 9:25PM Pacific Time. We arrive at JFK Airport at 5:44AM Eastern Time.

Please feel free to check back for all the details of how this getaway played out. It's going to be a blast.

If you want to join us, please let me know so I can arrange to make it happen. I already have some meet ups planned but there's always room for more company. Just let me know.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, October 27, 2014

Royalty schedule w/o 10/27

Here's the game plan:

Thursday October 30th Jets at Devils 7PM

Saturday November 1st  Charleston Southern Buccaneers at Monmouth Hawks 1PM  

                                        Blue Jackets at Devils 7PM

Sunday November 2nd  DC United at Red Bulls 4PM

                                        Hornets at Knicks 7:30PM

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 continue to write about the highlights of my baseball season in August & September. 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

Monday, October 20, 2014

Royalty schedule w/o 10/20

Here's the game plan:

Tuesday October 21st Maple Leafs at Islanders 7PM

Wednesday October 22nd Montreal Impact at Red Bulls 8PM  

Friday October 24th Stars at Devils 7PM

Saturday October 25th Stony Brook Seawolves at New Hampshire Wildcats 3PM

                                     Providence Bruins at Manchester Monarchs 7PM  

Sunday October 26th Bills at Jets 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 continue to write about the highlights of my baseball season in August & September. 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, October 16, 2014

Royalty goes to Gwinnett to see the other Braves play in August!‏

Welcome to the Peach State
After spending the night in Chattanooga, Tennessee, I returned to the Peach State to wrap up my weekend getaway down South. Since the Atlanta Braves had their game changed from a day game to a night game to accommodate ESPN, I decided to go to Gwinnett that afternoon instead. I knew all along that was going to happen. I didn't wait for the official announcement. I decided that it made more sense for me to fly back that Sunday night from Atlanta . I didn't want to get up extra early to go back home bright & early Monday morning since I had another busy day planned which included doing a lot more driving. As it turned out my pal Gio Gonzalez was pitching that night too since the Braves were playing the Nationals. As they say, you win some, you lose some. I made the best of the circumstances I was given.

On my way to Gwinnett which is a suburb north of Atlanta‎, I stopped off at a Waffle House where I got to enjoy a royal breakfast to start my day off right. It worked out well as I wound up pressing for time. They serve food good fast as they like to say. I was a satisfied customer. After I got done eating, I got back in the car & I  finished the drive to Lawrenceville which is the town in Gwinnett county. When I got off the highway, I had to drive a few miles to get to Coolray Field which is where the Gwinnett Braves play. They're the Triple A affiliate of their parent club, the Atlanta Braves. That day they were playing the Norfolk Tides, the Baltimore Orioles' farm team. 
 
Coolray Field, Home of the Gwinnett Braves 
Upon entry, I went to the guest services booth where I was greeted by a gentleman named Dan. He made me feel right at home. He thanked me for coming out to the game. I told him it was my first visit. He told me I'm happy you're here. After talking for a few minutes with him, I went on my merry way. He directed me to the team store since they didn't have the passport stamp at that booth anymore. He said they used to. He searched high & low before he asked a co-worker for assistance. That person told him they have it at the team store. I proceeded to go there. After I got validated, I went & I sat down behind home plate so I could relax & enjoy the game.
 
Here's my official stamp
Here I am getting ready for the game to start





As for the game I saw, the hometown Braves wound up blanking the Tides, 2-0. The Braves got a fine performance out of their starter, Mike Wright who threw seven shutout innings. The bullpen preserved the last two innings as the people who showed up got to go home happy.

After the game, I drove an hour or so to the airport which is located south of downtown. I had to maneuver around some traffic as I approached downtown Atlanta. I saw a sign that said a few lanes were closed, so I got off the highway as I noticed the traffic building up to a standstill & I drove around on the streets in the downtown area before I was able to get back on the highway to get to the airport. Since it took me longer than I expected, I decided to go right to the airport instead of stopping somewhere to have dinner along the way. I stopped off for gas right near the exit for the airport then I returned the Chevy Sonic I rented for the weekend to Hertz. I wound up driving 1,004 miles safely. I proceeded to check in for my flight on Delta Airlines. After I got through security, I saw a Bojangles' which is a fried chicken restaurant near my gate. I  decided it was "Bo time" if you will. That's what their slogan said. I sat down, relaxed & I enjoyed some more Southern Hospitality before it was time for me to depart for my flight back home. 

While I waited for my flight to leave, I got to follow the game I was missing at Turner Field in Atlanta on my phone using the MLB At Bat app. Since Gio was pitching I was following it very closely as I always do when he pitches. He struggled in the first inning. He then seemed to have settled down for the next two innings. Since it was time to take off, I couldn't follow anymore. When I landed at LaGuardia shortly after 11PM that night, I found out that Gio got roughed up. With that being said, in retrospect, I made the right decision after all. I would have loved to have seen him pitch regardless but the way it turned out I may have had more trouble sleeping.

Stay tuned for another special post I'm going to be that will recap that memorable Monday I had.

Thank you for reading ‎& following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, October 13, 2014

Royalty schedule w/o 10/13

Here's the game plan:

Thursday October 16th Hurricanes at Rangers 7PM

Sunday October 19th Falcons 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 continue to write about the highlights of my baseball season in August & September. 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, October 10, 2014

A Royal return to Nashville, Tennessee in August!‏

Last October I went to Nashville aka Music City to see the Tennessee Titans play at LP Field. This time after spending the night in East Memphis, I drove to Nashville with the intentions of seeing the Nashville Sounds, the Triple A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers play‎ at Herschel Greer Stadium which is notorious for its unique guitar shaped scoreboard in left field. After playing 37 years of hits, this was the last year they were playing there hence the slogan, Last Cheer at Greer. With being said, I purposely made this trip with that in mind. Ironically the Titans were home for a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers as well. 

Me outside Pringles Park in Jackson, Tennessee
After having a royal breakfast at Baymont Inn & Suites, I drove across middle Tennessee. I stopped off in Jackson which is the home of the Double A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, the Jackson Generals. I drove a short distance off the highway & I made a quick stop to go see their ballpark which is called Pringles Park. After I walked around for a short time, I got back in the car & I continued on. I wound up getting to the Nashville area around 3:30PM. I decided to take a ride to the ballpark to check it out before I ate dinner at a highly recommended restaurant called Monell's in Germantown. Since dinner wasn't being served until 5PM, I had some spare time. The ballpark was a few miles away from the downtown area.

Monell's in Germantown

Monell's where you feel right at home
When I got back to Monell's, I parked the car & I waited with bunch of other people until it was time for dinner. It was quite an experience. I wound up sitting at a table with 14 other people. We got to pass around food the table until our hearts were content. Among the different people who were there, a couple came all the way from Poland to visit our country & they also got to experience life in the South. 

My dinner at Monell's
As they say there, we show your mouth to the South. Did they ever? I wound up having plenty of great food which consisted of southern fried chicken, catfish, corn pudding, biscuits & gravy, turnips, mashed potatoes, pulled pork & macaroni & cheese. It was Southern Hospitality at its finest. 

First Tennessee Park - New Home of the Nashville Sounds
I want to personally thank fellow ballpark chaser Steven Burke for the amazing suggestion. When I walked out, I was stuffed. If I get to go back someday, I can go to see the new ballpark that's being built for the Sounds. It's scheduled to open for the 2015 season. It's right near downtown within walking distance of Monell's. It will be called First Tennessee Park.

Me outside the Greer before I ate dinner at Monell's
37 Years of Hits
Guitar scoreboard in left field
Official stamp showing I was physically there
Tarp covering the field
I'm not happy after the game was rained out
I proceeded to drive back to Herschel Greer Stadium. I parked the car & as I approached the ballpark, ‎I noticed the skies didn't look good. I knew trouble in the form of rain was on the way. Sure enough, right after I walked into the ballpark, the skies opened. The rain came pouring down on my parade. I wound up sitting under cover behind home plate. The field was covered but the outfield was drenched with puddles everywhere. With that being said, I knew they had no chance of playing the game. A little kid who was sitting next to me was so upset. As for me, I was too but there was nothing I could do about it. I just had to accept the fact I wasn't going to get to see a game played there. However I did get my minor league passport book stamped to prove I was in the ballpark. After they waited a while, they made the announcement that the game was rained out. In retrospect, it was probably a blessing in disguise. I did have a long ride ahead of me. I got back to the car & I drove to Chattanooga, Tennessee where I spent the night at Super 8. In the process, I lost an hour due to the time zone change.

Stay tuned for another special post that will go into detail about the last day of the getaway.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly‎,

Gary Herman