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

Royalty returns to NYC to take in Fan Fest at Jacob Javits Center!

Monday morning July 14th I went to Avis and I returned the Chevy Cruze I rented for the weekend. I drove 1,143 miles safely.

I took vacation days from work that Monday & Tuesday so I could enjoy the All-Star game festivities with getting too stressed out doing so. It was much more relaxing that way.

Me at the Fan fest

As a result, I took a few buses to the subway as I made my way into Manhattan so I could go to the All-Star Fan Fest that was taking place at the Jacob Javits Center on the West side of midtown Manhattan.

Daily Events at Fan Fest 

The Fan Fest consisted of a number of different areas that define the history of the game of baseball. They had a section that honored the Negro Leagues, the Minor Leagues and the Major Leagues. It was a one stop shop for baseball fans of all ages. People from all over the country were walking around taking in the festive and educational atmosphere.

It should be noted they had different interactive areas for people of all ages to participate in. In addition, there were different players signing autographs at different times for those who like to collect players' signatures from years past. They had some former Mets and Hall of Famers doing the honors.

Furthermore, they had different booths where people were selling and promoting merchandise of the game of baseball.

It was a nice way for everybody to take part in the festivities even if they couldn't make it out to the ballpark.

I really enjoyed the time I spent there. Believe it or not, it was the first All-Star Fan Fest that I've attended.

Stay tuned for a special post I'm going to do that will go into detail about one of the vendors I saw while I was there.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty visits Albuquerque for the very first time!

The Pit - Home of the University of New Mexico 

The King and I woke up very early Thursday morning so we could get to LaGuardia airport to catch our 6:05AM flight on American Airlines to Dallas-Ft.Worth where we connected to our flight to Albuquerque, New Mexico. We landed and we arrived at the gate right on time at 11:15AM Mountain Time.

Upon arrival I rented a car from Alamo for the weekend. I reserved a compact car. I went out to pick a car and the young man told me they only had two left and they were hatchbacks which means they had no trunk. I told him I need a trunk. He said to go ahead and take the Chevy Cruze, a mid size car which was equipped with a XM radio too. He said it's a free upgrade. What a royal way to start the trip.

The King and I got in the car and off we went. Thankfully we were only a few miles from The Pit, home of the University of New Mexico Lobos basketball team where we were meeting up with Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell aka USRT from Buffalo. They're regulars when it comes to attending these kind of events. They arrived in Albuquerque on Wednesday afternoon. I wrote Andrew on the way to car rental so I could find out the parking options since we were in a rush. He said you could park right near the arena for $20 or he saw an area not far away where people were parking for free. He gave me the exact address. I went on google maps and I plugged it in. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise since we were pressed for time to make the opening tip off at 12:10PM for the first of four games that were going to be played. Mind you were still needed tickets. I wound up rounding up a pair for $50 for the King & I and we just got in the building in time for opening tip between the Wisconsin Badgers the four seed and the Montana Grizzlies a thirteen seed.

The Pit was hosting the second and third round of the NCAA tournament. In other words, a portion of March Madness.

We got in contact with Andrew and Peter and we all wound up sitting together for the game.
As for the first game we saw, it was somewhat close in the first half as the Badgers held the lead. In the second half, they pulled away as they moved on to the next round with a 73-49 victory. As for the Grizzlies, they were one and done.

As Jay Z says, it was on to the next one. In game two of the first session the fifth seeded Vanderbilt Commodores were taking on the twelfth seeded Harvard Crimson who were playing in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1946. It should be noted that's where Jeremy Lin of the Knicks went to school.

On our plane ride from Dallas to Albuquerque, I did noticed a handful of people who were wearing their Harvard gear. It's safe to assume they were going to the game too.

As for the game we saw, the Commodores outlasted the Crimson, 79-70. Harvard hung tough but they ran out of gas in the latter part of the second half as Vanderbilt moved on to the next round.

After that game, we had to leave the building so they could get ready for the next session which was two more games.

Unlike Andrew and Peter, who had bought tickets in advance for all three sessions as a package, the King and I weren't certain of our game plan so we decided to wait and see. By doing so, we needed to find another pair of tickets outside so we could reenter the Pit for session two. Luckily they're were a number of people who were looking to dump extra tickets they had. I wound up getting a great deal $40 for a pair and we went back in once they allowed us to reenter.

We once again we reunited with Andrew and Peter and we sat in the same place that we watched the first session from.

This time we saw the third seeded Baylor Bears play the fourteenth seeded Jack Rabbits of South Dakota State.

As for the game we saw, the Jack Rabbits raced out to 8-0 lead but unfortunately for them they petered out fast as the Bears decked out in their wild neon green uniforms blew past the Jack Rabbits as they advanced to the next round, 68-60.

In the fourth and final game of the day, we saw the UNLV Runnin' Rebels, a sixth seed played the Buffaloes of Colorado, an eleventh seed who were playing in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2003.
In the first three games we saw the higher seeded team won. Now the question was will we see four out of four.

Our friend Phil Butleman is a big fan of UNLV. Too bad he couldn't join us. In his absence, we were pulling for his team.

As for the game we saw, the Runnin' Rebels got run off the court by the Buffaloes much to the delight of the crowd which was mixed throughout the day. At night the Buffaloes who had the most support in the stands rose to the occasion as they beat UNLV, 68-64 to move on to the next round.

The King and I had a long day and we saw history because this was the first time we've ever seen four games in a day on any level.

The last game ended just before 11PM local time. After the game we dropped off Andrew and Peter at their nearby hotel. They were planning to go to Santa Fe to sight see on Friday during the day and they were going to see the University of New Mexico play a college baseball game Friday night.

The King and I decided to take a 400 plus mile ride to Arizona so we could take in a few Spring Training games while we were out there.

We drove to Holbrook, Arizona which was 234 miles from the Pit in Albuquerque to spend the night at Super 8.

Stay tuned as I will do a special post that will recap the way we spent our Friday out further West.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman