Royalty is going to Pittsburgh & Cleveland to see baseball over Memorial Day weekend!

Here's the game plan:

I'm renting a car on Friday May 22nd from Payless Car Rental for Memorial Day weekend.

The King  & I will be driving out to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania early Saturday morning then to Cleveland, Ohio before we return home late Sunday night/early Monday morning.

Saturday May 23rd Mets at Pirates 4:05PM

Sunday May 24th Reds at Indians 1:10PM

If you're interested in going on this exclusive getaway royalty style just let me know so I can arrange to have you join us.

It's going to be a blast so why not come for a "royal" ride.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty meets up with Rick Morris of the FDH Lounge in Cleveland, Ohio in the middle of May!‏

On Saturday, May 17th I woke up early so I could go to Avis to pick up a car rental for the weekend. I wound up getting a Ford Focus since that's all they had left. I drove it back home so I could pick up the King as we drove all day to go to Cleveland, Ohio. We stopped off at the rest area in Pennsylvania just past the Delaware Water Gap just before 1PM. Luckily we got there at the right time. When we came out of the rest room, the line was a mile long. A few buses pulled in for a pit stop on their way to Yankee Stadium. The Yankees were playing the Pirates that day at 4:05PM. There was a mixture of Yankee & Pirate fans. As I say, timing is everything. I was beside myself but I was all smiles when I got there. 

Reason to smile

We got back in the car ‎& I drove to Brookville, PA where we got gas & made to order food at Sheetz around 3:45PM. I wound up eating my chicken fingers & mozzarella sticks in the car as we continued on to Cleveland. We arrived there shortly after 6PM. I arranged to meet up with our pal Rick Morris of the FDH Lounge outside Progressive Field, home of the Indians by the Bob Feller statue. I called him when I was 20 miles from downtown. He told me he was there already. He said he was going to stop off at a local bar so he could watch the Preakness. I told him I'll see him by the statue when he got done. We wound up meeting up around 6:30PM. We had bought some cheap tickets in advance so we were able to head right inside once we met up. We wound up meeting the King who was inside already in section 554 upstairs behind home plate. 

Me by Bob Feller statue

View from section 554

As for the game we saw, the Indians were hosting the Oakland Athletics on this night. Former Met & Indian Scott Kazmir was starting for the A's. Thanks to home plate umpire Jerry Layne he wasn't long for the night. He wound up getting ejected for complaining about the strikeout zone or the lack thereof. He lasted just one ‎& a third innings. He gave up a run on a wild pitch while walking three & striking out one. However he got off the hook for the loss thanks to his teammate, third baseman Josh Donaldson who tied the game at one with a run scoring single in the top of the third inning which was followed by a two run homer by first baseman Brandon Moss which gave the A's a 3-1 lead. The Tribe got a run back in the bottom of the sixth inning thanks to a sacrifice fly by shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera to make it a 3-2 game. The Athletics wound up putting the game away with three more runs in the top of the seventh inning when Josh Donaldson & Brandon Moss struck again. This time Donaldson delivered a two run triple & Moss added a run scoring double to give the A's a 6-2 victory. Relief pitcher Dan Otero threw three & two thirds of shutout relief to earn the win. Josh Tomlin who started for the Indians suffered the loss despite getting a quality start as he went six innings allowing three earned runs. The bullpen let it slip away once he came out. 

Regardless of the outcome, it was great to spend some quality time with our pal Rick Morris who's a big fan of the King & I. I want to thank him for always making time to join us when we come to visit. 

After we said our goodbyes to him, we walked back to the car ‎& we drove 200 miles to Somerset, PA where we spent the night at Days Inn.

Stay tuned for another special post that will recap how we spent that Sunday.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 6/3 in review

Monday night after work I went up to the Bronx to see the Yankees open up a three game series with the Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium. Before I went inside, I walked a few blocks to 900 Gerard Avenue which is where the New Sunflower Chinese restaurant is located. I had my pre game meal there which consisted of fried scallops and fries. It was made to order so it came out steaming hot. I did enjoy it. After I ate, I walked over to the Stadium and I went upstairs to my seat in section 420B. When I got there, I was joined by David Sack and his friend Andrew who likes the Yankees. It was nice to see them again.

As for the game we saw, the Bleacher Creatures out in right field did their usual roll call for the Yankees when they were in the field to start the game. They also did a special version when the Yankees batted since this game marked the return of former Yankee and one of their favorite players, Nick Swisher who signed with Indians in the off season as a free agent. They acknowledged Swisher who was playing first base. Swisher responded by giving them his signature salute. It was a nice touch by the fans. It should be noted that when he took his first at bat that he got a nice ovation as well. He also drove in the game's first run in the top of the third inning on a fielder's choice off of Yankee starter Andy Pettitte who was making his 500th career start. Mark Teixeira gave the Yankees' a 4-1 lead as he hit a fly ball that barely landed on the porch in right field for a grand slam that cleared the bases off of Indians' starter Justin Masterson. The Indians rallied to tie the game at four in the top of the fifth inning as Mike Aviles hit a sacrifice fly to Robinson Cano who was out in the outfield back pedaling so he couldn't throw out Drew Stubbs who led off the inning with a double to make it 4-2. After Andy Pettitte got the second out of the inning, he walked Nick Swisher and Mark Reynolds. Carlos Santana followed with a two run ground rule double which tied the game at four. As a result, Andy Pettitte was pulled from the game. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Yankees regained the lead, 6-4 as Brett Gardner got a clutch two out single to center field. In the seventh inning, former Indian Travis Hafner hit a solo home run to extend the Yankee lead to 7-4. Mariano Rivera came on in the ninth inning and he allowed a lead off single to Michael Bourn but he then retired the next three batters including Nick Swisher who ended the game with a fly out to left. By doing so, Mariano notched his 20th save of the season and his 628th of his career in front of an announced crowd of 40,007.

Tuesday night after work I returned to the Bronx for game two of the series between the Yankees and the Indians. This time I stopped off at the Court Deli Restaurant and I bought myself a corned beef sandwich which I ate at my seat in section 420B row 7. Shortly after I sat down to eat, my pal and avid reader of my blog, Greg Venuto came by to say hello. He said he was sitting out in section 306 row 2 with his cousin. We got to speak briefly. As always, it was nice to see him again.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees got six shutout innings from their starter David Phelps who got run support from his teammates who made their four run third inning stand up enabling him to pick up the win. Ichiro Suzuki drove in the first run on a single to left and a few batters later Mark Teixeira put one on the porch again in right field for a three run homer to make it 4-0 off of former Met Scott Kazmir who started the game for the Indians. The Indians made it close in the top of the seventh inning when Drew Stubbs hit a three run homer off of reliever Joba Chamberlain to cut the lead to 4-3. The Yankees held on as David Robertson pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Mariano Rivera threw a 1,2,3 ninth to seal the deal. It was his 21st save of the season and the 629th of his career.

Wednesday night after work I met my parents for dinner at Romano's Famous Pizza and Gyro in Astoria. I got a pleasant surprise because they wound up bringing my niece Taylor and my nephew Jeremy with them. It was great to see them all again. As for dinner, we had all some pizza along with gyro and chicken souvlaki. It was all delicious. After we said our goodbyes, I went home to relax for the rest of the night.

Thursday night after work I went home and I made myself dinner then I watched game one of the NBA Finals on TV as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Miami Heat thanks to an amazing shot in the closing seconds by Tony Parker.

Friday night after work I wound up going home thanks to mother nature which caused the game between the Mets and the Marlins to get postponed at Citi Field. I wound up staying home with the King and we watched the baseball games that were played on TV that night.

Stay tuned for a special post that will recap the way we spent our weekend.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty meets up with Roadtrippers New and Old in Cleveland at Progressive Field!

Ada Kurinsky

Last year on July 27th when the King and I went to Cleveland to see the Indians play we got to show up and coming roadtripper Paul Derrick the way. It was his first visit to Progressive Field. It turned out to be a very memorable one too. He got a surprise treat and so did we. We all saw Ervin Santana of the Angels pitch a no hitter against the Indians. It was extra special because it was the first one Paul had ever seen.

The King and I unexpectedly returned to Cleveland on August 27th thanks to Hurricane Irene who was bearing down on NYC. The King told me to get him a car rental so we can see some baseball elsewhere. He drove us to Cleveland and we saw the Tribe play again. This time our buddy Rick Morris of the FDH Lounge had the privilege and honor of taking in a ballgame with us for the first time. We met him for the first time briefly at a Cleveland Browns game back on November 14, 2010. Needless to say, Rick had a blast. We saw one of his favorite players, Jim Thome hit a home run as he had returned for a second tour of duty with the Indians. It was a very special moment for him as it brought back fond memories.

This time we made our annual visit to see the Marlins play the Indians on Sunday afternoon. Ironically we saw the Indians play the Marlins back on June 8, 2004 in Cleveland too.

I did tell Rick Morris back on November 20, 2011 when he interviewed me that May 20th we planned to return to the Rock N Roll City. As the day got closer, I got in contact with a gentleman named Keir Kurinsky who started following me on Twitter. He said he was taking his one year old daughter Ada to all eighty one games with him this season. I thought that was rather cool and unique. He said his wife is 100% behind him doing so. I must say he's a very lucky man. His daughter was adorable. As the game got closer, we arranged to meet up. He told me he had two extra tickets available for us. He was kind enough to hook us up and he met us right outside the gate too. We all introduced each other and we proceeded inside the ballpark. It was great to see the royal treatment he received as he saw different employees who recognized him since he's going to all the home games this year.

We started talking and Keir told us that he has traveled around to a number of different ballparks as well. He said he went to Monterrey, Mexico in 1999, Tokyo, Japan in 2000 & San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2001. It was amazing to hear him say that because the King and I told him we were there too.

We proceeded to talk about another guy who we know from Cleveland who went to those places as well. The only difference was this guy went to see the Mets when they played in Monterrey, Mexico in 1996. In addition, this guy saw Major League Baseball in Hawaii in 1997. I'm referring to Mike Trabert aka Mr. Ballpark as he calls himself. The King and I met him when we saw the Mets play in Japan. We've tried to hook up every year since. This time we were hoping to see him at some point at the game. I told him where we were sitting in case he was there. He does share season tickets with a bunch of people. As he's notorious for doing, he came by and he caught us off guard. It was a pleasant surprise to see him again. We got to catch up on our recent travels. He asked us if we've been to the New Marlins Park yet. We said no. We're planning to go there in the middle of July. He didn't know when he was going there yet. I hope we can cross paths when we go there.

Back on September 23, 2000, our pal Andrew Van Cleve met Mr. Ballpark when he was at a doubleheader at Old Milwaukee County Stadium. He ran into this guy who told him about a few guys he met in Japan that see all kinds of games. I asked Mr. Ballpark if he remembered meeting Andrew but he couldn't remember. He said he probably did. It was funny because it took Andrew 10 years to finally track us down. Now we've become really good friends.

The power of sports travel has really improved our lives greatly. The fraternity continues to grow. Now when we go to Cleveland we have more people to see.

As for the game we saw, the Indians fell to the Marlins by a score of 5-3. Ex-Met Jose Reyes did have two hits for his new team.

The Indians threatened in the ninth inning prompting Mr. Ballpark to say and I quote "Mr. Ballpark wants extra innings." That's what I said back in Japan when the Mets played the Cubs as Benny Agbayani delivered the game winning grand slam home run in extra innings to send us home happy. That was such a thrill. This time Mr. Ballpark didn't get his wish.

I want to personally thank Keir Kurinsky for his generosity and company. In addition, I want to thank Mr. Ballpark for taking the time to see us again.

Hope we all can reunite again sooner than later at a ballpark somewhere.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Official review of Goodyear Ballpark - Spring Training home of the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians

Here's my official review of Goodyear Ballpark, the Spring Training home of the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians of the Cactus League. If you plan to go to Arizona before the baseball regular season starts, I strongly suggest you take a look at what I wrote so you know what to expect before you get there.

http://www.stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/goodyear-ballpark-s1130

I officially joined forces with my buddy Paul Swaney as a Special Correspondent by doing reviews for him when time allows me to do so. I also plan to contribute to great team of writers who cover different sports venues in the United States and other parts of the World.

His website, Stadium Journey is on my blog list. Here's the link: www.stadiumjourney.com/

Please feel free to check out his amazing site which will educate you greatly if and when you decide to take a road trip to see a new venue or if you're just curious how life is in other parts of the country and/or the world.

When it comes to sports travel knowledge, I have plenty but I don't have the time to go in depth like his site does. Regardless you can always feel free to e-mail me and pick my brain.

I'm a team player so whenever I can help somebody else, I indirectly help myself too. I think if you follow my blog, you should do the same.

Life is short. Play hard. I do, I believe you should too.

I hope you enjoy my evaluation.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees more Spring Training baseball in Goodyear, Arizona!

View from Goodyear Ballpark

After seeing four games in a day in Albuquerque, the King and I settled for a double dip of spring training baseball.

After we went to the Scottsdale area for our first game, we decided to pass up a chance to see a Phoenix Suns game which was 20 miles west in downtown Phoenix right off I-10. They were playing the Detroit Pistons at 7PM. Instead we drove another 20 miles further west to Goodyear, Arizona to see our second spring training baseball game of the day.

Goodyear Ballpark is the spring training home for the Cincinnati Reds and the Cleveland Indians.
For the actual ballpark experience, please check back because I'm going to be doing an official review for the website, Stadium Journey who recently hired me as a Special Correspondent when time allows.

As for the game we saw, the Reds took an early 4-0 lead. The Rockies fought back late to get on the scoreboard. Chad Tracy who came into the game later on as a pinch runner ended a rally by getting thrown out at home plate in the top of the eighth inning. Ironically in the top of the ninth inning the Rockies threatened to tie or take the lead, the King predicted that Chad Tracy would end the game getting thrown out at the plate again and he did as the Reds hung on to win the game, 4-3.

Thankfully he was right because we had a long 475 mile drive back to Albuquerque in order to attempt to see another array of sporting events on Saturday. More importantly, I arranged to meet up with a lady we know from Albuquerque for a late breakfast/early lunch. I wanted to do everything in my power to make it happen since I told her I would.

Please stay tuned for the next installment from our latest royal getaway to see how it turned out.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty meets up with Superfan Chris Coats at Kauffman Stadium!

Superfan Chris Coats and I

I think I jumped the gun in my last post saying my trip to the Heartland was complete.

After having an amazing breakfast, I went to Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals and their Superfan Chris Coats who I saw in May when he came to Yankee Stadium to see the Royals play the Yankees.

Chris is a really good kid. He was all dressed up in his Royal attire which included his cape. I was thrilled to be able to watch most of the game with him. We got to catch up on things. He said he was hoping to go to Florida to see the Marlins for their last series of the season. I hope he gets there. He goes to all the Royal home games as well as a number of their road games. With that being said, he obviously enjoys being punished. In other words, he's a true fan. Good for him.

Unfortunately I had to catch a flight at 6:15PM so I couldn't possibly stay to the end of this drawn out game. Thankfully Shelley Duncan of the Cleveland Indians hit two home runs including his second one with two outs in the eighth to extend the Indians lead from 7-3 to 9-3. I needed to leave but I knew he was coming up so I said to myself I have to watch him bat. He made me look good as he blasted another home run. With that, I left the ballpark. The Royals added three runs in the ninth inning but they fell short, 9-6.

I got back to the car and I went to get something to eat at Hi Boy Drive In which is a place Dorothy recommended. I went there last year when we visited. So I wisely took her advice and I got a double cheeseburger with onion rings and a vanilla shake.

I proceeded to drive 30 miles to the airport. I dropped off my car rental and I went to the airport and I ate my food. I wound up with just enough time so I didn't have to break a sweat trying to catch my flight home on Frontier Airlines.

I got back home in one piece and with that another successful getaway was in the books.

Stay tuned as I do my w/o 9/5 in review. In addition, I'll be doing some other special posts as well. Please bear with me as I continue to play catch up.

As always, thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

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

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

Royalty gets a visit from people we know from St. Louis, Missouri!

Angie and Don Steiger with the Prince 

A few years ago thanks to our friend Phil Butleman, who got to meet a gentleman named Don Steiger who was visiting the old Yankee Stadium. It turned out that Don was visiting NYC from St. Louis.

He told Phil that he was looking to bring his son with him the next time. His son Donnie was getting married. So as a farewell to total freedom he decided to take Donnie to NYC in the summer of 2009 to see their  St. Louis Cardinals play the Mets at Citi Field. Phil told them to get in contact with me.

They did and I arranged to get them tickets for the Met games against the Cardinals that they wanted. They were so grateful.

Last year we got to visit them in St. Louis as they arranged to get us tickets for a Cardinal game.

It was great to see them again. Over the winter, Don wrote me and said he was planning to bring his daughter Angie to NYC for the very first time.

Don said he was looking to come in June and he wanted to see the New Yankee Stadium.

I once again arranged to accomodate his needs and wants. I made sure they got tickets for a few Yankee games against the Cleveland Indians.

They took my advice and they went to the Carnegie Deli and they had themselves a hearty meal while they were here.

I guess next year it will be our turn to go back to the Gateway to the West to see them again.

We'll wait and see about that.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 6/6 in review

After a night off after work Monday night I braced myself for the return of the Red Sox to Yankee Stadium.
In addition, we had company from the West Coast as our friend Steve Fekete aka The Padre Punk came to NYC to see the new Yankee Stadium for the first time.

Apparently he packed his broom as the Red Sox proceeded to sweep the Yankees. He happens to like the Red Sox too so he definitely picked the right time to visit.

The Red Sox built big leads early to beat the Yankees Tuesday and Wednesday night.

On Wednesday night, we had another royal treat as our friend Vincent Ascanio got shown the royal way of entry into Yankee Stadium. He met his Michael Longo inside and he introduced to him. He told me that Michael was a big fan of my blog. It was a pleasure to meet this young man who refers to where we sit as the "royal box".

As for Thursday night, the game didn't start until 10:32PM thanks to mother nature. I was forced to leave after 5 innings at 12:11AM. I needed to get home to get some sleep so I could function for work in the morning. The Yankees were winning, 2-0 when I left. The Red Sox woke up and whipped the Yankees, 8-3.

Steve left town as he continued his baseball road trip by going to Chicago for the weekend to see the White Sox play.

The surprising Cleveland Indians came to visit the Yankees for a wraparound weekend series.

Steve left NYC and our friend Don Steiger and his daughter Angie came to visit from St. Louis. Stay tuned as I'm going to do a special post on them.

Friday night the Yankees woke up as the Tribe came to town for the first time this season. They looked like the same old Indians as the Yankees tossed them a drawn out beating, 11-7.

The highlight of the night was after the game when we went to Donovan's Pub for a post game meal.

Saturday afternoon I went back to the Bronx for more. Surprisingly the weather was miserable. Luckily they managed to get the game in. The Yankees won again, 4-0.

Royalty entertained more company as we had our friends Phil Butleman and Steve Tepperman in the house. In addition, our pal Vincent Ascanio was back this time he brought another friend with him, Rich Warnock who was looking forward to meeting me.

He's another young man who's looking to fulfill his dream. He said he's going to Chicago next month with his aunt to see Wrigley Field. I told him that the Twins are home in Minnesota too that weekend. I'm hoping to arrange for them to take a ride to the Twin Cities so they can pick up another ballpark.

Sunday I was originally planning to go back to Yankee Stadium but I had to take care of things at home so I decided to pass it up. I'm sorry if I let my fan club down but I have bigger fish to fry down the road.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Yankee Doubleheader on Memorial Day!

PNC Field in Scranton-Wilkes Barre

After spenting the weekend in New England, the King & I spent Memorial Day watching Yankee baseball day & night.

We were in the Bronx in the afternoon where we saw the Yankees beat up the Cleveland Indians, 11-2! A-Rod hit a Grand Slam that broke open a 2-1 game in the 7th inning as the Yankees proceeded to cruise to an easy victory.

After the game, we drove 128 miles to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania to see the Triple A Yankees play.

They wound up losing 9-1 to the Durham Bulls who are the Tampa Bay Rays farm team
at PNC Field formerly Lackawanna County Stadium
.
More importantly, we got to meet up with Alvin Pachter and his father, Howard. In addition, they were joined by Philip Cutler who we've met a few times in the recent past.

As for Alvin and his father, we met them a number of years ago from going to see the Red Barons who played there when they were affiliated with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Alvin and his father do road trips as well on a smaller scale.

They normally take a long car ride around the country during the summer.

They usually come to NYC a few times a year as well to pay us a visit.

They made the trip today worth our while.

It's always fun to see people that we've met on road trips so we can catch up and share our unique adventures.