Royalty returns to Albuquerque to see some special people and a tripleheader!

Isotopes Park 

The King and I left Goodyear, Arizona and we headed back towards Albuquerque, New Mexico which was 475 miles away. In addition, we lost the hour we gained coming to Arizona. We drove back to Holbrook, Arizona this time via all interstate road which was longer mileage wise but not time wise. We went up I-17 through Flagstaff then we picked up I-40 that goes to Albuquerque. We stayed another night at the Super 8 which was halfway to Albuquerque. We got some sleep and we left the hotel around 8AM Arizona time which is 9AM in New Mexico.

I arranged to meet Carole Hewes, who has lived her whole life in Albuquerque. We met her a few times thanks to our friend Steve Fekete aka the Padre Punk. She was with her boyfriend Dale who lived in Alaska for 16 years he said. We met them at a family restaurant called the Village Inn which is a West Coast chain. We met them at the location that was near the airport. It worked out perfectly as we arrived there around 12:30PM local time. We got to enjoy a meal together and we caught up on our past travels and adventures. Despite our so called "out of control" schedule I still found a way to meet up with them like I promised I would. It was an absolute pleasure to meet and greet them. I want thank them for being so accomodating and cooperative.

After we said our goodbyes, the King and I drove a few miles to the same area where I parked when we arrived on Thursday. We were going to see a college baseball game as the University of New Mexico Lobos were playing the Aztecs of San Diego State at 2PM at Isotopes Park which is also the home of the Albuquerque Isotopes, the Los Angeles Dodgers Triple A minor league affiliate. With the third round of the NCAA Tournament starting at 4:10PM with a doubleheader, we knew we had to leave the baseball early so we could round up some tickets to see the basketball games.

As for the baseball game we saw, it started slow so we knew we were going to see less of the game then we wanted to. Thankfully the Lobos put the game away early by building a 9-0 lead after five innings. It was 3:44PM so I decided I saw enough. The game was official so I was free to leave. The King decided to stay another half inning. The Aztecs broke the shutout by scoring two runs to make it 9-2. The Lobos tacked on two more runs as they wound up winning the game, 11-2.

I wound up rounding up a few single tickets outside the Pit for the third session. Tickets weren't as easy to get like they were on Thursday. I was able to get one ticket from a young lady for $32 after some wheeling and dealing. Shortly thereafter, a gentleman handed me a free ticket. I couldn't thank him enough. I shook his hand and the King and I went inside the building. We arrived with a few minutes to spare before the first game started. We wound up sitting in the same area as Thursday. We were once again joined by the Buffalo Boys, Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell aka USRT.

We spent the rest of the day and night with our sports travel pals. We got to exchange stories from our Friday adventures. While we were in Arizona watching Spring Training, those guys rented a car for the day and they went sight seeing in Santa Fe then they came back to see a college baseball game at Isotopes Park.
As for the basketball games we saw, the Wisconsin Badgers the four seed took on the fifth seed Vanderbilt Commodores. This was a closely contested affair as the Badgers were able to hold off the Commodores, 60-57 to advance to the Sweet 16.

In the second basketball game of the third round, the Baylor Bears met former Big 12 foe, the Colorado Buffaloes who now play in the Pac 12. This was a close game into the second half but thanks to Brady Heslip, the Bears' guard who knocked down nine three pointers in the game to finish with 27 points as the Bears pulled away and breezed past the Buffaloes, 80-63 to join the Badgers in the Sweet 16.

Late in the game, the Baylor backers, let the Colorado faithful hear it as they started chanting and I quote "Big 12 rejects". It was hilarious to say the least.

For those who lost count that concluded a stretch of nine games in three days for us while were out there. We saw six basketball games and three baseball games.

Before we decided to call it a night, we went out to dinner with the Buffalo Boys in downtown Albuquerque. We drove around the area and we wound up going to a place called the Standard Diner.

Since it was St. Patrick's Day it was only appropriate to have a corned beef and cabbage for dinner. Luckily they still had some left. So Peter and I made sure we both indulged accordingly. It turned out to be a tremendous meal with more great company.

It was a perfect way to close out an epic royal weekend.

We drove Andrew & Peter back to their hotel and we said our goodbyes. As always it was an absolute pleasure to see them again. We proceeded to go to our hotel so we could get some sleep before we caught our flight home Sunday morning.

I returned the car to Alamo after I safely drove 1,001 miles in the three days.

Fortunately we got out of Albuquerque before the bad weather arrived. We took United Airlines back home to LaGuardia with a layover in Washington DC-Dulles airport. We got back ten minutes early as we got in at 3:45PM.

As for the Buffalo Boys, their flight was delayed and eventually cancelled due to a dust storm in the area. They wound up leaving Monday to go home instead. Next time we meet up in May, we'll get all the details of their latest flying nightmare.

As for the King and I, it was another memorable weekend adventure.

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