Royalty gets a special visit from another roadtripper at Citi Field!

Saturday morning June 29th I woke up early so I could do my laundry.

After I got done, I went out to Citi Field to see the Mets host the Washington Nationals in game two of their three game series in the afternoon.

I didn't get to see my pal Sam Citron at the Rotunda entrance upon arrival because he wasn't working. He told me on the last homestand that his son was getting married so he took a few days off. It felt different not seeing him there.

When I went upstairs to section 515 where we sat that day, I was greeted by a fellow roadtripper, Tolu Robertson who I initially met on Twitter over the winter. His handle is @DarkMeatHook. Please feel free to follow him. He's a good guy. He lives in the Washington DC area. I met him in person for the first back in April on Gio Gonzalez bobblehead doll day. Speaking of bobbleheads, he's a big collector of them. He said he prefers getting ones from his local teams though. Tolu came up to NYC by bus to see his Nationals play for the weekend. He also was seeing Citi Field for the first time. He wisely bought a ballpark e-guide in advance from my pal Kurt Smith so he could get a good idea of what to expect before he arrived. With that being said, he was impressed with the ballpark as a whole.

In addition, we had some other special guests on hand that day in section 513 as the Hooligan's and the 7 Line showed up. They always make the total experience better.

Furthermore, we had some of our usual pals there with us too. I'm referring to David Sack, Michael Carson, Manny Morales, Pat Gorman and Alan Gimpel.

As for the game we saw, the Mets bounced back after their brutal meltdown Friday night as they evened the series at a game a piece by beating the Nationals, 5-1.

After the game, Tolu and I took the subway to Coney Island to see another baseball game. We went to MCU Park to see the Brooklyn Cyclones take on the Hudson Valley Renegades.

Ironically on the way there, my pal Steve Cirvello from the FDH Lounge got on the train. It was a pleasant surprise. He was going to the Cyclone game too. It was great to see him again. I told him about some future trips I have planned. He said he hopes to put together a project that will include me while I'm on the road. Time will tell if something can be worked out.

When we finally got to the game, we were joined by my pals Rich Wolber, Michael Abrams, Vincent Ascanio, Bryan Gilligan and the King.

As for the game we saw, the Renegades tossed the Cyclones a beating as they whipped them, 9-0.
After the game, my pal Tolu Robertson was determined to go to a restaurant that he saw on the show Man vs. Food that airs on the Travel Channel. The place was called Spurmoni Gardens. He mapped it out beforehand. It turned out to be a few subway stops away on the train. With that being said, I made sure we went there. It worked out really well since we were both starving.

We ordered a half tray of sicilian pizza which we wound up splitting. It was delicious. I want to thank Tolu for suggesting this brilliant idea.

After we ate, we took the train back to Queens. I went home and Tolu went to a nearby hotel that he reserved for the night.

Stay tuned for the special post that will go into detail about how I spent that Sunday to end the month of June.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 8/15 in review

Shea Bridge at Citi Field

This past week was a rather uneventful one for me. Since the schedule makers had a brainstorm it prevented me from seeing any major league baseball for most of the week. Neither the Mets or Yankees were home Monday-Thursday. So I had to resort to going all the way to Coney Island to see the Brooklyn Cyclones play.

With that being said, Wednesday night right after work I met the King and we took a long subway ride out there. We got there with just enough time to go to Nathan's Famous the original one I might add for a few hot dogs, crinkle cut fries and a lemonade. A great pre game meal on our way to the ballpark which is called MCU Park these days. It used to called Keyspan Park.

Once we got inside, we met up with plenty of familiar faces. We got to see many people that we know which made for a nice night out which enhanced the royal experience.

As for the game we saw, the Brooklyn Cyclones went on to beat the Jamestown Jammers who we saw play in Jamestown on our recent road trip at the end of July. The Cyclones built an early 4-0 lead after two innings as they cruised to an easy 5-2 victory.

After staying home again Thursday night, I went back to Citi Field Friday night to see the Mets play the red hot Milwaukee Brewers. Thanks to mother nature, the game was delayed just before game time. After a lengthy almost three hour delay they finally started playing just before ten o'clock. As a result, I was forced to leave the game early due to the fact I had to count on public transportation to get me home. In addition, I had a long day in store on Saturday to deal with so I departed Citi Field in the top of the seventh inning at midnight.

The Mets were trailing 6-0 at the time. After I left the Mets wound up breaking the shutout as they scored a run. They lost the game, by a score of 6-1.

Saturday the game was originally scheduled for a 7:10PM start but Fox decided a few weeks ago to change the starting time to a 4:10PM first pitch so I knew with my game plan I was in jeopardy of having to miss the game. The way it turned out, I did indeed. That's just the way it goes sometimes. I had more important things to take care of on a personal level so I did what I needed to do.

Sunday I went back for more punishment at Citi Field. After coming back on Saturday to take a lead against K-Rod no less, the Mets still found a way to lose anyway. The Mets once again fell behind this time, 2-0. Lucas Duda hit a two run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie the game at two and it gave the Mets a glimmer of hope. Unfortunately that was short lived as their lousy bullpen gave the game away again. The Brewers scored two runs in the eighth inning and two more in the ninth inning to sweep the Mets, 6-2. This time K-Rod pitched a scoreless eighth inning to help the Brew Crew leave New York in style. Unlike their last visit to NYC, when they got embarrassed in the Bronx by the Yankees.

I was happy for the great people I know who happen to live in Milwaukee.

After the game, the King and I got a ride to Brooklyn thanks to our friend Bryan Gilligan who took us to see the Cyclones play again. Well that would have been true if mother nature didn't interfere. We got to see three plus innings. During the top of the fourth, the umpires decided to tarp the field. The Cyclones were losing to the Tri City Valley Cats, 6-2 at the time. After waiting over an hour, they suspended the game.
That's how the week ended. They were completing the game on Monday night before the regularly scheduled game which was now going to be a seven inning game. Check back next week for all the details.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman