Royalty sees the Mets play the Nationals in DC!‏

After the King & I spent the night at Days Inn in Somerset, PA we got up that morning & we ate breakfast there. When we got done, I drove 185 miles to Nationals Park to see the Washington Nationals play the Mets that Sunday afternoon, May 18th. We wound up parking the car in a ten dollar lot since free parking in DC is few & far between. We didn't want to risk having a problem so we decided to play it safe. We parked the car at 12:45PM. We then walked over to the ballpark. I went to the box office to see what the cheapest tickets they had were. They told me $25 each. Upon hearing that, I walked away. A few minutes later I found some people who had extra tickets. They wanted $20 a ticket. I told them I'll give them $20 for the pair. Thankfully they decided to give in to me. The King ‎& I proceeded to walk into the center field gate. We met up upstairs under the press box in section 312. I saw some empty seats in the last row which was row J. I wound up staying there for the whole game. Shortly thereafter, I got comfortable I heard a guy a few rows down in front of me get my attention.  It was Andy Morgan who follows me on Twitter. His twitter handle is @natsfan37. He was with his wife & young son. A few minutes later he came up to introduce himself. It was nice to meet him. I remember following him because he was a Gio Gonzalez fan. Gio had signed something for his son. We spoke & we exchanged contact information. He said he may try to come up to Citi Field in August when the Nationals come back. I told him to let me know. 
 

View from section 312

As for the game we saw, the Mets took an early 1-0 lead off of Nationals' starter Jordan Zimmerman when catcher Juan Centeno drove in a run with a single in the top of the second inning. The Nationals got even in the bottom half when Ian Desmond hit a solo homer to knot the score at one. The Nationals took the lead for good when Met killer catcher Wilson Ramos drove in a pair of runs with a double in the third inning & two more with a single in the fifth inning off of Mets' starter Zack Wheeler to go up 5-1. The Mets got two back in the top of the sixth but the Nationals added an insurance run in the eighth as they beat the Mets, 6-3. 

Near the end of the game, I got a visit from a fellow roadtripper & ballpark chaser, Ben Fallon who stopped by with his son Declan. We follow each other on twitter also. Ben's twitter handle is @steel6rings. We've met a few times in the last year. I want to thank him for taking time to visit me. He said he would have came by earlier but he got an unexpected upgrade to a suite just before the game started. 

On the way back home, the King & I stopped off at Burger King for a quick dinner in New Jersey on Route 1. We got back home around 11PM. 

Monday morning I returned the car to Avis then I went to work. I wound up driving 1,172 miles safely over the weekend.

Stay tuned for another special post that will highlight the visit to Citi Field by the two teams we saw open the season in Sydney, Australia.

Thank you for reading & 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 sees another ballpark chaser & a baseball doubleheader in the desert!

After the King, Duck & I left Dodger Stadium Tuesday night August 13th I drove 375 miles overnight to Phoenix, Arizona. We checked in to a Knights Inn at 4:30AM a few miles from Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They were playing the Baltimore Orioles in an afternoon affair at 12:40PM. We got some sleep then we headed over to the ballpark. We parked the car for $6 in a parking lot after we circled the area trying to find a spot on the street for free. Since it was during the day, meters were in effect. We did get some exercise in the 107 degree dry heat which was good for us. We barely broke a sweat which was nice. Once we got to the ballpark we got some cheap tickets and we went inside. Since we didn't have time to have breakfast, so I decided to take advantage of the value menu at Chase Field. I got a hot dog, pretzel and a bottle of water to hold me over.

Josh Robbins & I at Chase Field

Once we got situated upstairs in section 317 which is just to the right of home plate, I met up with fellow ballpark chaser, Josh Robbins who was there. Josh is the Guinness Book of Records holder for seeing all 30 Major League Ballparks in 26 days by land. He accomplished that feat in 2008 when he decided to drive to all the ballparks. It should be noted that since then another ballpark chaser, Chuck Booth has set the record for doing all the ballparks in 23 days via other means of transportation in 2012. In other words, he took a car, a train, a bus and/or a plane to achieve his goal. Regardless I've now had the pleasure of meeting both of these guys in my travels. Life is full of different challenges. These guys decided that this was their way of getting to all the ballparks. I've seen them all in piece meal. Due to financial and time restrictions, I haven't been given an opportunity to attempt this kind of journey. Who knows maybe some day I will. Time will tell.
As for Josh, we got to talk during the game. It was great to meet him. He's originally from Upstate New York. He grew up in the Albany area. He now lives in Gilbert, Arizona which is 24 miles from Phoenix with his wife and their baby daughter. His wife stayed home and she watched the baby while Josh went to the game. I want to personally thank them both for allowing us to meet up. Josh said he was going back home in September for a wedding. He said he plans to see a Yankee game too. I told him where I sit so when he does we can meet up again.

As for the game we saw, it was a marquee pitching match up on paper as Patrick Corbin of the Diamondbacks and Chris Tillman of the Orioles started the game. They both got off to a rocky start before they settled down and pitched relatively well. As the game went on the Orioles were ahead, 4-3 in the ninth inning. Aaron Hill of the Diamondbacks got a single to tie it at four which sent the game into extra innings. The rattlesnakes are notorious this season for playing really long games. I saw them play three other ones this year including a 15 inning one at Citi Field on Fourth of July when I was getting ready to drive all the way to Milwaukee for the next night. This game wound up going 14 innings and it finally ended when Aaron Hill got another hit to win it, 5-4. It took 4 hours and 26 minutes to complete. As a result, we got to our next game in Tucson which is 116 miles away late.

We planned to go to Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium to see the Tucson Padres, the San Diego Padres Triple A affiliate who are moving to El Paso, Texas next year. They were hosting the Oklahoma City Redhawks, the Houston Astros' farm club at 7:05PM.

Prince has a ball in Tucson

We finally pulled into the parking lot around 7:30PM. We went to the box office and bought tickets for the game. We walked inside just in time to see Ben Francisco bat for the Padres who were trailing 4-0 at the time in the bottom of the second inning. It should be noted that the King & I met Ben Francisco back in July 2001 when we went to Alaska. We took a one day cruise and he and a few other players who were playing in the Alaskan League we're on the same ship as us. Ben played baseball at UCLA. In fact, in February 2002 we saw him play for UCLA in Hawaii. Since then, we've seen him play in Lexington, Kentucky in the minor leagues in July 2003 and a number of games in the major leagues when he played for the Indians, Phillies, Blue Jays, Astros, Rays & Yankees. Now he's back in the minor leagues trying to get back to the big show. For his sake, I hope someday he does. Unfortunately, he hasn't done too well with the Padres.
After Ben struck out, the next batter was Jonathan Galvez who hit a foul ball that caromed off the roof and it came down where I was standing. As a result, I lucked out into a souvenir.

As for the rest of the game we saw, the Padres fell further behind as they trailed 6-1. The King said the game was over. As the game played itself out, the Padres proved the King wrong. They wound up coming all the way back as they beat the Redhawks, 8-6 in the bottom of the ninth inning when Cody Decker hit a three run game winning home run to win it. We hated to miss the beginning of the game but we did get to see the end. As they say, it's not how you start, it's how you finish. With that being said, we made the best of the circumstances we were given.

After the game, we went to downtown Tucson and we checked in to Days Inn where we spent the night. Shortly thereafter, I took a ride up the road to get myself something to eat since I was starving. The King & Duck ate at the ballpark so they decided to stay in their room. I wound up going to a place called the Kettle Restaurant. I remember going to one of those near the Intercontinental airport in Houston in the past. The hotel had a brochure advertising it. It said they had a buffet for $8.99 so I decided to pass on Carl's Jr. which was a short walk from the hotel.

I wound up enjoying a good meal before I returned to the room to get a good night sleep.

Stay tuned for the next installment of this memorable journey.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty meets up with fellow roadtripper Dave Block aka the Gratitude Guy in Milwaukee!

After the King & I survived the 15 inning marathon game at Citi Field on Fourth of July, we made our way out towards Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We went to McDonald's to get some food to take out after the game. We ate it in the car as we finally got to escape from New York.

We wound up stopping in Maumee, Ohio which is just outside of Toledo just after 2AM Eastern Time. We stayed at Days Inn. By doing so, we had 340 miles left to drive to Milwaukee on Friday July 5th. Thankfully we were gaining an hour due to the time zone change. We got some sleep and then we woke up in the morning & we went to Waffle House which was nearby before we got back on the highway finish the mission.

We finally arrived in Oak Creek, Wisconsin which is a suburb of Milwaukee around 4:30PM Central Time. It's also right up the road from the airport. We went to MainStay Suites where we met up with fellow roadtripper and huge fan of ours, Dave Block aka the Gratitude Guy. Dave was able to get us a royal deal at the hotel so we all got to split the expense. It worked out really well. He had arrived earlier in the day as he flew in from San Diego where he lives to join us for the weekend. As a result, he was able to check in to the hotel early. We went inside and we dropped off our bags.

Branded Steer

Once we got situated, we went next door to have a pre game dinner at the Branded Steer, a Wood Grill Rotisserie & Saloon before I drove us all to Miller Park which was ten miles away to see the Brewers host the Mets. As for our meal, it was excellent. We ordered chicken wings which were delicious as an appetizer. I then had wood grilled salmon for my main course. The King ordered pork chops and Dave had ribs. We were all very satisfied customers. It was a perfect way to cap off a long tiring day.

Prince at Miller Park

When we got done, we went to Miller Park. We got there with just enough time to spare. We wound up sitting in the upper deck in section 423 behind home plate. We sat down and we relaxed. Shortly thereafter, we got a surprise visit from our pal Marc Beck from NYC who was also at the game with his wife and daughter. It was so nice of him to come up and spend some time with us.

As for the game we saw, the Mets and the Brewers played another long game. The Mets eventually won, 12-5. Zack Wheeler pitched and he struggled to get through five innings. He did pick up the win. In addition, he also got his first major league hit in the third inning. The bottom line is a win is a win. After suffering the day before at Citi Field, we'll take it. Quite amazingly, we drove 895 miles to see it.

Stay tuned as I'm going to do another special post as our weekend getaway continued through the Midwest.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty officially opens the 2013 Major League Baseball season in Houston, Texas on Easter Sunday!

Live Peacock on Easter Sunday morning

Sunday morning after getting a much needed good night sleep, the King, Bryan Gilligan & I checked out of the Motel 6 we stayed at in Cedar Park, Texas. We were 175 miles from our final destination for the day that being Houston. We made some pit stops along the way before we arrived there.

Being it was Easter Sunday, I thought to myself earlier in the week that maybe I'll see a bunny hopping around for the occasion. Much to my chagrin, we had no such luck. Ironically though as we were walking out of the hotel to go to the car in the parking lot, all of a sudden we saw a peacock with a very long tail wandered around. We were in disbelief. What a way to start the day.

After we took pictures of it, we lost track of it as it disappeared into grassy area which was somewhat hilly. It was quite a scene to say the least.

After that thrill, we put our luggage into the car and we went on our way towards Houston. We drove down the road about 7 miles until we got to Interstate 35. Once we got on there, we saw an IHOP so we stopped off to have a royal breakfast. We weren't alone as there were a bunch of people waiting to be seated. We went inside and I gave them my name. They said it will be a 10 minute wait and that's what it wound up being as we finally got a table. I decided to have their split decision breakfast which consisted of two eggs, bacon, ham which I was able to substitute for sausage, a few slices of french toast and a few pancakes. It turned out to be a sound choice. It was excellent. After we finished eating we got back on the road. Shortly thereafter, we stopped again because we were right outside of Round Rock which is where the Texas Rangers' Triple A farm club plays. They're known as the Express of the Pacific Coast League nowadays. They play at a ballpark called the Dell Diamond. Back in May 2000, the King and I saw a game there. At that time, the Express was in the Texas League which was Double A ball.

After we took a few pictures and looked around, we got back in the car and we continued towards Houston. We arranged to meet up with our pal Steve Fekete aka the Padre Punk Punk who was already there because he went to the Rocket game after we met him in San Antonio on Saturday afternoon. We told him we'll meet him around 4PM by Minute Maid Park which is the home of the Astros who now play in the American League. They spent their first 50 years of existence in the National League.

As we were driving we decided to stop off at our hotel, Days Inn, which was located in a town called Humble which was 4 miles from the George Bush Intercontinental Airport and about 20 miles from downtown where the ballpark is. We wound up getting there around 2PM. Luckily our room was clean so we were able to check in early. It worked out well. We were able to get situated. Once we were done we got back in the car and we drove to downtown. Steve said he was already there hanging out in the center field area where a fan fest was being held on the street right the ballpark. They had different stands set up and there was musical entertainment for everybody to enjoy.

We wound up parking the car on the street for free like Steve did. We were a short walk from the ballpark. We went to the box office first to see if they had any tickets available for the game since we decided to wait until we arrived there since the ticket prices were rather steep online. Steve had bought a ticket online from Ticketmaster for $50 he said a month in advance. We wound up getting three tickets for $20 each that were way out in right field. They were also selling standing room for the same price which was anywhere on the first level. All we cared about was getting into the ballpark as cheap as possible.

We were all excited & relieved once we had our tickets in hand at 3:30PM. We got in contact with Steve and we met up with him. We all decided to take a walk around to see if we could get something to eat for dinner before we went inside the ballpark.

Royalty collides with Qualty Tours

After passing up a few places, we wound up going to a restaurant called the Hearsay Gastro Lounge. We all decided to get burgers for dinner. It turned out to be a sound decision after all.

Once we finished we had to dodge some rain drops as we walked back to the ballpark to go see the game. We split up once we got inside. I decided to hang out with Steve who calls himself, West Coast Quality Tours. He lives out in Anaheim, California. He's in the midst of trying to get to all 122 current venues in the four major sports that being baseball, football, basketball and hockey. He just went passed the midway mark during the week while he was in Texas. I was happy to be apart of his quality experience. We walked all around the first level and Steve took numerous pictures which he's going to share on his Facebook page. He also likes to tweet on Twitter. His handle is @rstones199 in case you want to follow him as he continues to complete his quest for 122.

Prince looking out from Crawford Boxes 

After taking the quality tour, we went upstairs to the upper level where we met up with the King. Steve went to his seat in section 420 row 1 and I joined the King who found a few empty seats in row 11. We lucked out as people didn't show up for the seats so we got to sit behind home plate like we always do.

National Anthem

We got settled in just in time as they announced the players during a special pre game ceremony, J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Shortly thereafter, American Country singer Lyle Lovett sung the National Anthem. He later sang God Bless America during the seventh inning stretch which was followed by a Lone Star State favorite called Deep in the Heart of Texas. I love hearing that tune when I go to Texas. It's a local tradition.

Bud Norris delivers first pitch at 7:08PM CT

As for the game we saw, the Astros got off to a good start as they beat the visiting Texas Rangers, 8-2 to win their first ever American League game which was historical in more ways than one as the Astros also got their 4,000th franchise win before a sellout crowd of 41,307 which was comprised of fans of both teams as people made the trip to see their Rangers play.

Some of the highlights for the Astros included Bud Norris picking up his first victory. He allowed two runs in five & two thirds innings of work. Erik Bedard got a "real" save, the first of his career as he wound up pitching the last three and a third innings of shutout relief to help secure the win. Center fielder Justin Maxwell led the way as he hit two triples & he drove in two runs. Rick Ankiel made his Astro debut in style as he hit a pinch hit three run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning which put the game away right after the Rangers cut the lead to 4-2.

Stay tuned for the next installment as we made our way back home Monday morning in order to get to Citi Field to see the Mets open their season against the San Diego Padres in their home opener. Please bear with me as I try to find the time to recap the adventure in detail. It will be worth the wait.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

 Gary Herman

Royalty sees a hockey game in Orlando while the NHL continues to be in a lockout!

Prince at Amway Center 

Saturday morning the King and I went to LaGuardia Airport to fly to Jacksonville, Florida. We took US Airways because they were the most logical choice that fit our needs. We had a connecting flight in Charlotte, North Carolina which is a hub of theirs. We landed in Jacksonville early in the afternoon around 1:15PM.

Upon arrival I rented a car for the weekend from Hertz. I wound up getting a Volkswagen Jetta which worked out well since we weren't driving a lot of miles and it was great on gas.

Originally we were planning to see the Tampa Bay Lightning play Saturday night in Tampa but since the NHL still hasn't unlocked its doors that idea was scrapped. Being a master planner, I had an alternate plan in place just in case. With that being said, I checked out the minor league hockey schedules and I saw that the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL were home. The Solar Bears returned to the ECHL this season. They came out of hibernation just in time for us as they were home against the Fort Wayne Komets at 7PM. They play their home games at the Amway Center in downtown Orlando which is also the home of the Magic. Speaking of the Magic, the King and I saw them play there back on December 18, 2010 when the Philadelphia 76ers were there.

So we knew exactly where we had to go. We stopped off at our hotel, Days Inn which was located in Ormond Beach about an hour from Orlando. We got to check in and we put our bags away. Once we got situated we continued down I-95 to I-4 to downtown Orlando. We arrived there around 5PM which gave us plenty of time to enjoy a nice dinner.

We decided to relive our only other visit to the Amway Center. We parked the car on the street for free and we walked over to nearby Church Street Station District where they have some places to eat before the game. We went back to Hamburger Mary's Bar & Grille which is located a few blocks from the arena. By doing so, we were able eat, drink and be "Mary."

We indulged in a hearty meal before we walked to see the hockey game. The King had one of their 20 different half pound charbroiled burgers. As for me, I went for the Proud Mary, which is a full pound. I had it with mozzarella cheese which is only there for this month the waitress said. I was able to substitute it for the cheddar & jack cheese that it usually comes with. In addition it has bacon, grilled onions & mushrooms which I don't like so I requested not to have them, lettuce and pickle along with their special sauce. What a burger it was. Needless to say, I was a very satisfied customer.

After we finished eating, we went to the game. Since they don't expect a huge crowd they curtain off the upper deck. That way everybody has a better view of the action.

As for the game we saw, the first period was scoreless. In the second period, things heated up on the ice. 2:16 into the period, we had our first fight of the night. At 5:14 we saw our first goal as Luca Caputi scored his first of the season to give the visiting Komets a 1-0 lead. 23 seconds later, tempers flared again as another fight broke out. At 9:30 of the period, the Komets extended their lead to 2-0 as Jean-Michel Rizk lit the lamp. Just three seconds later, it was a hat trick for fights as the gloves were dropped again. At 11:47 into the period, Luca Caputi found the net again and he made it a 3-0 game. That's the way it ended as Komets' goaltender Charlie Effinger made 35 saves to earn the shutout.

After the game, we drove back to our hotel to get some sleep on our way back to Jacksonville.

Stay tuned for another special post that will recap the rest of our brief visit to Florida.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty goes to Cleveland to see the Browns play the Ravens!

Prince at Cleveland Browns Stadium

After we spent the night in Somerset, PA at Days Inn, we got up in the morning and we had breakfast at the hotel before we continued our journey to Cleveland, Ohio.

We left the hotel at 9:15AM and we arrived in downtown Cleveland at 12:20PM. We parked the car on the street and we walked over to Cleveland Browns Stadium where we were going to see the Browns play the Baltimore Ravens.

We didn't have tickets yet. We went outside the southeast gate and we asked around for them. After a short time, we were able to round up a few singles. The first one cost us $20 and the second was $10 so we split the difference and we went inside to watch the game.

As for the game we saw, the Browns reminded us of the Washington Wizards from the night before. Ironically they fell behind big early as the Ravens raced out to a 14-0 lead after the first quarter. Running back Ray Rice from Rutgers was running wild early. He scored the first touchdown of the game with 8:32 left in the quarter as he ran in from 8 yards out. His counterpart in the backfield, rookie from Temple, Bernard Pierce scored with just one second left on the clock. He toed the sidelines as he took it in from 12 yards out. This occurred after he took an unnecessary roughness penalty that moved the ball from the 6 yard to the 21 yard line.

In the second quarter, the Browns started to make a comeback. They got a 32 yard field goal from their kicker Phil Dawson with 9:19 left until halftime to break the shutout at 14-3. Later in the quarter they failed to get in the end zone on a few more occasions. They wound up settling for field goals from 28 & 29 yards out as they made it a game going into the locker room trailing by five points at 14-9.

In the third quarter, the Browns' defense continued to dominate as they held the Ravens scoreless. The Browns tacked on another field goal from 33 yards out with 2:39 left to get within two at 14-12.

In the fourth quarter, the Browns took their first lead of the day with 8:48 left as Phil Dawson connected on a 41 yard field goal to give the Browns a 15-14 lead. The Browns defense was worn down as they allowed the Ravens to regain the lead. The Ravens awoke as they marched down the field on a nine play 81 yard drive that culminated with a 19 yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Torrey Smith with 4:26 left in the quarter. They added the two point conversion as quarterback Joe Flacco found wide receiver Anquan Boldin to give the Ravens a 22-15 lead. After the Browns turned the ball over on downs deep in their own territory, the Ravens got a 43 yard field goal from kicker Justin Tucker to seal the deal, 25-15. Just like the Wizards the night before, the Browns found a way to lose.

That's the way it goes. After the game, we walked back to the car as we got ready for the long ride home.
We got in the car just before 5PM. On the way back we stopped off at Burger King for a fast dinner. We made a pit stop for gas as well in Pennsylvania so we didn't have to worry about waiting all night to find a gas station who had gas. We got back home at 1AM.

All things considered we had a great weekend. We adjusted to the circumstances we were given and we made the best of them.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees another doubleheader in Chicagoland on Labor Day!

View from Upper Deck at the "Cell"  

The King and I slept in St. Charles, Illinois at Super 8 which is located right near Geneva where the Kane County Cougars play. We did so because we had an afternoon game at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark Monday afternoon. It was last game of the season for the Cougars who were closing out their season with the Peoria Chiefs, the Cubs farm team.

Before we arrived at the ballpark for the 1PM start, we stopped off in downtown Geneva if you will. We wound up having breakfast at the Geneva Diner. It turned out to be a wise choice. We both decided to have something different. With that being said, the King and I had gyro and eggs. It was really good. I'm glad we can't across this place which first opened in 1921 as a lunch car.

After we got done eating we drove over to the ballpark to spend the afternoon watching the first of two baseball games we had planned. I was walking towards the box office and a person handed me a scratch off card that was good for two free tickets to a Kane County Cougar game. So I went up to the box office and I got us two tickets. I waited for the King who was lagging behind.

He finally caught up and we walked inside. We had plenty of time to spare so we could relax and get ready for more baseball. It was Fan Appreciation Day as season ticket holders were able to go on the field and get pictures and autographs of their favorite Cougars. It was a nice way to thank their fans who have backed them all year long.

As for the game we saw, the Cougars didn't perform well on the field. The game was scoreless after three innings. Then the Chiefs broke through. They scored a run in the fourth and they added four more in the fifth as catcher Yaniel Cabezas hit a three run homer. The next batter left fielder Oliver Zapata got hit by Cougars' starter Mike Giovenco who got ejected for doing so. Zapata proceeded to steal second and he went to third on a wild pitch. He then scored on a sacrifice fly to give the Chiefs a 5-0 lead. In the sixth inning, the Cougars' catcher Kenny Swab responded with a two run homer of his own to get the Cougars within three at 5-2. The Chiefs added another run in the ninth to extend their lead as they beat the Cougars in the season finale, 6-2.

After the game, the King and went back to the car and drove to U.S. Cellular Field which is on the South Side of Chicago. This was the first time we saw a game at the "Cell" since we were there for Game One of the 2005 World Series when the White Sox played the Houston Astros.

It should be noted we tried to go there on May 11, 2006 but we got rained out that night. We tried to get back but the schedule never worked out right for us. It used to be an annual tradition to go there. Thankfully we finally got to go back. This was the first time we were there since they completed their latest renovation of the ballpark which now has all dark green seats instead of the royal blue it had in years past.

It's not quite the same as going to the North Side but it will suffice for who are loyal to South Siders. Back in the day, we saw some games at Old Comiskey Park which gave Wrigley Field a run for the money.

Before we arrived at the ballpark, we went to a McDonald's for dinner. We then found a free parking spot in the neighborhood where there was no residential parking signs posted saying you can't park on 31st Street which worked out well for us. We walked over to the ballpark and we even got tickets right at the box office. The King noticed they had special Monday night pricing in effect. They wanted only $7 for seats in the upper deck. So we decided we'll get those. Unfortunately we couldn't go down to the lower level because you need to have a lower level ticket to do so. It was no big deal. We saw the game fine right behind home plate and nobody bothered us. It was nice and relaxing.

Before the game, the White Sox honored former player and coach, the late Kevin Hickey who passed away back on May 16th after fighting for his life before he succumbed to a diabetic coma. It was a sad and touching ceremony.

As for the game we saw, the White Sox jumped on the visiting Minnesota Twins early as Gordon Beckham hit a two run homer to give the Pale Hose a 2-0 lead. It stayed that way until the fifth when the Twins' Jamey Carroll hit a solo homer to pull the Twins within one at 2-1. In the seventh inning, Paul Konerko delivered a run scoring single to extend the White Sox lead to 3-1. It proved to be a big run as the Twins' Justin Morneau answered with a run scoring single to pull the Twins back to within a run at 3-2 in the top of the eighth. In the bottom half, Gordon Beckham added a run scoring single to round out the scoring as the White Sox held on to win, 4-2.

After the game, the King and I drove back to Milwaukee where we spent the night at Days Inn right by the airport because we had to catch an early flight home Tuesday morning.

Stay tuned for the rest of the week in review as the King and I continued to roll on.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Pittsburgh Update

Day 2 of Journey
Well yesterday morning we got all packed up and headed towards Pittsburgh. We made a smart stop about 25 miles outside Pittsburgh and had a delicious four course meal at a King's Family Restaurant, we ate like royalty at a great price.
 
As for the game, St. Louis came out hot scoring two runs in the first and never looked back. My boy Big Puma hit a three run homer in the fifth as the Cardinals chased Pittsburgh's Kevin Correia out after 4 2/3 innings after giving up seven earned runs. The Cardinals' Jaime Garcia had another quality start as he pitched 7 1/3 innings and only allowed eight hits and one earned run striking out five. The Cardinals easily won taking game two of the series, 9 to 1.

After the game we headed southeast toward Somerset which is about three or four miles from the 9/11 plane crash in Pennsylvania. We got into the Day's Inn in Somerset right around midnight and bedded down to recharge our batteries for our trip to Baltimore and our first doubleheader of the trip.

Royalty visits friends and sees the Nets play on the road in Washington D.C.!

Sunday morning we got up and we had breakfast at the Waffle House which was conveniently located by the Days Inn we stayed at in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Stay tuned for the special post I'm going to do on that eatery.

After we ate, we drove to the Verizon Center to see the Nets take on the Washington Wizards in a matinee game. The opening tip-off was scheduled for 1PM.

We arranged to meet our good friend Peter Agnew from Baltimore there. He's been a loyal Wizards season ticket holder since 1987. He was able to secure some additional tickets free of charge and he decided to give us the royal treatment.

In addition, he brought his friend John Pratt from Baltimore and his nephew to the game.

As for the game we saw, the Nets who played without newly acquired Deron Williams. Despite that they got off to a fast start and led by 17 late in the second quarter.

In the second half, the depleted Wizards arose and they stormed back as the Nets played awful. The Wizards came away with a 98-92 victory.

After the game, we went to Baltimore where we met up with Peter and his lovely wife Carmen for dinner.

We wound up trying a new place called Matthew's Pizza.

Stay tuned as I go into further detail in a special post.

As always we enjoyed their company. We take turns visiting each other.

Peter always invites us to come down. Thankfully the schedule worked out so we took advantage of this opportunity.

That's what makes going places so much fun.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Great weekend in New England

Put it in the books! Another weekend well spent living the life of royalty.

I got up early Saturday morning walked a mile and a half to Avis and picked up some fresh wheels to head up North to New England. I went to Astoria to pick up the King and off we went to Boston to start our day.

We arrived in Beantown at Noon with the Celtics and Nets starting at 1PM, we had plenty of time. I went to park the car in a nearby garage for a mere $10. A few other garages in the area were getting $25 to park. Royalty knows all the ways to get more bang for the buck. The Royalty slogan is to minimize cost and maximize enjoyment. That's just another example of the Royalty way. We know we have to pay to park in Boston at that time of the day so we do it as economical as possible.

After the game, we drove 55 miles to Worcester, Massachusetts to see a minor league hockey game. First we stopped off at the Ninety Nine Restaurant, which is a chain in the New England as well as the Philadelphia area. We went in and had ourselves a hearty dinner that was fit for a Prince and a King.

After the game, we drove 25 miles to Sturbridge, MA where we spent the night at a Days Inn.

We woke up in the morning and started the day off right by going to Cracker Barrel, a favorite restaurant of Royalty. If you like Southern style food you can't go wrong here. While you wait to be seated you can go shopping in their Country store. On the weekends, this place is always jam packed. Smart people like royalty know where to go to eat a good meal.

After eating, we drove 36 miles to Storrs, Connecticut, home of the Connecticut Huskies. We visited the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion for the first time. It was a very nice experience seeing a college basketball game right on campus. You can't beat the college atomosphere. It a rare home game in Storrs. The Huskies play a number of home games in Hartford at XL Center which used the Hartford Civic Center back in the day.

After the gane, on our way back home we capped off the trip by indulging in a nice steak dinner at the Texas Roadhouse in West Haven, CT which just past New Haven. Another great meal for us.

Unfortunately after dinner it was time to go home. As they say all good things have to come to an end. At least for royalty they end temporarily until the next getaway.

I returned in the morning before heading into work. I wound up driving 507 miles for the 2 days I rented the car.

If you want to get a taste of royalty, please feel free to consult me.

Spending the Weekend in New England

The weather is lousy today but I still have big plans for the weekend regardless.

Here's the game plan: I'm picking up another car from Avis tomorrow morning at 8AM. I'll be driving to Astoria, Queens to pick up the King for our next excursion.

A doubleheader is on tap. The first game is at the TD Garden in Boston where the NJ Nets play the Celtics at 1PM.

After that game we'll be heading back towards home but we'll be stopping in Worcester, Massachusetts to see a minor league hockey game. The Worcester Sharks play host to Abbotsford Heat at 7:05PM.

We'll be sleeping out in Sturbridge. Massachusetts at Days Inn. Sunday we'll be going to Storrs, Connecticut to see Louisville and UCONN play. The game starts at 2PM and it's going to televised by CBS.

Assuming mother nature doesn't interfere with the game plan it should be another eventful weekend for royalty. Check back to see how everything unfolded.

Outdoor Classic Weekend Getaway in Review

Another weekend came and went, unlike most people royalty spent it wisely. Before going to work on Friday morning, I walked a mile and a half with a few bags in hand to pick up a car rental from Avis for the weekend.

I do have a car but it's rather old and I prefer to use it locally to get around. So I rent cars all the time since I rather go in style and I don't want to have any problems getting where I want to go.

With that being said, this time I rented a Pontiac G6 equipped with satellite radio, XM. That was an added bonus. Actually Neil who works there treats me well because I rent cars from them all the time, knows my preferences. So like the good guy he is he accomodated my needs and wants. Needless to say, I'm very grateful for the added value I received. I got the car at 7:09AM for the record.


First order of business was to get to work on time. I drove the car to the subway in Queens by 111th Street where I can pick up the 7 train. I found a parking spot on the right side of the street because they have alternate side parking over there on Thursdays and Fridays. I took the 7 train to Queensboro Plaza and connected with the N train. Thankfully I did get to work on time at 8:30AM.

After putting in a full day at the office, I went back to pick up the car. I left the office at 5:30PM in Midtown Manhattan. I got some rare great service from the MTA which is exactly what I needed.

I wound up getting into the car at 6:02PM. I had to pick up the King and our friend Larry Peim along the way out to the Meadowlands where we were seeing the NJ Nets play the Toronto Raptors at 8PM.

After a pit stop at Burger King which we wound up taking out because we were pressed for time, we parked the car for free at 7:37PM. After a short walk over to the arena we were in the building at 7:50PM. That gave us plenty of time to get situated for the 8:12PM opening tip.

After the game, we got back into the car and headed towards Syracuse, NY. We drove halfway there and stayed over in Days Inn located in Dunmore, PA. I planned to arrive there around 1AM. Sure enough, we parked the car at the hotel at 12:55AM. We checked in.


We woke up Saturday morning and had a nice continental breakfast to start our day. We got back in the car and finished the drive to the NY State Fairgrounds, the site of the Outdoor Classic that we were attending. Check back for a separate post regarding that unique event.

We got to the Syracuse area early around 11:15AM for the game that was scheduled to start at 1PM.

After the game, we walked back to the car and drove 96 miles via State road 13 which were picked up in Cortland, NY we passed through Ithaca, where my co-worker here at Fox Stations Sales, Dan Juvan went to college en route to Elmira to see another hockey game.

Interesting note about Dan, he played football at Ithaca College, he was their quarterback. In addition, he was given a try out by the Buffalo Bills in 2009. Unfortunately for him he didn't make the cut.


Before the game which started at 7:35PM we stopped since time did allow at Pudgie's. We got there at 6:40PM which left us plenty of time to sit and relax and we were able to enjoy some freshly made hot pizza.

Let me tell you it was as good as advertised. You can ask my friend, Larry Peim who joined the King and I for this getaway. He was raving about it.

We proceeded to go to the hockey game. After the game, I drove back to Hartsdale, NY to drop off Larry. He got home at 2:26AM. Next stop was the Castle where the King resides in Astoria, Queens I dropped him off at 3:15AM.

Last but not least I took myself home. I arrived home at 3:40AM.

Sunday I stayed home most of the day trying to catch up on sleep and cleaning up around the house before it was time to go back out to the IZOD Center to see the NJ Nets entertain the Memphis Grizzlies at 6PM.

I already did a post on that game so please feel free to check it out.

Monday morning I went back to Avis before going back to work to return the car rental. I returned the car at 7:02AM.

I drove 740 miles in all during this 3 day rental. Another reason why I think it's best to rent a car. Normally I do that kind of mileage in a 2 day rental if not more. Why should I buy a new car and abuse it when I can rent and test drive many different cars without having to worry about maintenance. It works for me.

Needless to say, I did get to work on time again. Until the next rental, I'll be staying in the local area.

Another weekend has arrived and royalty is ready to make the most of it!

Last Friday morning before I got to work my plan for this weekend was to take it "easy" if you will.

In other words, I wasn't planning on leaving the New York City area except to go the IZOD Center tonight and Sunday to see the lowly Nets play.

In addition, I was looking to see Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder come to the Garden to take on the now "new look" Knicks tomorrow night.

Upon arriving in the office that day, things changed. Once I was able to access the internet, a tool that didn't exist back in the day, I stumbled across an opportunity that I wasn't aware of.

I said to myself, I have to seize it. In true form, I did just that.

I found out that there's going to be an Outdoor minor league hockey game in Syracuse, NY at the NY State Fairgrounds between the Syracuse Crunch, who are affilliated with the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Binghamton Senators, the Ottawa Senators farm team at 1PM.

Then I checked out schedules for other games that would in driving distance that night. I noticed that Elmira which is 90 miles away were scheduled to play a game at 7:35PM.

So I said to myself, that's perfect. I'm going.

During lunch, I secured tickets through Ticketmaster for the Outdoor Classic. I had already rented a car from Avis for the weekend so I would have the wheels to get there and back with no hassles.

Sure enough on my way to work today I picked up a nice new Pontiac G6 equipped with XM radio to boot. Life of royalty has its privileges. Needless to say, I'm loving my life these days.

After work, I will go back into Queens to pick up the car and my adventurous weekend will start. First I have to go to pick up the King. Then we have to meet our friend Larry Peim who will be joining us as well. After that it's off to the IZOD Center to see the Toronto Raptors play the New Jersey Nets at 8PM.

After the game, we'll be driving to Dunmore, PA which is halfway to Syracuse so we can a good night's sleep at Days Inn. We will have a nice continental breakfast as well before we continue on our way to the NY State Fairgrounds.

Check back next week for the recap of the weekend.