Royalty goes to Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati & meets up with some special people!‏

After the King & I left Pittsburgh Saturday night after the Pirate game, we drove to Columbus, Ohio where we spent the night at Travelodge. On the way there, we stopped off for dinner at Eat' N Park in Washington, Pennsylvania. I wound up having a seafood dinner along with their salad & soup bar while the King had chicken strips. After we finished eating we continued on to Columbus which put us 110 miles from the Queen City of Cincinnati.
 

Scoreboard at Great American Ballpark

Molly, Me & Kathy McKee

My official stamp at GABP

We got up Sunday morning ‎& we drove to Great American Ballpark to see the Cincinnati Reds host the Philadelphia Phillies that afternoon. We wound up parking the car on the street in downtown around 11AM. I walked ahead of the King. He told me he'll catch up since I had to go to the VIP Concierge desk to pick up the Champions Club tickets that my pal & founder of the MLB Pass-Port book, Tim Parks left for us in my name.  After I got them, I walked outside to wait for the King. Shortly thereafter, I got to meet & greet a few special people who came to the game special to meet & greet me. They were Kathy McKee & her daughter Molly. They're big Reds fans & they also love having their Pass-Port books. They have a half season ticket package but this particular game wasn't part of their plan. Kathy told me that she had rainchecks from other games that she needed to exchange. With that being said, she wound up getting seats in the upper level which were right above us in section 427. The King & I were sitting with Tim in section 227 which was just to the right of home plate. A few minutes after I met them, the King came along. Without further adieu, I introduced them to him. We then proceeded to go inside through the season ticket holder entrance. When we got inside the King said he'll meet me in the Club. In the meantime, I got to spend some quality time with the ladies. We wound up going all the way down by the Reds dugout so we could take a picture together. A lady who was nearby was kind enough to do the honors for us. Thankfully it came out really nice. After we spoke for a little while we walked back up to the concourse so we could get our Pass-Port books stamped at guest services which is one of the seven locations that had the stamp. More importantly, I needed to show Kathy my trick to getting my stamp in the strike zone as she calls it. She claims  that the stamp at GABP is off center. That may be true because my stamp was slightly off LOL. Regardless with my influence her stamp came out really good. I was impressed. Based on her track record, she was on the mark in my book. I hope she continues to improve her ability to get it in the zone. I told her practice makes perfect. After plenty of tries, my stamping ability is excellent. A year ago when I first got my book, I was afraid to do it myself. Nowadays I don't let the people who work at the ballpark do it, I do it myself. After we finished getting validated, we walked over to the entrance to the Champions Club, where we said our goodbyes. I thanked Kathy & Molly for taking some of their precious time to come to meet me. It may have been short but it was sweet. 

My meal at the Champions Club

I proceeded to take the elevator up to the Club level. They put a wristband on my wrist which allowed me to indulge in the all you can eat food they offer their premium guests there. Kathy gave me fair warning so I made sure I brought my appetite. I wound up having pulled pork from Montgomery Inn, a few slices of LaRosa's pizza, potato chips & cinnamon covered pretzels which Kathy told me were a must‎. She was so right. They were outrageous. I also had countless cups of water. The King had a few burgers & kielbasa. All in all, we enjoyed the privilege that Tim gave us. When we finished eating we went to our seats. Shortly thereafter, Tim arrived. We thanked him for the royal treatment he gave us. We enjoyed talking to him during the game. We even got a surprise when we were shown on the jumbo tron during the game. Apparently Tim waved his magic wand & he made it happen. It was really cool. Kathy saw us & she wrote me a text to let me know. 

The King & I with Tim Parks on the Jumbo Tron at GABP

As for the game we saw, the Reds fall behind early 1-0, but starter Homer Bailey wound up pitching a great game & he helped himself out by giving him ‎& his team the lead 2-1 with a two run single in the bottom of the fifth inning. That was followed by a two run homer by Billy Hamilton. It should noted that the King decided to get his brand new MLB Pass-Port book stamped at that time. He said to himself, he won't hit a home run. It never fails, the King misses the slight bit of action & sure enough something special happens. His timing in that regard is impeccable. The Reds wound up winning the game, 4-1 as Homer Bailey went eight innings & closer Aroldis Chapman blew away the Phillies by striking out the side in the ninth inning to preserve the victory.
 

Me, Sandy Helton Smith & The King at GABP

When the King & I headed out of the Club to leave the ballpark we were greeted by a few more special ladies. They were Sandy Helton Smith ‎& her co-worker Marie Murphy. They're big Pass-port fans too. Ironically last October when I went to Nashville I met a young man named Tyler Garret Smith who happens to be Sandy's son. He told me when I met him that his mother knew Tim Parks. What a coincidence it was. Sandy was so happy & honored to meet the King & I. We only got to talk for a short time since we had to hit the road because we had a long ride ahead of us. Regardless it was time well spent.

Stay tuned for the recap of the rest of the journey.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly‎,

Gary Herman

Royalty starts 2011 with an added surprise!‏





Prince at Youngstown State



Prince at Winter Classic























 

When we were in Columbus, Ohio on New Year's Eve we found out that the Winter Classic in Pittsburgh was moved from 1PM to 8PM due to mother nature. Rain was in the forecast mainly during the afternoon.

As a result, we received a call from our friend, Manny Morales, who informed us that there was a college basketball game at Cleveland State at 2PM.

Shortly thereafter our friends Mike & Alicia Irr from Pittsburgh told us that there was a college basketball game at Youngstown State at 1:05PM.

I quickly figured out the distances of both places and I decided that since we were staying in Washington, Pennsylvania that Youngstown State was the way to go.

By doing so, we got to see a rare Penguin doubleheader.



First we saw the Youngstown State Penguins play the Ramblers from Loyola of Illinois.

When we arrived at the arena, the King and I were already to pay $8.00 to get in the building. The lady said here you go it's free today. She proceeded to give us tickets and we walked in.

What a way to start the New Year. We got to attend another sporting event and the price was right. What a pleasant surprise.

Based on the Penguin's performance, we got our money's worth. The Ramblers wound up blowing away the Penguins, 83-53.

After we got back to the car, I called our friends Mike & Alicia Irr in Pittsburgh who were attending the Winter Classic at Heinz Field too.

We wound up meeting them at McKees Rocks, which is located right outside of downtown Pittsburgh for dinner at Eat' N Park. We passed through Neville Island for the first time in order to get there.

After dinner we made our way over to Heinz Field to see the Washington Capitals take on the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Thankfully mother nature was cooperative enough that they were able to get the whole game in without any stoppages.

It was rather warm and it did manage to rain a little bit in the third period but the show still went on. 

The NHL did a tremendous marketing job once again making this special event possible. Royalty was happy to be part of it for the third time in four years. We saw the first Winter Classic in Buffalo in 2008. Last year we were in Fenway Park. This year was Heinz Field. Now the question is where will the next one be. We hope it's right in our backyard. We'll have to wait and see.

As for this one, the Capitals and the Penguins put on a nice display of hockey outdoors. The NHL has find a way to get people to watch hockey by having this unique event.

It was a festive atomosphere as the tickets were divided up evenly. It appeared like the fans of each team were sitting together in every other section. In other words, one section had mostly Penguin fans and the next section was mainly Capital fans and so on around the building.

We sat among many Capital fans since our friend Peter Agnew who lives in Baltimore, has season tickets for the Capitals. Back in the summer, the Capitals gave him an opportunity to purchase tickets for this unique event. He decided to pass on going to the game. As a result, he asked us if we wanted to buy the tickets. Needless to say, we gladly said yes. Our only concern was the weather. Luckily it worked out in the end.

I want to thank Peter for taking care of us. Peter and his lovely wife Carmen are good people. We always try to get down to Baltimore and/or Washington D.C. so we can spend some quality time with them. On the other hand, they love to come up to NYC because they're big fans of the Opera. When they do, we always make time to see them.

As for the game we saw, the Capitals wound up winning 3-1 before a crowd of 68,111!

The league's two superstars Sidney Crosby of the Penguins and Alex Ovechkin of the Capitals didn't even score a point.

As a result, other players such as Eric Fehr of the Capitals who scored two goals was the hero. Semyon Varlamov made 32 saves in goal for the Caps. The Penguins only goal was scored by Evgeni Malkin.

It was a bad day and night to be a Penguin.

After the game, we drove back home so we could attend the Jet game against the Bills at the New Meadowlands Stadium at 1PM.

I wound up dropping the King off at 7:15AM. I got home at 7:40AM. Since I was planning to return the car around 10AM I decided not to go to sleep.

I unpacked my stuff, took a shower and I ate breakfast before I returned the car.

After that I took the bus to the subway to the Port Authority Bus Terminal to go to the game.

The Jets decided to rest many of their key players in this one. It seemed more like a preseason game. The Jets went on to whip the Bills, 38-7!

After the game, I went back by LaGuardia Airport to pick up my car that I had left when I went to Chicago the week before.



I got home at 6:45PM. I ate dinner then shortly thereafter I went to sleep so I could catch up.

What a way to start 2011.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman