Royalty visits Principal Park in Des Moines, Iowa with up and coming roadtripper!

Prince and Tige

After I had dinner at The Machine Shed with Tige Hutcheson who writes for the website Stadium Journey, we went to Downtown Des Moines to see the Iowa Cubs host the Omaha Storm Chasers in a minor league baseball game.

For all the details about the ballpark experience please see the link below. Tige did a great review that covers all the bases.

http://www.stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/principal-park-s230/

As for the game we saw, it was a seesaw battle as the hometown Iowa Cubs were playing out the string and the visiting Omaha Storm Chasers were preparing for the playoffs.

The Storm Chasers took an early 4-0 lead. The Baby Cubbies came back to take a 5-4 lead after 4 innings. In the top of the fifth inning, the Storm Chasers went back ahead, 6-5. Then in the seventh inning they put up a crooked number as they posted a nine spot to break this game open. That's how it ended as the Storm Chasers won, 15-5.

Regardless of the outcome, it was an entertaining and fun night at the ballpark.

I want to personally thank Tige for joining me and making my first visit to Principal Park a very memorable one.

Stay tuned as I relive my return to the Heartland. I have plenty more to write so please bear with me as I attempt to play catch up.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

The Machine Shed

Iowa  Pork Chop Dinner

When I was attempting to meet up with Tige Hutcheson for dinner I accidentally came across a restaurant called the Machine Shed in Urbandale, Iowa. It was located right outside of West Des Moines which is not far from Downtown Des Moines where we were going to see the Iowa Cubs play.

I walked inside the restaurant if you will and I asked a lady named Julie Eckhardt who was waiting to seat people for the exact address while I was talking to Tige so he could meet me there.

Julie was very friendly which is typical of people from the heartland and the cornfields of the State of Iowa.
While I was waiting for Tige, I was looking around and I noticed this place reminded me of Cracker Barrel. It had a watering hole on one side, a retail store which included a bakery and the family restaurant on the other side.

Another lady named Tonia Slack, who was the retail manager got my attention. I started talking to her and I told her I was from New York City. She told me she lived in Connecticut for a while so it made for an instant conversation.

During our chat, she showed me the different pastries they had to offer and she told me to go ahead and pick one out to take home with me. They're known for their cinnamon rolls which were covered with butter cream frosting. It was a huge roll. I couldn't thank her enough for her kindness. I proceeded to go out to the car to put it away.

I waited for Tige to come and shortly thereafter he did. We went inside to indulge in a hearty country farm style home cooked meal.

I had an Iowa Pork Chop as you can see in the picture. Tige had Brisket which also looked and tasted delicious. In addition, Julie and Tonia both recommended their baked potato soup. I was going to order a bowl but our waitress Barb said to go with the cup since I was getting the extra thick chop. That was a wise decision.

When I finally got done eating, I was stuffed.

After we ate, I made sure I said goodbye to Julie and Tonia. In addition, there was another lady with them, Cat Wood. I spoke briefly with her as well.

Tige and I had to get to the game so we were forced to leave.

I want to personally thank these ladies for the wonderful hospitality they provided us.

If and when I happen to be back in that area I'll definitely plan to enjoy another great meal.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

A Royal return to the Heartland over Labor Day Weekend!

Hello KC!

Friday morning I woke up early and off to LaGuardia Airport I went to embark on a return visit to our Nation's Heartland. In other words, I was going to spend my Labor Day weekend in Missouri, Iowa and Kansas.

I flew out to Kansas City, Missouri on American Airlines at 7:45AM Eastern Time with a layover in Dallas-Fort Worth. By doing so, it was more cost effective for me since after all I'm not made of money. I eventually landed in Kansas City at 1:40PM in the afternoon Central Time. As a result, I was able to gain an hour on my way out there.

Upon arrival, I took a shuttle bus to the rental car center and I proceeded to rent a car from Alamo. The rental agent named Colter who tried his very best to try to lure me into taking a bigger car for just $33 more for the weekend. Being a veteran and astute traveler, I didn't go for the bait.

In retrospect, it turned out to be a wise decision. I reserved an economy car. He told me when I was getting ready to leave the counter to pick out a car he said and I quote "you got a really good deal." I sure did. I proceeded to walk out to the area where the cars were. He said to pick one from the compact area. That's an instant car upgrade already. As I was walking over to the compact cars, I noticed a Chevy Impala was parked there. I know for a fact that's a full size car. I asked a worker who was nearby and he said and I quote "get it while it's hot." Since I was by myself there was no need to get such a big car especially in the area I was driving to and from. I looked at the other options and I decided I'll take the Hyundai Elantra, a car I've rented a number of times in the past. That's a midsize car by today's rental standards. I also noticed that it was equipped with a XM radio so I said to myself that's mine for the weekend.

I got in and I drove off. My next destination was going to be Des Moines, Iowa which was about 200 miles north of Kansas City. It was a straight shot up I-35. I arranged to meet up with an up and coming sports traveler in Des Moines where we were going to see the Iowa Cubs play against the Omaha Storm Chasers at Principal Park. This young man named Tige Hutcheson, contacted me earlier in the week when I was at Citi Field. He told me he covers the state of Iowa for Stadium Journey, the website that does reviews of all the different ballparks and arenas around the country as well as other parts of the World. If you haven't checked it out yet, I strongly suggest that you do so.

When I saw Tige's e-mail, I responded quickly like I always do. To be perfectly honest, he made my night. I anxiously made arrangements to meet up with him. I told him I was planning to have a nice dinner before I got to the ballpark.

He said to call him when I got close to Des Moines. He was coming from Mankato, Minnesota where he's currently attending college at Minnesota State. He told me he's from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I was fast approaching Des Moines at 4:30PM I was about 25 miles away so I called him to see if we could try to meet up for dinner before the game. He was at a store killing time in a mall. I got off the highway and I noticed a place to eat. It was called the Machine Shed. I walked inside while I was talking to him so I could get their address so he could meet me there. Shortly thereafter, he did.

Stay tuned for the very special post I'm going to be doing about this restaurant, country store and watering hole. In addition, the next installment of this memorable weekend.

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