Royalty meets up with more special people at Eichenkranz Restaurant in Baltimore!

After spending the night at Knights Inn in Somerset, Pennsylvania Saturday night July 13th, I got up Sunday morning and I drove 185 miles to Baltimore so I could meet up with my friends Peter & Carmen Agnew at the Eichenkranz Restaurant, which is located in the middle of a neighborhood on Fagley Street.

I got there around 11:30AM. Peter & Carmen arrived a little before me so they could hold a table & they told them I was on my way there. That way I was still able to order breakfast. We were waited on by Rose who loves seeing me when I come in. She loves hearing my accent when I place my order.

I sat down and I had bacon and eggs over hard with home fries and pancakes. It was excellent.

More importantly, I got to spend some precious time with Peter & Carmen. I know they love to see me when I'm in town. I was going to Oriole Park at Camden Yards to see the Orioles play the Blue Jays at 1:35PM that afternoon. With that being said, I arranged to go out of my way to meet up with them.

It worked out well as I had just enough time to drive back to the neighborhood near the ballpark where I parked the car.

I want to personally thank Peter & Carmen for joining me. It's always great to see them.

Stay tuned for the special post that will recap the game I saw at Camden Yards that afternoon.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty spends my special day in Baltimore/Washington DC seeing an another basketball doubleheader!

After saying goodbye to Frank Anichiarico and Mike Carroll who went back home to NYC, the King and I drove to Aberdeen, Maryland where we spent the night at Super 8.

In the morning we got up and we drove 30 miles to Baltimore and we met up with our friends Peter & Carmen Agnew at the Eichenkranz Restaurant for breakfast to start my special day.

We got to see Rose who waited on us. As always it was a pleasure to see her again. We got to enjoy breakfast and each other's company. After we ate, Rose surprised me when she brought out an ice cream sundae with a candle in it to celebrate my birthday. It was an unexpected thoughtful touch. As a result, I felt extra special. She caught me off guard.

After we finished eating, we said goodbye to Peter & Carmen. I want to thank them for making the time to join us while we were in the area.

Prince at Reitz Arena

The King and I got back in the car and we drove over to Loyola University of Maryland. We went to the Reitz Arena which is the home of the Loyola (MD) Greyhounds of the MAAC Conference. They were playing the Manhattan Jaspers.

As for the game we saw, the Jaspers took an early lead but that was short lived as the Greyhounds raced past them to take a 39-35 lead at halftime. In the second half, the Greyhounds extended their lead to 13 with 13:19 to go in the game. The Jaspers made a comeback but it fell short as the Greyhounds held on to win the game, 63-61 before a crowd of 1,324 who were in attendance.

Erik Etherly of the Greyhounds led the way as he scored a game high 30 points.

After the game, we drove towards Washington DC. We stopped off at Walmart to do some shopping since we had some time on our hands.

When we were done we drove to the Verizon Center in downtown DC where we went to see the Washington Wizards host the Philadelphia 76ers. Thanks to Peter Agnew who gave us a parking pass we got to park the car in the garage that's connected to the arena. As a result, we got in and out of the area fast.
After we parked the car, we took a walk over to Burger King which was a few blocks away for a pre game meal. Since we weren't that hungry, we decided that would suffice to hold us over. It would have been nice to gone somewhere better but given the circumstances, it wasn't that important.

Once we were done we went back to the Verizon Center to see the game.

Prince at Verizon Center

As for the game we saw, the Wizards got off to a good start as they led the 76ers, 26-22 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the 76ers sliced into the lead as the Wizards led by just one at the intermission, 50-49. In the third quarter, the Wizards regained their four point lead as they led, 72-68. In the fourth quarter, the 76ers took a late lead at 87-84 but they failed to score in the last few minutes as the Wizards scored the last six points of the game to beat them, 90-87.

After the game, we drove back home and we got back at 1:33AM.

Overall I had a great day and I want to personally thank everybody who acknowledged my special day via e-mail, text messages, Twitter and/or Facebook. I was bombarded all day and I felt overwhelmed but I was grateful for all the love I was shown throughout the day. I know I'm truly blessed.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty gets a double dosage of Eichenkranz Restaurant in Baltimore!

Me & Rose

After spending the night at Super 8 in York, PA, the King and I got up early and we drove to Baltimore to see the Ravens play the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Wild Card game that afternoon at 1PM. I'll be doing a few special posts regarding that. Stay tuned for them.

In the meantime, I want to relive the great meals we had that day. Ironically we had breakfast and dinner at the same place. We arranged to meet up with our good friends, Peter & Carmen Agnew who live in Baltimore. They always want us to visit them. I always try my best to squeeze them into my busy schedule. With that being said, we wound up seeing them twice in the same day.

Normally we go to Eichenkranz Restaurant for breakfast which is a great way to start a day. As for breakfast, my girlfriend Rose who works as a waitress there was so happy to see me. I had my usual royal breakfast of bacon and eggs which comes with home fries along with toast plus I had an order of pancakes. I like to have the best of all worlds whenever possible. After we all enjoyed our breakfast, we discussed possible dinner plans after the game. I was hoping we could go to Looney's Pub but with the Redskins playing at 4:30PM, Peter said and I agreed it would be way to crowded to go there. With that being said, we needed a plan B. Since the King is such a picky eater finding a place can be difficult. Peter mentioned about going to a Chinese buffet. I told him that's no good. Another place we've been to with them, Matthew's Pizza, Peter also said will be too crowded.

I was thinking to myself, why not just come back here and eat. It probably won't be crowded. That way we can sit, relax and enjoy each other's company some more. I proceeded to ask for their dinner menu so I could glance it over to see if it would suffice for all of us. I noticed they had a number of different choices including their specialty, German entrees such as brats and other sausages. With that being said, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to try it out for dinner. It's very rare for me to ever go to the same restaurant twice in the same day. Honestly this could have been a first in my life. Sometimes doing something twice really is nice.

Rose the waitress wet my appetite for dinner when I asked her opinion on the different options on the menu. She told me the broiled stuffed fillet of flounder is really good. When we returned that's what I ordered. She was right, it was delicious. She was there again because she told us in the morning she had a baby shower to go to upstairs. So I really got an added treat. I got to see her again. She made my day and my night.
In addition, we also brought another special guest with us. Our pal Andrew Van Cleve who we met at the Raven game joined us because I arranged to give him a ride home to Philadelphia. He took Amtrak to Baltimore and we took him back.

As a result, Andrew got to meet Peter & Carmen and he had a nice dinner too.

After we finished eating we said our goodbyes and we headed home. We wound up dropping Andrew off around 8:30PM then the King & I continued back to Astoria, NY where we live. We got back at 11PM. All in all, it turned out to be worth our while.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royal breakfast at Eichenkranz Restaurant in Baltimore Sunday morning!

Peter , Dave, Carmen , me, the King & Mike Carroll 

After getting some sleep, Dave Block, Mike Carroll, the King and I went to have breakfast Sunday morning at Eichenkranz Restaurant in Baltimore with our friends Peter & Carmen Agnew.

A few years ago we discovered this local spot right in the middle of a neighborhood on a side street thanks to Peter & Carmen who live nearby. Unless you live in the vicinity like they do, you would have no idea this place even exists.

The King and I have made it a staple when time allows to go there. You can't beat the prices or the service.

We always get royal treatment thanks to Rose the waitress there who loves my accent. She was so thrilled to see me again. She referred to me as her boyfriend. Nothing beats feeling like you're home even if you're technically not. With all the traveling I've done over the years, everywhere feels like home to me.

While we were there we got to catch up with Peter & Carmen who always ask us to come down. I always do my best to fulfill their requests. Peter loves all the different people we've introduced him to.

After we all enjoyed a hearty inexpensive breakfast, we said our goodbyes to Peter & Carmen and Rose until the next time we visit.

Stay tuned for the special post that we will recap the next part of the journey as we headed back towards NYC.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty enjoys the return of Mets baseball at Citi Field over Opening Weekend!

The King and I

When the schedule was released back in the middle of September I marked down April 8th, that was when the Mets would open their home schedule at Citi Field.

With that being said, I arranged to work a half a day so I could be there for the special occasion. After work on Friday I went out to Citi Field for the Mets home opener against the Washington Nationals at 4:10PM. It's been an annual tradition since 1982 for me to see the Mets home opener. In 2000, the King and I went all the way to Japan to see them open the season there.

Ironically the Mets lost their Opening game in Japan which was designated as a "Cub" home game as pitcher Mike Hampton who was on the mound wound up walking 9 Cubs in that one. He still induced them to hit into 5 double plays in the 5-3 defeat.

This time the Mets pitching staff issued 8 free passes while they got the Nationals to hit into 3 double plays as they lost this one, 6-2 in front of an alleged sellout crowd of 41,075. It should be known that there were noticeable areas of empty seats scattered throughout the ballpark. The Mets classified this game as a "platinum" game so the ticket prices were just as expensive as if they were playing the Yankees in a subway series game in July.

Honestly speaking, they didn't deserve to sell this game out because they were only playing the Washington Nationals even though it was Opening Day which is the only reason why they charged so much. In my view, it was a typical modern greedy business move by the Mets. In other words, a sign of the times. My advice is to get used to it because this is fast becoming the norm not the exception I'm sorry to say. My just telling you the truth. The media doesn't get paid to bad mouth. I write to to enlighten you and to enhance your knowledge. That the way royalty likes to roll. It works for us so it should work for you.   

As for the actual people who really did show up, it was nice to see some fellow season ticket holders in our section that also renewed their seats for another season. It's always nice to see familiar faces.

Speaking of familiar faces, upon entry to the ballpark, I was greeted by Sam who checked my bag before I got to the ticket taker to have my ticket scanned. It was nice to know Sam is back for another year. I saw him many times last year and it was always a pleasure to see him because he always made me feel wanted.
After I spoke briefly to Sam, I went to the ticket taker who happened to be Tony, another familiar face. I told him this is my lucky day. That was being a little premature though. Things actually got better. Not only were they giving out Mr. Met bobblehead dolls, I saw a ticket taker who I knew from Madison Square Garden, that being Rose who always has a happy face and a big sincere smile. I got to speak to her for a short time too. Now my royal entry was complete.

Before I could make my way to the escalator to head up towards my seat I ran into fellow Met fan and big fan of royalty, Cory Zimmerman who was all dressed up in his Met gear and he was all fired up for the new season that was finally upon us.

In addition, he also sells tickets to Met games. If you need tickets to see the Mets play and/or you want to see Citi Field in style, I strongly suggest you contact him so he can satisfy all your needs and wants.

Needless to say, tell him the Prince referred you so he can provide the royal treatment you expect and deserve.

Once I finally got to my seat in Section 516 row 3 I received visit from our friend Eddie who's also a road warrior and fan of the royalty way. It was great to see him again. Royalty has a knack of attracting good people.

For example, I got to see a few young kids who we met last season here at Citi Field, Manny Bonilla and Arjun Lal. It was a thrill to see them again especially since they were so happy to see the King and I. We have built up quite a fan club over the years.

In matter of fact, we all spent the weekend together at Citi Field as they came back for more too. The Mets got their first home win as they beat the Nationals, 8-4 on Saturday night.

Sunday afternoon in the rubber match of the series, it took a few extra innings to decide the winner. Thanks to Mets reliever Blaine Boyer who pitched a 1,2,3 10th inning but he couldn't duplicate that in the 11th inning as the Nationals broke through as Ivan Rodriguez delivered a clutch single to snap the 3-3 tie. Laynce Nix put the game out of reach as he hit a three run blast. The Nationals won the game and the series, 7-3.

There's plenty of baseball left to be played so if you want to come out to a ballgame let me know so I can make your experience more enjoyable home or away.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman