Royalty is heading to Denver & Seattle for a Reunion of Sports Travelers in late August!

Here's the game plan:

The King & I are flying to Denver, Colorado on American Airlines. We leave New York LaGuardia Airport on Thursday, August 20th at 7:25AM Eastern Time, we have a layover in Chicago at O'Hare  where we'll meet up our pal Paul Nieuwland & his family who are coming from Toronto. Ironically they're going to be on the same flight as us from Chicago to Denver. We all leave the Windy City at 10AM Central Time & we're scheduled to land in Denver at 11:36AM Mountain Time. Upon arrival, we'll all be meeting up with another friend of ours, Chuck Booth who is in the midst of a season long MLB baseball odyssey. Chuck will be using one of his many free rental certificates he has accumulated from being such a frequent renter to get a car for one day from his favorite car rental company, National Rent A Car. As a result, he's going to drive us all around while we're there. In addition, the King & I will be staying over with our pal Scott Bultman who is currently living in Denver.

On Friday August 21st we're all flying out to Seattle, Washington for the rest of the epic weekend. Chuck will arrive around 2PM Pacific Time he said while the rest of us get in at 2:50PM Pacific Time. Upon arrival, Chuck will wait a short time so he can meet up with us. He will then do a similar maneuver as he's going to rent a car again from National Rent A Car for all of us as well as many others who will be joining us in the Emerald City. After the big bash finally ends the King & I will board a red eye flight back home to LaGuardia Airport Sunday night August 23rd at 11:50PM Pacific Time. We have a connecting flight in Dallas-Fort Worth that leaves there at 7:05AM Central Time before we're scheduled to arrive back in the Big Apple at 11:36AM Eastern Time Monday morning the 24th assuming all goes well.  

Thursday August 20th Nationals at Rockies 6:40PM Mountain Time

Friday August 21st White Sox at Mariners 7:10PM Pacific Time
                            
Saturday August 22nd 2nd Annual Ballpark Chasers Meet Up

                                     11AM BBQ at Ken Lee's House in Renton, Washington

                                     Tour of Safeco Field 3:30-4:30PM 

                                     White Sox at Mariners 6:10PM Pacific Time
                     
Sunday August 23rd White Sox at Mariners 1:10PM Pacific Time

                                  Memphis Redbirds at Tacoma Rainiers 5:05PM Pacific Time 

If you're interested in going on this exclusive getaway royalty style just let me know so I can arrange to have you join the King & I.

It's going to be a blast so why not come for a "royal" ride.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Joey Kraft joins me again at Safeco Field for the weekend finale!

Me & Joey Kraft

Sunday morning, I checked out of Super 8 in Wilsonville, Oregon and I drove back up I-205 to I-5 North to Seattle to go back to Safeco Field to see the Mariners play the Indians at 1:10PM.

I called my buddy Joey Kraft a few times to give him a progress report.

He told me he scored some free tickets for us.

He decided to exchange the four tickets he got so we could upgrade ourselves to some great lower level seats behind home plate.

We wound up 21 rows up from the field.

A similar view at Yankee Stadium would have cost a fortune not the case in Seattle though.

It worked out beautifully especially since Mariners' ace Felix Hernandez was pitching.

I saw him pitch twice against the Yankees this year at Yankee Stadium. He shut them out both times. One was a complete game and the other was 8 shutout innings of domination.

With that being said, I had high hopes that Felix would pitch well again.

Unlike most good pitchers I see pitch, Felix lived up to the hype again.

This time he shutout the Indians for 8 innings allowing just 4 hits and striking out 9.

The Mariners cruised to a 3-0 victory.

During the game, a young man in front of us got a foul ball that caromed over from the next section. I just missed it.

After the game, Joey went down to the tunnel where the umpires go to the clubhouse and he saw home plate umpire Jerry Layne and he wound up getting the game ball which he decided to give to me.

That was a very nice gesture on his part.

In addition, during the game we met a few guys from the Anaheim, California area. They were Kevin Gallagher Senior & Junior.

This father & son combo said they go to a new ballpark every year. This year happened to be Safeco Field.

They made a great choice.

Kevin Senior told me he has season tickets for the Angels just 5 rows from the on deck circle.

When I mentioned I was from NYC he said his wife is from Brooklyn. It's a small world he said.

He told me he's originally from Chicago on the South Side.

He grew up a big White Sox fan.

We enjoyed each other's company during the game.

Afterwards, we exchanged contact information.

Hopefully our paths we'll cross again in the future.

As for Joey & I, we went to the waterfront area again near Puget Sound to have a farewell dinner at Cutter's Bayhouse.

After that, Joey went home and I headed back to the airport to make it home temporarily.

I returned the car to Alamo and I proceeded to catch my US Airways flight to Philadelphia then to NY LaGuardia airport.

I drove 731 miles over the 4 days.

My time in the Great Northwest was well spent.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty returns to Safeco Field for the first time in 11 years!

After visiting Pike's Place Public Market, it was finally time to see Safeco Field again.

The only games I saw there was back in September 1999 when the Red Sox played the Mariners shortly after the ballpark opened in the middle of July.

I saw two games on that trip. One of them Pedro Martinez pitched a gem. What a game we saw that day.

As for the ballpark in general, I remember it being a nice place to see a game.

My memory rarely fails me. Once again it didn't let me down.

Once I walked inside the building and saw the lower level seating area, I was impressed.

When I go to Citi Field, I always walk into a nightmare. Everything there is so restricted and blocked off.

On the other hand, I walked into Safeco Field, it was like a dream come true.

Yes, it's another park that has all dark green seats. But in this case it makes a lot more logical sense.

The State of Washington is known as the Evergreen State.

There's lush green everywhere so it's fitting there too.

I'll be back for a second visit on Sunday as I wrap up this excursion to the Great Northwest.

Joey Kraft will be meeting me again.

I'm very grateful that he's willing to watch the Mariners play despite the horrible season they've been having.

He knew I was coming months ago so like me he's willing to stay true to his word by keeping me company. He's good people in my eyes.

We're suppose to be treated because King Felix Hernandez is scheduled to start that game.

I just hope it lives up to billing. I've seen King Felix beat the Yankees twice at Yankee Stadium this season already. He's a joy to watch pitch. I hope they give him enough run support.

As for the game on Thursday night, the retractable roof was open.

We wound up sitting right behind home plate in the upper level in the first few rows. What a great view we had.

As for the game, the Mariners got off to a fast start as they took a 3-0 lead through the first 5 innings.
In the sixth inning, Doug Fister, the Mariners starting pitcher who was cruising along giving up just one hit all of a sudden lost it. He gave up 4 runs on 6 hits with Shin-Soo Choo delivering the big blow, a 3 run double that tied the game at 3. He also hit a 2 run home run in the ninth inning to give the Indians the insurance they needed as they went on to win, 6-3!

The dreadful Mariner season can't end fast enough for their suffering fans.

Being a Met fan, I know how they feel.

The ballpark itself is worth the time and effort.

If you haven't been there yet, I strongly suggest that you plan to get there next year.

If so, please feel free to contact me so I can make sure it's a memorable experience.

Stay tuned as my journey continues through the Great Northwest.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Pike's Place Public Market in Seattle

Upon arriving at Sea-Tac airport at 2:15PM Pacific time, which is located around 15 miles from downtown Seattle and 15 miles from Tacoma hence the name, I went to Alamo to pick up my car rental.

I proceeded to drive to Federal Way which was heading south of the airport towards Tacoma to check into my Super 8 hotel around 3PM.

After I got situated, I drove back into downtown Seattle.

I called my friend Joey Kraft who I met last Halloween in Philadelphia at World Series Game 4 between the Yankees and the Phillies.

Joey had told me when we were talking that he was from Seattle.

I told him I hadn't been to Safeco Field since 1999. At that time, I didn't know when I was coming back to Seattle.

As the schedules came out, I noticed that Labor Day weekend shaped up to be a perfect opportunity.

Once I knew for sure I was coming I let Joey know.

With that being said, the time had finally arrived.

First and foremost, I want to personally thank Joey for making the time to see me.

His wife is expecting a baby at the end of the month so the timing worked out well.

In addition, he brought his nephew Alex with him. Alex is just 16 years old and he's a left handed pitcher who throws 88 MPH he said. I hope he has a bright future. He seemed like a nice young man.

We all met near Safeco Field at 4PM. I wound up leaving my car on the street for free.

Alex decided he wanted to go to the game and watch batting practice.

Joey drove me to the Pike's Place Public Market which was recommended to me by Kevin Feist from Burns, Oregon.

Joey and I wound up walking around the Public Market which is similar to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore.

I told Joey the King and I were here years ago.

The market is located right along the waterfront of Pudget Sound.

It's a beautiful area. You can see Safeco Field and Mt. Rainier in the distance amongst other great tourist attractions.

In the picture, you'll notice a fish being wrapped up for a customer.

It was thrown across the table when the person decided they wanted it.

It's a tradition that's been seen on TV during big sporting events according to Joey.

It was pretty cool to see the fish go flying.

After we walked around the market for a while, we decided to get some dinner there.

Stay tuned as I'll write a separate post regarding that.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman