Royalty closes out the month of June with a two city baseball doubleheader!

Back on Sunday June 30th, I rented a car for eight days so I could have it for the Fourth of July weekend getaway I had planned. I wound up getting a royal upgrade when I went to pick up the car. I wound up renting a Hyundai Sonata which was equipped with XM radio from Dollar Rent a Car by LaGuardia Airport. I would have rented from Avis but it was cost effective and more convenient to go to Dollar this time.

By getting the car when I did, I was able to avoid the extra expense of the outrageous holiday weekend pricing. With that being said, it always pays to plan ahead. You snooze, you lose. That's just a word to the wise. Royalty knows the tricks of the trade all year round.

In early June, I found out that the Baltimore Orioles were playing the New York Yankees on Sunday night baseball at 8:05PM. As a result, I decided to rent a car from Dollar a day earlier than I originally planned too. That way I could drive the King and our pal Bryan Gilligan to Baltimore after we all went to Citi Field to see the Mets play the Nationals in the afternoon.

As for the Mets/Nationals game, we were joined by my buddy Tolu Robertson who stayed over to see his Nationals play again at Citi Field. After he saw the Mets beat his team Saturday, he was hoping to see them get even on Sunday. Thanks to my pal Gio Gonzalez who started the game, they did indeed. With that being said, stay tuned for a special post that I'm going to do about Gio. He always warrants & gets plenty of royal treatment on my blog.

Gio Gonzalez vs. Zack Wheeler

As for the game we saw, the Nationals whipped the Mets, 13-2. Zack Wheeler made his first home start for the Mets that day. He looked good in the first inning then the Nationals proceeded to toss him a beating much to delight of Tolu & I because Gio was the benefactor of the much needed offense after a rough beginning.

Since the game was well in hand and Gio was done for the day after he pitched seven strong innings there was no need for us to stay to the bitter end. The score was 10-0 Nationals when we checked out of Citi Field. In retrospect, it turned out to be the right move because we had some pockets of traffic which caused delays as we drove to Baltimore. I did my very best to get us there on time but that wasn't possible given the circumstances. I did drop off Bryan & the King so they could get inside ASAP. They wound up missing a few batters. As for me, I missed the whole first inning. That's the way it goes. You can't win them all. I tell it like it is so there's no need to lie. It is what it is.

As for the game we saw once we got settled in, the Orioles led 4-0. The Yankees sliced the lead in half late in the game. As a result, the Orioles called on their closer Jim Johnson who's been shaky thus far this season after he pitched so well for them last year to close it out. Thankfully for the Oriole fans on hand he was able to seal the deal without too much difficulty. By doing so, the Orioles completed a three game sweep of the Yankees. It should be noted not everyone in the building left happy. There were a good number of Yankee fans present and accounted at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Stay tuned for the special post of my latest encounters with Gio Gonzalez of the Washington Nationals.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty gets a special visit from another roadtripper at Citi Field!

Saturday morning June 29th I woke up early so I could do my laundry.

After I got done, I went out to Citi Field to see the Mets host the Washington Nationals in game two of their three game series in the afternoon.

I didn't get to see my pal Sam Citron at the Rotunda entrance upon arrival because he wasn't working. He told me on the last homestand that his son was getting married so he took a few days off. It felt different not seeing him there.

When I went upstairs to section 515 where we sat that day, I was greeted by a fellow roadtripper, Tolu Robertson who I initially met on Twitter over the winter. His handle is @DarkMeatHook. Please feel free to follow him. He's a good guy. He lives in the Washington DC area. I met him in person for the first back in April on Gio Gonzalez bobblehead doll day. Speaking of bobbleheads, he's a big collector of them. He said he prefers getting ones from his local teams though. Tolu came up to NYC by bus to see his Nationals play for the weekend. He also was seeing Citi Field for the first time. He wisely bought a ballpark e-guide in advance from my pal Kurt Smith so he could get a good idea of what to expect before he arrived. With that being said, he was impressed with the ballpark as a whole.

In addition, we had some other special guests on hand that day in section 513 as the Hooligan's and the 7 Line showed up. They always make the total experience better.

Furthermore, we had some of our usual pals there with us too. I'm referring to David Sack, Michael Carson, Manny Morales, Pat Gorman and Alan Gimpel.

As for the game we saw, the Mets bounced back after their brutal meltdown Friday night as they evened the series at a game a piece by beating the Nationals, 5-1.

After the game, Tolu and I took the subway to Coney Island to see another baseball game. We went to MCU Park to see the Brooklyn Cyclones take on the Hudson Valley Renegades.

Ironically on the way there, my pal Steve Cirvello from the FDH Lounge got on the train. It was a pleasant surprise. He was going to the Cyclone game too. It was great to see him again. I told him about some future trips I have planned. He said he hopes to put together a project that will include me while I'm on the road. Time will tell if something can be worked out.

When we finally got to the game, we were joined by my pals Rich Wolber, Michael Abrams, Vincent Ascanio, Bryan Gilligan and the King.

As for the game we saw, the Renegades tossed the Cyclones a beating as they whipped them, 9-0.
After the game, my pal Tolu Robertson was determined to go to a restaurant that he saw on the show Man vs. Food that airs on the Travel Channel. The place was called Spurmoni Gardens. He mapped it out beforehand. It turned out to be a few subway stops away on the train. With that being said, I made sure we went there. It worked out really well since we were both starving.

We ordered a half tray of sicilian pizza which we wound up splitting. It was delicious. I want to thank Tolu for suggesting this brilliant idea.

After we ate, we took the train back to Queens. I went home and Tolu went to a nearby hotel that he reserved for the night.

Stay tuned for the special post that will go into detail about how I spent that Sunday to end the month of June.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty goes to Bowie, Maryland to see a minor league baseball game after Nationals game in DC!

Prince Outside Prince George's Stadium in Bowie

After the King & I said our goodbyes to Roberto Coquis, Tolu Robertson and David Cordell at Nationals Park, we drove to Bowie, Maryland which is only about 15-20 miles from our Nation's Capitol which made for a relatively easy baseball doubleheader for us. The National game ended in a timely fashion which gave us some spare time to stop off at Wendy's which was right by Prince George's Stadium, the home of the Bowie Baysox. They're the Double A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles in the Eastern League. On this night they were hosting the Akron Aeros who are the Cleveland Indians' farm club.

As for the game we saw, the Baysox took a 2-0 lead which they held for the first five innings of the game. In the top of the sixth inning, the Aeros scored five runs to take a 5-2 lead. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Baysox got one back to make it a 5-3 game. They added four more in the bottom of the seventh inning to regain the lead at 7-5. The Aeros scored a run in the ninth inning but they fell short as they lost, 7-6 to the Baysox in front of an announced crowd of 5,542 people who were treated to a post game fireworks show.

As for the King & I, we were able to see part of it as we made our way to the car since we wanted to get home as soon as we could. It was a nice way to cap off a great day of baseball.

Stay tuned as I'm going to write a special post that will go into detail about another doubleheader we saw that Sunday.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty goes to Nationals Park on Gio Gonzalez Bobblehead Doll Day and meets up with other Roadtrippers!

The King was in the midst of a 15 day rental he got from Avis earlier in the week. With that being said, we got up bright and early Saturday morning April 13th so we could be in position to get to Nationals Park early enough to get a Gio Gonzalez Bobblehead Doll which was being given out to the first 15,000 fans who entered through the center field gate. It should noted we didn't have tickets for the game yet either because they wanted too much online during the week. Otherwise we would have bought them in advance. We knew from our past experience that the Nationals sell a limited number of $5 tickets a few hours before the game. Once those go, they put standing room tickets on sale.

The King wound up dropping me off by the left field gate at 11:40AM and he went to park the car. I walked around to the center field gate so I could see if they still had bobblehead dolls left before I went to the box office. They did have a number of boxes of them stacked up so I knew we would get one. As for tickets, thankfully I was able to get us standing room for $15 each since the $5 ones were all gone. As a result, my decision to want it out turned out to be a wise one just like it was Opening night in Houston.

It should be noted that I was in contact with fellow roadtripper, Roberto Coquis who was going to meet me at the ballpark. He had a friend who was already inside the ballpark tell him that they had a lot of bobblehead dolls left so I didn't get too stressed out thinking about it. In addition, I was planning to meet another roadtripper named Tolu Robertson who I follow on Twitter. His handle is @DArkMEATHOOK. He told me earlier in the week he would look out for me to make sure I got a bobblehead since it was my boy Gio and he knew I wanted one badly.

Gio Gonzalez Bobblehead Doll 

I wound up getting Roberto a ticket since I got to the ballpark before he did. Tolu was already inside. I texted Roberto and I met him by the gate after I went inside myself. I got my bobblehead & I was able to pass him & the King out their tickets. They also got in before the rest of the bobbleheads were gone.

The King came first. I told him I'm waiting for Roberto. He said he'll meet me upstairs under the press box. That worked out well as I met up with Roberto shortly thereafter. After we spoke for a short time we wound up meeting up with Tolu by the Red Loft which is located out in center field. We all introduced ourselves.

After we spoke for a little while, Roberto & I said goodbye to Tolu and we went upstairs to meet the King.
We got upstairs just as the National Anthem was being sung after we walked around the lower level. I noticed four empty seats in section 312 row J so we can just sat down and looked like we belonged. Quite amazingly, nobody came for those seats. It was a royal upgrade indeed. I was planning to stand and watch the game from behind the last row like I've done a number of times in the past.

Ironically there were four Brave fans in the row in front of us. Since the Nationals were playing the Braves, it was nice to see some visiting fans there. We wound talking to them during the game. They turned out to be good people. They were Aaron Ellenburg and his friends Andrew Quinn from Danville,Virginia, Ryan from Seattle and Jayme McCormick from Alabama.

Me, Aaron Ellenburg, Andrew Quinn, Ryan & Jayme McCormick 

After a few innings, Tolu came up to join us for the rest of the game. When we first saw him he was talking to some people he knew that were at the game too.

We got to see the President's Race which is run every game there. This year they added another candidate to the race, William Taft aka Bill to go along with George Washington, Abe Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson & Teddy Roosevelt. Click on the video to see the actual race.

Later in the game, another roadtripper I met last year at a Nationals game named David Cordell, came by to say hello to the King and I. It was great to see him again. I met him on Twitter as well. His handle is @dcinwashington. He's another good guy who was born in England. Despite that he has become a big fan of baseball, our National pastime. We all exchanged stories about our love for the game of baseball. In addition, we spoke about different road trips we've taken.

For example, Roberto went with his wife Judy and new born baby at the time, Sofia to all the major league ballparks in 2009. Hence Roberto's Twitter handle is @30BallparksBaby. Feel free to follow him. He also has another handle which is @Sportsnpolitic which highlights the intersection of sports and politics.

Roberto Coquis, David Cordell, Me, The King & Tolu Robertson

As for the game we saw, the Nationals made a costly error that prolonged the third inning and it cost them two runs as the Braves' rookie Evan Gattis hit a home run off Stephen Strasburg that made it 2-0. Danny Espinosa got the Nationals on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth inning when he hit a solo homer to cut the Braves' lead in half at 2-1. Jason Heyward drove in an insurance run as the Braves went on to beat the Nationals, 3-1. Tim Hudson who started for the Braves out pitched Stephen Strasburg in front of a standing room only crowd of 41,992.

After the game ended, we said our goodbyes to everybody. Hopefully we'll all meet up again in the future.
Stay tuned for a special post that will recap the second game the King and I saw that night in Bowie, Maryland.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman