Royalty Tours USA

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Royalty schedule w/o 9/30

Here's the game plan:

Friday October 4th Islanders at Devils 7PM Home Opener

Saturday October 5th Georgia Bulldogs at Tennessee Volunteers 3:30PM Eastern Time OR Ole Miss Rebels at Auburn Tigers 6PM Central Time

Sunday October 6th Chiefs at Titans 12 Noon Central Time

Check back to see how it played out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned as I plan to do my w/o 9/2, w/o 9/9, w/o 9/16 & w/o 9/23 in reviews. Please bear with me as I try to find time to catch up. I keep falling further behind. Please be patient. It will be worth the wait.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, September 23, 2013

Royalty w/o 8/26 in review

Monday night after work I went to Taste of Italy's No.2 for pizza where I wound up meeting up with Vinny Ascanio, Frank Anichiarico and David Sack on my way to Citi Field to see the Mets open a four game series with their division rival, the Philadelphia Phillies. When I got to the Rotunda entrance I was greeted by my pal Sam Citron.

Since it was close to game time, I went straight upstairs to section 515 where the rest of the Royal Court was sitting on this night. Besides Vinny, Frank & David, we also had Phil Butleman, Pat Gorman & Alan Gimpel amongst us.

We had a good pitching match up that night as the Phillies had Cliff Lee on the mound while the Mets countered with rookie prospect Zack Wheeler. It turned out to be a good one for a change. The Phillies got a two run triple from Cody Asche in the fourth inning that was the difference in the game as the Phillies got by the Mets, 2-1.

Tuesday night after work I returned to Citi Field for game two of the four game set. Since it was another Citi Tuesday I decided to eat at the ballpark with the $10 gift card I received just for showing my Citi card at the booth out in center field. I was considering going to Shake Shack but as usual the line was forever so I decided to go next door to Blue Smoke for some ribs instead. When I got done I walked back around the ballpark on the field level then I went upstairs behind home plate in section 515 where I caught up with the King, David Sack, Alan Gimpel, Al Linderman & Pat Gorman who were also present & accounted on this night.

Eric Schwartzman & I at Citi Field
It should be noted a few innings into the game I got a special visit from a fellow ballpark chaser who lives in Astoria. I'm referring to Eric Schwartzman. He kept me company for a while and we exchanged stories as we watched the game. Ironically he said he went to college with Bob Deal, another ballpark chaser who I happened to see a few days before. I told him that. What a small world it really is. I want to personally thank Eric for spending some of his precious time with me that night. Hopefully we'll catch up again soon.
As for the game we saw, it was a rare fast one. It took only two hours and 19 minutes as Mets' starter Jonathon Niese went the distance throwing a three hit shutout as the Mets beat the Phillies, 5-0.

Wednesday night after work I went to Subway & Carvel for my pre game meal & dessert as I returned to Citi Field for game three against the Phillies.

When I got up to section 515 on this night, I was joined by a regular crowd as David Sack, Phil Butleman, Pat Gorman & Alan Gimpel also came back for more. In addition, Martin Caamano showed up as well. Furthermore, we had some added entertainment in section 513 as the Hooligan's were in the house.
As for the game we saw, unlike the night before it was a long one. It took three hours & 32 minutes to play mainly because of Dice K who started for the Mets & to be perfectly honest, he was absolutely awful. The Phillies roughed him up as they went on to beat the Mets, 6-2.

Thursday night after work I came home because I needed to do my laundry. The Mets wrapped up their series with the Phillies in the afternoon. They wound up winning to splitting it two games a piece.

Friday I got out of work early at 3PM thanks to the holiday weekend. As a result, I was able to go home first & I had a bite to eat. Then I went up to the Bronx to see the Yankees open up a weekend series with the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. It happened to be Yogi Berra Bobblehead Doll night for the first 18,000 fans so I was fortunate I was able to get there early enough to get one.

Yogi Berra Bobblehead Doll 
Before the game started, they carted Yogi around the warning track and he waved to the fans.

When I got up to my seat in section 420B row 7, my pals Steve Tepperman, Larry Peim & William Frank Guthrie were all sitting nearby. Shortly after the game started, fellow roadtripper Sean MacDonald showed up. He just moved to NYC after spending 15 years in Japan & another year in Singapore. It was great to see him again. I expect to see him more often but not in the near future because he's taking a four month trip to see all 32 NFL stadiums by car. I told him to contact me if and when he needs any of my sound advice along the way.

As for the game we saw, it was fast & scoreless for the first three innings. After that, the rest of the game was dragged on. The Orioles got on the scoreboard first in the top of the fourth inning to take a 1-0 lead which was short lived as the Yankees answered when Alfonso Soriano hit a two run homer to make it 2-1. The Orioles responded in the top of the fifth inning when they got a long two run homer from Danny Valencia who hit the ball to the back of the Oriole bullpen in left center field. They also got a clutch two out hit from Manny Machado to take a 4-2 lead. In the fifth inning, the Yankees batted around as they score five runs to take the lead for good. They wound up holding off the Orioles by a score of 8-5.

After the game we went to Donovan's Pub for a post game meal.

Saturday afternoon the King & I returned to Yankee Stadium for game two of the series between the Yankees & the Orioles. We had William Frank Guthrie, Al Linderman & Michael Abrams there with us.
As for the game we saw, the Yankees got a stellar complete game performance as starter Ivan Nova threw a three hit shutout as the Yankees beat the Orioles, 2-0.

After the game, the King & I took the subway to Coney Island where we saw the Brooklyn Cyclones host the Aberdeen Ironbirds at MCU Park. Ironically as we were walking to the ballpark, a guy asked us if we needed tickets. We said we did & he handed them to us. I shook his hand and thanked him.

When we got inside the park, we had some friends there as Domish, William Frank Guthrie & his wife Beth showed up as did Al Linderman & Michael Abrams.

As for the game we saw, the Ironbirds got seven shutout innings from their starter Sebastian Vader who earned the victory as the Ironbirds won, 7-0. Earlier in the season, we saw Vader throw eight shutout innings. That night he left winning 4-0. The Ironbirds' bullpen blew the game as they wound up winning 5-4 in ten innings.

Sunday afternoon the King & I returned for the finale in the Bronx. Depending on how the game was going I was considering going to Brooklyn again to see the Cyclones play the Ironbirds at 5PM. I hate to leave games early unless I deem it necessary.

As for the game we saw, Andy Pettitte started and he pitched well for six innings. He gave up two hits in the seventh inning & Joe Girardi decided to take him out unnecessarily. He left with a 3-0 lead. The move turned out to back fire on the Yankees as the Orioles wound up exploding for seven runs as they batted around. The King & I were feed up in the middle of the inning. After J.J. Hardy hit a three run homer to give the Orioles a 4-3 lead, we decided to leave so we could get to the Cyclone game on time.

The Yankees wound up losing the game, 7-3. Adam Jones hit a three run homer that we missed. The game took three & a half hours to play. We didn't regret leaving. We hate to be held prisoner.

We wound up taking the subway back to Coney Island and we arrived at MCU Park just in time for the first pitch at 5:01PM.

As for the game we saw, it was scoreless until the bottom of the seventh inning when the Cyclones got a run to go up 1-0. The Ironbirds tied it up in the top of the eighth inning when left fielder Connor Bierfeldt hit a solo homer. In the ninth inning, the Ironbirds scored four runs including a three run double by Mike Yastrzemski, the grandson of former Red Sox great, Carl Yastrzemski. The Cyclones made a comeback in the bottom of the ninth inning but they fell short as they lost the game, 5-4.

Stay tuned for my w/o 9/2, w/o 9/9 & w/o 9/16 week in reviews. I'm trying to catch up slowly but surely. Please bear with me.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Royalty schedule w/o 9/23

Here's the game plan:

Tuesday September 24th Rays at Yankees 7:05PM

Wednesday September 25th Rays at Yankees 7:05PM

Thursday September 26th Brewers at Mets 7:10PM

Friday September 27th Brewers at Mets 7:10PM

Saturday September 28th Brewers at Mets 4:10PM

Sunday September 29th Brewers at Mets 1:10PM

Check back to see how it turned out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned as I plan to do my w/o 8/26, w/o 9/2 w/o 9/9 & w/o 9/16 in reviews. Please bear with me as I try to find time to catch up. I keep falling further behind. Please be patient. It will be worth the wait.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 8/19 in review

Monday morning my missing bag finally showed up. The driver called me when I was taking a shower as I prepared to go to work. He left me a voice mail. Luckily I was able to get in touch with him before he left the area. He said he was up the block. Thankfully he was kind enough to come back to the house and he gave me my bag. I couldn't thank him enough for accommodating me.

I then proceeded to go to work after I took a week off to go the West Coast. I had to play catch up in the office all day. After work I came home and I made myself dinner. After I ate, I went around the block and I did my laundry.

Tuesday night after work I returned to Citi Field as the Mets opened a homestand against the Atlanta Braves. I saw my pal Sam Citron at the Rotunda gate. As always, it was a pleasure to see him.

Me with my Home Run Apple Bank 
Upon entry I got a Home Run Apple Bank which they gave out to the first 25,000 fans. I then proceeded to get my MLB Passport book stamped at the Fan Assistance booth on the field level. Since it was another Citi Tuesday I went out to the Citi booth by center field & I got my $10 gift card for showing my Citibank credit card. I then decided to use it at Blue Smoke where I got four made to order hot smoking Kansas City barbecue ribs. They were outrageous. A person who was nearby where I was eating them said to me and I quote "are they as good as they look". I responded, absolutely. I was a very satisfied customer.

When I got done eating, I went upstairs to section 516 where I was joined by the Royal Court which included the King, Vinny Ascanio, Alan Gimpel, Pat Gorman, David Sack, Michael Carson, Harry Schwartz & Jerry Caffarello.

As for the game we saw, the Mets got a nice pitching performance from Zack Wheeler as they beat the Braves, 5-3. It should be noted that Mets rookie Travis d'Arnaud got his first major league hit, a double in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Wednesday night after work I went up to the Bronx to see the Yankees play the Toronto Blue Jays. Before I went into Yankee Stadium, I stopped of at Foodtown a few blocks away and I bought myself a ham & swiss sandwich which I ate when I got up to my seat in section 420B row 7 where I met up with the King.

Ichiro's 4,000th Professional Hit
As for the game we saw, we witnessed history for what it's worth as Ichiro Suzuki got a single to left which was his 4,000th professional hit which includes the ones he got while he played in Japan. It should be noted that former Met Jose Reyes got thrown out of the game in the 2nd inning for arguing a called third strike. The game was tied at two until the bottom of the eighth inning when Alfonso Soriano hit a two run homer off Blue Jays' starter & former Met R.A. Dickey who threw a eight inning complete game but he got saddled with the hard luck loss as the Yankees held off the Blue Jays, 4-2.

Thursday night I came home for a rare night off. I was able to rest up and relax.

Friday night after work I went to Taste of Dolly's for a pre game meal before I returned to Citi Field as the Mets opened a three game weekend series with the Detroit Tigers.

When I got up to section 516 I was joined by Mike Carroll, David Sack, his friend Andrew, Pat Gorman, Michael Abrams, Bill Graven, Michael Carson & Frank Anichiarico aka Duck.

As for the game we saw, Daisuke Matsuzaka aka Dice K made his debut as a Met. He didn't really impress as he gave up five runs in five innings. Torii Hunter hit a solo homer and a run scoring single. Miguel Cabrera hit a three run homer and Austin Jackson hit a solo shot as the Tigers beat the Mets, 6-1.

After the game, there was a post game concert by Third Eye Blind who we saw last year after a Nationals game. So I was looking to it. Much to my chagrin, this performance was awful.

Saturday afternoon I returned to Citi Field for game two of the series between the Mets and the Tigers. Before I went into the ballpark, I met up with fellow ballpark chaser and Tiger fan, Mark Walker who was there too. I gave him some pointers since he was from the Midwest. I wanted him to feel at home here in NYC.

After we spoke briefly, I went inside and I went up to section 516 where I was accompanied by my pals Phil Butleman, Manny Morales, Marc Beck, Al Linderman, David Sack & Pat Gorman. It was Fiesta Latina Day. As a result, the Mets wore orange Los Mets jerseys.

As for the game we saw, it was a rematch of the All-Star game starters, Max Scherzer for the Tigers and Matt Harvey for the Mets. Max Scherzer threw six shutout innings allowing three hits while he did walk four and he struck out ten. He also got a run scoring double. While Matt Harvey gave up two runs on 13 hits in six and two thirds innings. The Tigers' bullpen shut down the Mets offense over the last three innings as they beat the Mets, 3-0.

After the game, we went to Donovan's Pub where they were having a grand re opening. Earlier this year, there was a ownership change. Donovan's is now better than ever. It turned out to be a very festive gathering as many of their regular customers over the years were there to celebrate this special occasion.

Tom Seaver Bobblehead Doll Day
Sunday afternoon I returned to Citi Field for the finale of the three game series. It was Tom Seaver Bobblehead Doll Day for the first 25,000 fans. This time I was joined by Alan Gimpel, Frank Anichiarico, Phil Butleman, David Sack, Michael Carson & Martin Caamano.

I did get a special visit from fellow ballpark chaser, Bob Deal who came by for a few innings. He was at the game with friends of his in section 520. I want to personally thank Bob for stopping by. It's always fun to catch up with him.

In addition, after Bob left, another fellow ballpark chaser, Terrence Williams came by to meet me. It was nice of him to do so. He's from Toronto but he said he has friends who live in Brooklyn so he comes down here often to visit. Hopefully our paths will cross again soon.

As for the game we saw, the Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the first inning as Miguel Cabrera hit a two run homer. In the fourth inning, Travis d'Arnaud hit his first major league home run that gave the Mets a 3-2 lead. It was short lived as the Tigers regained the lead in the sixth inning when Andy Dirks hit a two run homer to give the Tigers a 4-3 lead. The Tigers put the game out of reach with a seven run outburst in the ninth inning as they won the game, 11-3 which gave them a sweep of the three game series.

Stay tuned as I continue to play catch up whenever time allows me to.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, September 16, 2013

Royalty returns to NYC after spending a week on the West Coast in August!

After the King, Duck & I came back from the West Coast on Sunday August 18th, we all went in different directions. Duck went home to rest up & relax. As for the King and I, I will go into further detail as you read on.

I returned the car rental Saturday night to the San Francisco airport around 10PM Pacific Time which meant it was 1AM Eastern Time on Sunday. We then took a redeye flight back to LaGuardia airport after a layover in Chicago O'Hare. I wound up having breakfast at McDonald's at the airport since we had some time to kill. We finally arrived back in NYC around 9:30AM. Shortly thereafter, I got a voice mail from American Airlines that said I needed to go to customer service by the baggage claim area. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise for me. I went there and they told me my bag got lost in Chicago. For that matter, so did the King's. Duck passed up the opportunity to check his bag with us. It worked out well for him that he didn't. The King & I normally don't check our bags but since we have credit cards with American Airlines, the bag fee is waived so we didn't have to pay. We may want to reconsider next time. Since we were taking public transportation back home, I didn't get too bend out of shape. After all, it was only my dirty laundry LOL. I had everything else I needed with me. More importantly, I was weighed down enough. In that regard, I truly felt blessed that it was missing.

After we had a short discussion, we were given instructions about how we can get our bags back. We then proceeded to take a few buses to get back home. I was really exhausted so when I got home at 11AM, I laid down for an hour. When I got up I took a shower. I got ready & I left the house so I could take the subway to Lower Manhattan. I planned to catch a 2:30PM boat to Staten Island where I went to see the Staten Island Yankees play the Tri City Valley Cats at Richmond County Ballpark at St. George. The game was starting at 4PM. It worked out well as I got there with plenty of time to spare. I started looking around for a ticket when I saw my pal Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich who came along with an extra ticket for me. We shook hands and we spoke briefly before we headed inside the ballpark. He asked where the King was. I told him he decided to go to Brooklyn to see the Cyclones who were also home at 5PM that night. I prefer going to Staten Island and I thought I would get home earlier by doing so. More importantly, I got to take five different modes of transportation that day. That was a new personal record. Back on November 25, 2007, the King & I flew back from Dallas, Texas over Thanksgiving weekend. We took four different modes of transportation that day to get to Giants Stadium just in time for the Giants/Vikings game that Sunday afternoon. As a result, I found a new twist for my craziness. Now I'm finally writing about it.

As for the game I saw, the Staten Island Yankees wound up beating the visiting Valley Cats, 3-2 in 11 innings on a game winning home run by Eric Jagielo. With that being said, I wound up taking the 8PM boat back instead of the 7PM one that I was hoping to make. Tired and all I decided to stick out the game until it was decided.

When I finally got home that night, I barely beat the King back to the house.

What a way to wrap up an amazing week of traveling on the road and when I got back home.

Stay tuned for my week in reviews from the w/o 8/19, 8/26, 9/2 & 9/9. I plan to catch up eventually. Please bear with me.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Royalty schedule w/o 9/16

Here's the game plan:

Tuesday September 17th Giants at Mets 7:10PM

Wednesday September 18th Giants at Mets 7:10PM

Thursday September 19th Giants at Mets 1:10PM

                                        Chiefs at Eagles 8:25PM

Friday September 20th Giants at Yankees 7:05PM

Saturday September 21st Giants at Yankees 1:05PM

                                        Mets at Phillies 7:05PM

Sunday September 22nd Bills at Jets 4:25PM

Check back to see how it played out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned as I will do a special post that go into detail about the day I returned from the West Coast. I also plan to do my w/o 8/19, w/o 8/26 w/o 9/2 & w/o 9/9 in review eventually too. Please bear with me as I try to find time to catch up. I keep falling further behind. Please be patient. It will be worth the wait.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty returns to the Bay area before returning home to NYC!

After we left Anaheim Friday night, we drove 100 miles north on I-5 to Lebec where we spent the night at Motel 6. We arrived there around 1AM which gave us enough time to get a good night sleep.

We got up in the morning & we drove back towards the Bay area. We were going to Oakland which was 300 miles away. We drove for a short time and then I noticed an exit that had places to eat so I got off so we could have breakfast. Since Duck wanted to have coffee at McDonald's I dropped him & the King off there. I saw an Iron Skillet just up the road so I decided to go there instead. I had time and I prefer to eat well so I did. I wound up having an all you can eat buffet. It worked out well since we had a long drive ahead of us. After I indulged in my hearty breakfast, the King & Duck walked over to where I was. Once I was done, we got back in the car and we continued on towards Oakland.

As we got closer we ran into a traffic jam that was at a stand still. There was a major accident that closed all the lanes. Luckily we were able to turn around & we took an alternate route instead. By doing so, the delay we had was minimal. Once we got back on the right track we were in good shape. We wound up stopping for gas just before we got to the O.co Coliseum which is the home of the Oakland Athletics. They were playing the Cleveland Indians on this night & it was Yoenis Cespedes bobblehead doll night for the first 15,000 fans who entered the ballpark.

Me with my Yoenis Cespedes Bobblehead Doll
Thanks again to our pal and fellow ballpark chaser Tike Narry who gave us tickets to the game which also had a $6 credit per ticket on them which allowed us to get something to eat at the ballpark. In addition, he gave us a parking pass. We couldn't thank Tike enough for all he did for us at the beginning of the trip & now once again at the end of it.

He told us the ballpark gates were opening extra early at 2:30PM for the 6:05PM start. As a result, we planned accordingly. We wound up getting to the parking lot at 3:30PM. By doing so, we were all able to secure a bobblehead of the 2013 Home Run Derby champion. It's always nice when you go to a game and you get a cool giveaway.

Since we had some much time before the game, we all wandered around the ballpark before we decided to go up to the upper deck where our seats were with Tike & his son Patrick. It was great to see them again before our week long getaway came to a close.

As for the game we saw, the Indians took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning as former Athletic Nick Swisher opened the scoring with a solo homer to make it 1-0 Indians. They added another run which proved to be enough as they eventually went on to beat the A's, 7-1. The Indians scored three times in the top of the ninth inning to put the game away with two outs. As a result, the King asked me if we could leave because he didn't want to have a problem making our redeye flight out of San Francisco which was on the other side of the Bay 27 miles away. Tike told us how to get out of the parking lot which worked out well as we got out without any problems. We wound up driving across the Bay Bridge and we got to the car rental center at the San Francisco airport with plenty of time to spare. I returned the Ford Fusion I rented. I wound up driving 2,270 miles safely.

We walked over to the tram that took us back to the terminals where we checked in for our flight on American Airlines. We had our bags checked through to LaGuardia airport. We had a layover in Chicago O'Hare before arrived back home.

Stay tuned for the last leg of the journey as the King & I went in different directions that Sunday afternoon after we got home.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Royalty goes sightseeing as we drove to Anaheim to see the Angels & some more special people!

After spending the night at Travelodge in San Ysidro which is 13 miles south of San Diego and right by the Mexican border, we checked out after we ate breakfast there on Friday August 16th.
We arranged to meet up with our pal & fellow ballpark chaser, Steve Fekete aka Padre Punk again. He took off from work that day. He told us to meet him at Portillo's for an early dinner in Buena Park which is 7 miles north of Anaheim at 4:30PM.

Since we had some rare spare time we drove up part of the Pacific Coast Highway as we made our way towards Anaheim which is 100 miles from where we stayed.

Duck & The King at Oceanside Beach
The King & Duck wanted to go to a beach to dip their feet in the Pacific Ocean. I obliged as we stopped off at Oceanside Beach along the way. We parked the car and we walked over. We took a nice relaxing walk along the beach. The highlight was when the King lost his glasses briefly when a wave came up. It was hilarious watching him try to find them. Luckily he did. Once they were done having their fun, we went back to the car and we went on our way. When we finally got to Buena Park to meet Steve, we had some time to kill. I noticed there was a Walmart in the shopping center. With that being said, we were able to go shopping while we waited for Steve to arrive.

Shortly thereafter, Steve wrote me & he said he was at Portillo's. With that being said, we walked back over there & we joined him. They're known for their hot dogs and beef. They also have chicken & fish sandwiches. I decided to get a fried halibut sandwich which was excellent. I had fries and a shake with it.
After we ate, we drove over to Angels Stadium to see the Angels play the Houston Astros. We parked the car on the street within walking distance of the ballpark thanks to Steve who knows the area since he lives nearby and he goes there often.

Steve, the King & Duck decided to go ahead towards the ballpark. I stayed by the car because I was waiting for some special people that the King & I initially met back in March 2000 when we saw the Mets play the Cubs in Tokyo, Japan. I'm referring to Dennis & Sue Kelly who were originally from Long Island. They moved to Orange County which is where Anaheim is located just over 30 years ago. Since we've met them, we've taken turns visiting each other over the years.

They showed up shortly after Steve, the King & Duck left so it worked out well. They parked right behind us. We then walked over to the stadium together. I wanted to make sure they didn't get lost along the way. We caught up with Steve, the King & Duck by the home plate gate where the two Angel hats are for those of you who have been to the ballpark there. We proceeded to round up tickets outside. Once we did we all went inside. We arranged to meet upstairs behind home plate where we watched the game together. We were one big happy family if you will.

View from Upper deck at Angels Stadium
As for the game we saw, it turned out to be a long one time wise. It took 3 hours and 48 minutes to play the nine innings. The only good thing about it was that we were able to enjoy each other's company longer. The game was scoreless for the first four innings too. In the top of the fifth inning, the Astros broke through as they scored three runs to take a 3-0 lead. The Angels answered by scoring one to make it 3-1 after five. Both teams added a run in the seventh inning to make it 4-2. The Astros pulled their starter Brad Peacock with one out in the seventh. They called on a pitcher named Josh Zeid who got Angels' center fielder Peter Bourjos to hit into an inning ending double play which stopped the rally the Angels had going with the rally monkey jumping up & down on the scoreboard during the pitching change. The Astros put the game out of reach in the top of the ninth inning when they got a power surge as Chris Carter hit a three run homer which was followed by a solo shot by Matt Dominguez to give the Astros' all the run support they needed as they beat the Angels, 8-2. Since the game went so long we decided to leave despite the fact they were having a post game fireworks show which Dennis & Sue stayed for. We said our goodbyes & thanked them for making the time to join us. It was great to see them again.

Steve Fekete, Duck, King, Me, Dennis & Sue Kelly
Stay tuned for the next installment of the journey as we headed back up to the Bay area.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty goes to Petco Park in San Diego to see the Mets and other ballpark chasers!

Thursday morning August 15th after we got a good night sleep, the King, Duck & I ate breakfast at Days Inn in Tucson before we drove 410 miles to San Diego. We drove 60 miles on I-10 until we got to the exit for I-8 which we took the rest of the way. It was the first time we ever drove on I-8. It was a very scenic ride as we passed through the desert and the mountains. We also drove through sand dunes along the way. It was another gorgeous ride. When we got near the San Diego area, I called our pal and fellow ballpark chaser, Corey Menotti aka the Dancing Friar. He was planning to join us at the Padre game but he got stuck at work later than he originally planned to because a co-worker called in sick. As a result, we arranged to meet him at Hotel Del Coronado, a luxurious hotel & resort where he works. It's located across the bridge from downtown San Diego. We had to pick up the tickets for the game he bought for us. We wound up parking the car there around 4:30PM. He then decided to give us a royal tour of the hotel which was been around for 125 years. I remember going there for a brunch back in April 2004 when our friend Steve Tepperman gave the King & I a guided tour of the area along with our friends Dennis & Sue Kelly who live in Orange County near Anaheim.

After we finished our grand tour, we drove back over to downtown San Diego and we parked the car by a meter within walking distance of Petco Park around 5:45PM. We arranged to meet up with another ballpark chaser, Steve Fekete aka The Padre Punk who drove down from Anaheim to join us. We met him for a pre game meal at Smashburger. He recommended it. It was the first time we've been in one of those. I know there's one near LIU in Brooklyn here in NYC but we've never gone in there. After we finished eating, we walked over to the ballpark.

We all went inside the park and wandered around before the game started. This was Duck's first time there. It was the fifth game for the King & I. We wound up sitting upstairs in section 301 behind home plate while Steve stood out in right field which is affectionately called the RF Mission. We told Steve we'll join him in the seventh inning. True to our word, we did indeed. By doing so, we got to see Corey Menotti again who arrived late due to work. He was in rare form doing his thing in the walk way. Like Steve says and I quote "you can't beat the entertainment out here." In addition, we were introduced to many of the regulars that go to Padre games. They included another ballpark chaser named Sean Meehan who told me he knows my pal Dave Block aka The Gratitude Guy. He usually sees him at the Delta Sky Club where he works since Sean travels a lot. We got to share some stories. We also got to meet a guy named Ismael who's known as the K dude. He puts up the K's when a Padre pitcher strikes out an opposing batter. He said he's been going to all the Padre home games for 17 straight years. We all enjoyed the time we spend out there with them.

Me & Corey Menotti aka Dancing Friar
As for the game we saw, the Mets & Padres were tied at one as each team scored in the fourth inning. It stayed that way until we moved to right field. That's when the Mets broke the tie as Marlon Byrd delivered a two run double in the top of the eighth inning to make it 3-1. They added an insurance run in the ninth inning when John Buck hit a solo homer to give the Mets a 4-1 lead. Relief pitcher Gonzalez Germen pitched the last two innings for the Mets to earn his first save as the Mets beat the Padres.

After the game, we decided to join these guys at Lolita's which was a few blocks from Petco Park. I'm not a big fan of Mexican food but I decided to give it a try. I wound up having a chicken quesadilla there. It turned out to be really good. I'm glad I was daring enough to give it a shot. As a result, we got to enjoy these guys' company some more before we called it a night. In addition, we got to meet former Padre & Met pitcher Randy Jones who was there doing a talk show. That was cool. I remember seeing him pitch back in the late '70's. He seemed like a really nice guy.

After we said our goodbyes to everyone we drove to San Ysidro which was right by the Mexican border off the last exit of I-5. We spent the night at the Travelodge there.

Stay tuned for the next installment of this journey.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Friday, September 13, 2013

Royalty is going to the Southeast over the first weekend in October!

I'm going to the Southeast over the first weekend in October.

Here's the game plan:

Saturday, October 5th I have a flight booked on Delta Airlines that departs LaGuardia Airport at 7AM Eastern Time I'm scheduled to arrive in Atlanta, Georgia at 9:40AM Eastern Time.

Upon arrival, I'll be renting a car from Hertz for the weekend.

Saturday October 5th Old Miss at Auburn 6PM Central Time
                                                  or
                                  Georgia at Tennessee 3:30PM Eastern Time

Sunday October 6th Chiefs at Titans 12 Noon Central Time

Monday October 7th  Drive around Great Smoky Mountain National Park

                                   Jets at Falcons 8:40PM

I'll be flying back home on October 8th. My flight on Delta Airlines departs Atlanta at 10:45AM Eastern Time. I arrive at  LaGuardia Airport at 1:01PM Eastern Time.

Please feel free to check back for all the details of how this getaway turned out. It's going to be a blast. You can't beat Southern Hospitality.

If you want to join me, please let me know so I can arrange to make it happen.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

2014 MLB Schedule is released!

Please see the link below for all the details.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130910&content_id=60109282&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/schedule/index.jsp?tcid=mm_mlb_schedule#date=03/22/2014

If and when you need my expertise in planning your 2014 baseball road trips please feel free to contact me.

I plan to dissect the schedule to put together the most creative trip plans that the schedule allows.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Royalty schedule w/o 9/9

Here's the game plan:

Monday September 9th Nationals at Mets 7:10PM

Tuesday September 10th Nationals at Mets 7:10PM

Wednesday September 11th Nationals at Mets 7:10PM

Friday September 13th Marlins at Mets 7:10PM

Saturday September 14th Marlins at Mets 4:10PM Doubleheader

Sunday September 15th Marlins at Mets 1:10PM

Check back to see how it turned out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned as I will continue to do special posts that go into detail about our West Coast extravaganza. I also plan to do my w/o 8/19, w/o 8/26 & w/o 9/2 in review eventually too. Please bear with me as I try to find time to catch up. I keep falling further behind. Please be patient. It will be worth the wait.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Royalty sees another ballpark chaser & a baseball doubleheader in the desert!

After the King, Duck & I left Dodger Stadium Tuesday night August 13th I drove 375 miles overnight to Phoenix, Arizona. We checked in to a Knights Inn at 4:30AM a few miles from Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They were playing the Baltimore Orioles in an afternoon affair at 12:40PM. We got some sleep then we headed over to the ballpark. We parked the car for $6 in a parking lot after we circled the area trying to find a spot on the street for free. Since it was during the day, meters were in effect. We did get some exercise in the 107 degree dry heat which was good for us. We barely broke a sweat which was nice. Once we got to the ballpark we got some cheap tickets and we went inside. Since we didn't have time to have breakfast, so I decided to take advantage of the value menu at Chase Field. I got a hot dog, pretzel and a bottle of water to hold me over.

Josh Robbins & I at Chase Field
Once we got situated upstairs in section 317 which is just to the right of home plate, I met up with fellow ballpark chaser, Josh Robbins who was there. Josh is the Guinness Book of Records holder for seeing all 30 Major League Ballparks in 26 days by land. He accomplished that feat in 2008 when he decided to drive to all the ballparks. It should be noted that since then another ballpark chaser, Chuck Booth has set the record for doing all the ballparks in 23 days via other means of transportation in 2012. In other words, he took a car, a train, a bus and/or a plane to achieve his goal. Regardless I've now had the pleasure of meeting both of these guys in my travels. Life is full of different challenges. These guys decided that this was their way of getting to all the ballparks. I've seen them all in piece meal. Due to financial and time restrictions, I haven't been given an opportunity to attempt this kind of journey. Who knows maybe some day I will. Time will tell.
As for Josh, we got to talk during the game. It was great to meet him. He's originally from Upstate New York. He grew up in the Albany area. He now lives in Gilbert, Arizona which is 24 miles from Phoenix with his wife and their baby daughter. His wife stayed home and she watched the baby while Josh went to the game. I want to personally thank them both for allowing us to meet up. Josh said he was going back home in September for a wedding. He said he plans to see a Yankee game too. I told him where I sit so when he does we can meet up again.

As for the game we saw, it was a marquee pitching match up on paper as Patrick Corbin of the Diamondbacks and Chris Tillman of the Orioles started the game. They both got off to a rocky start before they settled down and pitched relatively well. As the game went on the Orioles were ahead, 4-3 in the ninth inning. Aaron Hill of the Diamondbacks got a single to tie it at four which sent the game into extra innings. The rattlesnakes are notorious this season for playing really long games. I saw them play three other ones this year including a 15 inning one at Citi Field on Fourth of July when I was getting ready to drive all the way to Milwaukee for the next night. This game wound up going 14 innings and it finally ended when Aaron Hill got another hit to win it, 5-4. It took 4 hours and 26 minutes to complete. As a result, we got to our next game in Tucson which is 116 miles away late.

We planned to go to Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium to see the Tucson Padres, the San Diego Padres Triple A affiliate who are moving to El Paso, Texas next year. They were hosting the Oklahoma City Redhawks, the Houston Astros' farm club at 7:05PM.

Prince has a ball in Tucson
We finally pulled into the parking lot around 7:30PM. We went to the box office and bought tickets for the game. We walked inside just in time to see Ben Francisco bat for the Padres who were trailing 4-0 at the time in the bottom of the second inning. It should be noted that the King & I met Ben Francisco back in July 2001 when we went to Alaska. We took a one day cruise and he and a few other players who were playing in the Alaskan League we're on the same ship as us. Ben played baseball at UCLA. In fact, in February 2002 we saw him play for UCLA in Hawaii. Since then, we've seen him play in Lexington, Kentucky in the minor leagues in July 2003 and a number of games in the major leagues when he played for the Indians, Phillies, Blue Jays, Astros, Rays & Yankees. Now he's back in the minor leagues trying to get back to the big show. For his sake, I hope someday he does. Unfortunately, he hasn't done too well with the Padres.
After Ben struck out, the next batter was Jonathan Galvez who hit a foul ball that caromed off the roof and it came down where I was standing. As a result, I lucked out into a souvenir.

As for the rest of the game we saw, the Padres fell further behind as they trailed 6-1. The King said the game was over. As the game played itself out, the Padres proved the King wrong. They wound up coming all the way back as they beat the Redhawks, 8-6 in the bottom of the ninth inning when Cody Decker hit a three run game winning home run to win it. We hated to miss the beginning of the game but we did get to see the end. As they say, it's not how you start, it's how you finish. With that being said, we made the best of the circumstances we were given.

After the game, we went to downtown Tucson and we checked in to Days Inn where we spent the night. Shortly thereafter, I took a ride up the road to get myself something to eat since I was starving. The King & Duck ate at the ballpark so they decided to stay in their room. I wound up going to a place called the Kettle Restaurant. I remember going to one of those near the Intercontinental airport in Houston in the past. The hotel had a brochure advertising it. It said they had a buffet for $8.99 so I decided to pass on Carl's Jr. which was a short walk from the hotel.

I wound up enjoying a good meal before I returned to the room to get a good night sleep.

Stay tuned for the next installment of this memorable journey.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, September 2, 2013

Royalty goes to Los Angeles to see the Mets play the Dodgers!

Tuesday morning August 13th we woke up after getting a good night sleep. We checked out of the Carson Valley Inn in Minden, Nevada. We bought gas at the Shell station which was right next to the hotel. It was a wise decision because the gas prices in Nevada are a lot cheaper than they in California. Once we filled up we made our way towards Los Angeles which was still about 400 miles away. We left there at 9:50AM.

We drove a few hours on scenic route 395 into California. We stopped off in Bishop, a town along the way. We were told by Tike that there was a place he saw on Yelp. He strongly suggested that we go there. He said he hasn't been there. With that being said, I planned accordingly. Ironically when I went to the team store in Reno to get my minor league pass-port book stamped, I overheard a gentleman say he came from Bishop to see the game. I asked him about this place that Tike told us about. He said it was a must see. He warned me it could be crowded. As we approached the town of Bishop, I did notice a billboard on the side of the road saying that Erick Schlat's Bakkery, home of the original sheepherder bread since 1938 was just up the road. I had the address thanks to Tike and we found it with no problem. We turned in to the parking lot and we waited a minute as a few cars were pulling out. The lot was packed. When we got out of the car and we walked towards the entrance. There was a seating area outside too. It was quite a set up. They have an area for sandwiches where we got on line just in time. The line wasn't terribly long when we did. After we were paying at the end, I noticed the line grew and grew. It was a madhouse. It looked like a bus load just pulled into the parking lot.

Erick Schlat's Bakkery
As for the sandwiches, we all got carved turkey on their famous sheepherder bread. It was a tremendous sandwich to say the least. My sandwich had dark green lettuce which was excellent it should be noted. We sat inside and ate. After we finished I noticed they had a separate pastry area with no one on line so I decided to get a cinnamon twist which was scrumptious. Duck took out some cookies as well. It turned out to be a great stop. Once again I have to thank Tike for telling us about it. If he didn't I probably would have drove right by it.

After we got back in the car, we continued on our way to Los Angeles. We drove on route 395 until we saw the cut off for route 14 which we took until we got to I-5. We did make a quick stop in Lancaster to check out Clear Channel Stadium where the Lancaster JetHawks of the California League play. It was conveniently located right off the highway so I decided to get off & take a look.

It should be noted that the drive we took was amazing as we drove through mountains and cannons on different elevations. It was truly breathtaking.

As we approached the Los Angeles area, we surprisingly didn't run into too much traffic. As a result, we got to Dodger Stadium around 5:30PM. We wound up parking the car on the street just before the entrance to the stadium parking lot. We proceeded to walk over to the stadium.

We didn't have tickets yet so we just went to the box office and bought them. We picked the wrong game to attend though. For whatever reason, this game was deemed a three star one. That meant the ticket prices were higher. We wound up paying $20 for Top of the Park seats in the upper deck. It should be noted that Monday night was a one star game for $8 and Wednesday night was a two star game for $10. We got our money's worth when we walked and they gave us a skull cap. I didn't realize it got that cold in Los Angeles. Apparently it's for fashion purposes. You got to love LA. Honestly speaking, I don't. It's one of my least favorite cities to visit.

Once we went inside the ballpark we were limited to where we could go. We could have gone down to the reserve level below us but that was all. That's the drawback of being in the upper level there. As a whole, Dodger Stadium is a great ballpark. Unlike the majority of today's modern parks, you're there mainly to see a baseball game. We decided to eat there too. By doing so, we had the famous Farmer John Dodger Dogs. It was nice to return there. The last time the King & I were there was in June 2008. As for Duck, it was his first time so it was a treat for him.

View from the Top of the Park 
As for the game we saw, the Dodgers were hosting our New York Mets. It was an intriguing pitching match up as the Mets had their young stud Matt Harvey on the mound against the Dodgers' rookie Hyun-Jin Ryu from South Korea. The Mets drew first blood when Juan Lagares, the second batter of the game hit a solo home run to give the Mets an early 1-0 lead. It stayed that way until the Dodgers finally got to Matt Harvey who escaped trouble as he got the Dodgers to hit into three double plays in the first four innings. In the fifth inning, his luck ran out as shortstop Nick Punto hit a two run double to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. They added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning when catcher A.J. Ellis drove in two more with a two out single to make it 4-1. The Mets managed to get one back in the top of the ninth inning off Dodger closer Kenley Jansen but they couldn't get anymore as they fell to the Dodgers, 4-2.

Stay tuned as the journey continued as we made our way to the desert for a mid week doubleheader in the state of Arizona. Please bear with me as I try to find the time to play catch up.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty schedule w/o 9/2

Here's the game plan:

Monday September 2nd White Sox at Yankees 1:05PM

Nationals at Phillies 7:05PM

Tuesday September 3rd White Sox at Yankees 7:05PM

Wednesday September 4th White Sox at Yankees 7:05PM

Thursday September 5th Red Sox at Yankees 7:05PM

Friday September 6th Red Sox at Yankees 7:05PM

Saturday September 7th Red Sox at Yankees 1:05PM

                                      Braves at Phillies 7:05PM

Sunday September 8th Buccaneers at Jets 1PM

Check back to see how it played out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned as I will continue to do special posts that go into detail about our West Coast extravaganza. I also plan to do my w/o 8/19 & w/o 8/26 in review eventually too. Please bear with me as I try to find time to catch up. I keep falling further behind. Please be patient. It will be worth the wait.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Royalty rides to Reno to see the Aces play!

After spending another night at Casa De Narry Sunday night August 11th, the King, Duck & I woke up after the Narry family left to go to work Monday morning August 12th. Tike gave me a key to lock up the house once we got ready to hit the road. They woke up early & we slept through.

Tike who now works for Amtrak as an engineer was driving a train to Reno. We arranged to meet him later in the day there. He decided to join us for the minor league baseball game we were seeing there that night.
Once we left his house we drove back to Stockton because I told the King I was going to make sure that we would go visit his sister Alice Casiano who lives there. True to my word, we did indeed. We wound up going to her home first. We saw her and her husband Miguel. After we spoke for a short time, we decided to go to get something to eat. She recommended Denny's which was nearby. We asked her is there anything else. I suggested IHOP because I know Duck likes that place. She said yes there is. So she decided to drive us all in her SUV. We wound up having a nice breakfast together. It should be noted everything we've gone to Northern California, we've also made time to see her along the way. With that being said, it was nice to see her again.

Once we got back to her house, we said our goodbyes and we continued on our way to Reno aka the Biggest Little City in the World. We got there around 4:30PM. We parked the car in the El Dorado casino garage for free thanks to Tike who told us to do so. We then walked over to a restaurant in the Casino called The Brews Brothers where we met up with Tike for a pre game meal. He told me they have amazing specials from 2-5PM. We timed it perfectly as we got there just before that ended. As a result, we got to take advantage. Even after Tike told us about a time that he and some buddies drank there for a few hours for next to nothing, the King couldn't believe the bill when the waitress brought it to us. We had some really good pizza, wings and microbrewed beers. I want to thank Tike again for another solid recommendation.
After we finished eating, we walked over to Aces Ballpark, home of the Reno Aces which was a few blocks away. It should noted that the Triple A All-Star Game was held there in June. On the way, we stopped by the Amtrak station which is right by left field. Tike showed around there. We then proceeded to head towards the box office to get tickets for the game. Before we got to do so, a guy outside said here's tickets for the game. We were all caught off guard. He just gave them to us. We all thanked him and we proceeded to go inside. We were in the right place at the right time. As I like to say, timing is everything.

View from Aces Ballpark
As for the game we saw, the Reno Aces, the Arizona Diamondbacks' affiliate were hosting the Nashville Sounds, the Milwaukee Brewers' farm team. The Aces got up to a fast start as they batted around in the first inning. They wound up scoring six runs. There were a few walks, an error, a wild pitch and a few timely clutch two out hits that resulted in the big inning. The Sounds broke the shutout with a run in the top of the third inning to make it, 6-1. The Aces answered back in the bottom of the third inning with three more runs to go up, 9-1. The Sounds came right back as they scored four in the fourth & two more in the fifth to make it a game at 9-7. The Aces responded with three more in the bottom of the seventh inning to put the game away as they went on to win, 12-7.

Duck, The King & Tike
After the game we said goodbye to Tike and thanked him again for all he did for us. We told him we'll see him again Saturday when we return to Oakland.

We drove 45 miles to Minden, Nevada where we spent the night at the Carson Valley Inn, which was another great recommendation by Tike.

Stay tuned for the next installment of this journey as I try to make time to catch up.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman