West Virginia Archives - Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com

West Virginia 2022 – Huntington, New River Gorge, Kentucky

Isaac Church — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 21:15:43 +0000

Better late than never, right? Life has been rather crazy lately, and even though I’ve had this written for a while, I never got around to adding photos and editing everything. Actually, I have yet another trip I need to finish writing up, so stay tuned for one more late post coming soon.

As part of Dad’s 65th birthday quest to see all (home and away) App State football games, we headed up to Huntington, WV on November 11, 2022. The Mountaineers recently renewed an old rivalry against the Marshall Thundering Herd, after the two teams were finally reunited in the same conference after a decades long separation. Along the way, we stopped in the New River Gorge, ate some good food, and saw our first snow of the season.

Travel

We’d originally planned to leave after I got off work on Friday afternoon, but decided to leave a little early because of the torrential rain and flooding from Tropical Storm Nicole. I had to take a rather creative route home from work to avoid flooded roads. Leaving Boone, we took 421 to Mountain City, cut up to US-58, and passed through Damascus and Abingdon. A couple hours later, we turned onto US-23, and continued north across the Virginia-Kentucky border, eventually winding our way up to Prestonburg, KY, our home for the night.

US-23 was an impressively nice road that basically passed through the middle of nothing for several hours. We learned that it’s one of the oldest and longest north-south highways in the eastern US, stretching from Jacksonville, FL to Mackinaw City, MI. In Kentucky, it’s known as the “Country Music Highway”; signage notes connections to Loretta Lynn, Dwight Yoakam, Billy Ray Cyrus, Patty Loveless, and more along the route.

Prestonburg

We dropped off our luggage at our Airbnb, which was in the upstairs of an optometrist’s office. Though a strange location, it was a very spacious and nice place. We were the first guests to stay there, according to our hosts. Following their written guide for local fare, we drove over the The Brickhouse restaurant for a late dinner.

Dad and I decided to split some things for dinner – we ordered the apple-bourbon wings as an appetizer (topped with Granny Smith apples and scallions), and a pizza to split for the main course (half Kentucky Hot Brown – Mornay sauce, bacon, turkey, ham, and diced tomatoes; half 3 Lil’ Pigs – tomato sauce, pork ribeye, bacon, pulled pork, and red onions). We also got a side of Brussels sprouts salad to split, which was topped with blue cheese, bacon, and a vinaigrette. For dessert, we split a slice of blueberry cheesecake cake. Overall, the meal was very good, especially the wings. We weren’t a fan of the Hot Brown pizza; it was pretty bland.

Apple-bourbon wings

Pizza

Brussels sprouts

Blueberry cheesecake cake

After dinner, we took a brief drive through downtown Prestonburg, and then headed back to our Airbnb for the evening. The next morning, we got up, packed up our things, and enjoyed a quick breakfast consisting of a blueberry muffin and pecan bar that our hosts left for us.

Downtown Prestonburg, KY

Snacks at our Airbnb

Middle Creek National Battlefield

Airbnb in Prestonburg, KY

After breakfast, we left the optometrist’s office, briefly drove through the town’s park and rec facility, and traveled a short distance west of Prestonburg to Middle Creek National Battlefield. The Battle of Middle Creek was fought on January 10, 1862, and was the only battle commanded by future US President James A. Garfield. The area is basically just a large field with a few trees and some walking paths, but it was interesting to learn about the history of the area and the campaign. More interestingly, they have a miniature version of the Lincoln memorial on the grounds. It’s easy to understand why the battle took place there – it was the only place in the valley large enough for miles in either direction.

Middle Creek National Battlefield

Ashland // Ohio River

Departing Middle Creek, we continued north on US-23 and eventually wound up in Ashland, KY, which has a beautiful historic downtown. We crossed the Ohio River into Coal Grove, OH, and followed US-52 south back towards Chesapeake, OH and Huntington, WV. The scenery was nice, but it was becoming increasingly rainy and foggy, so we didn’t leave the car to snap any photos.

Ashland, KY

Crossing the Ohio River

Huntington, WV

Bahnhof WVrsthouse

Back across the Ohio River in Huntington, we began scouting out lunch. We settled on Bahnhof WVrsthaus & Biergarten, a German restaurant that makes most of their menu from scratch in-house. For an appetizer, we split a Haus Barley Malt Pretzel, which came with raspberry-wildflower honey butter, Bavarian mustard, everything whipped butter, and bier cheese. It was an excellent start to a meal that would only get better.

For the main course, we split a pork schnitzel sandwich with turbo sauerkraut, bavarian mustard aioli, chow-chow, and arugula. On the side, we got käsespätzle (think mac & cheese with caramelized onions and bacon). For the other entrée, we got a Haus Brat with mountain mustard, turbokraut, sautéed onion, and chives. It came with a side of extra-crispy fries with charmoula aioli and curry ketchup. Both the entrées were outstanding, and we both agreed the schnitzel was one of the best sandwiches we’ve ever had.

Pretzel

Schnitzel sandwich, käsespätzle

Bratwurst, fries

For dessert, we had to try one of their giant Bavarian cream puffs, even though we were both getting full. It was amazing – light and creamy, but not too sweet – an excellent end to an excellent meal!

Bavarian cream puffs

Bavarian cream puff

Restaurant Awards/Ratings We decided we would start providing ratings for restaurants, since we've visited so many.

The ratings system will be similar to the Michelin Star system (but less pretentious). We will only award a star if the restaurant is exceptional in some way. If a restaurant doesn't receive any stars, it doesn't mean the meal was bad, it just means it wasn't extraordinary. In fact, it would be more accurate to say we are "awarding" stars, rather than "rating" establishments.

Here's some info on our star awards:

Outstanding, would definitely visit again

Exceptional, must visit if in the area

Worth making a special trip just to eat there

Here’s some info on the Michelin star system, if you’re curious:

Without further adieu, I’m pleased to award the first stars of our blog – although I will be back-filling awards on our prior trips!

Bahnhof WVrsthouse

Huntington, WV

Our entire meal at Banhof WVrsthouse was outstanding. They clearly went the extra mile with every dish they served, hand-making all their condiments, buns, etc. The menu was unique, and well thought-out. We would love to return and try everything they make!

* – Would definitely visit again

** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area

*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there

For more info on food ratings, click here.

Marshall Univeristy

After lunch, we drove over to Marshall University, and parked in a parking deck fairly close to the stadium. Dad and I walked to the middle of campus to see the Memorial Fountain, which honors the 75 lives lost in the tragedy of Southern Airways Flight 932, which crashed just shy of the Huntington airport. The movie We Are Marshall tells the story of the lives lost and the University’s struggle to rebuild their football program after the catastrophe.

Marshall University student union

Memorial Fountain

Cody (who has been on many trips with me, most recently to Texas) and his wife Morgan had planned to meet us on campus before the game. However, they had car trouble about an hour outside of Huntington, so they just barely made it in time for the start of the game. We ended up hiding their two tickets in the parking deck for them to pick up once they finally arrived.

Football

The football game was extremely disappointing – I’ll leave it at that. As you probably know, App State football had a very underwhelming season after some thrilling games at the beginning of the season. Not only was it a disappointing outcome for the Mountaineers, but the weather was miserable as well; it was cold and rainy for most of the game. On the plus side, it was neat to see Marshall’s stadium, and I would definitely come back for another road game sometime in the future.

App State vs Marshall

Post-Game Dinner and Travel

After the game, the four of us went downtown to Huntington Ale House to grab some dinner. We got a chicken and waffle sandwich, a few kinds of loaded mac & cheese, and some salads. The food was sustaining but not the best – everything was a little bland.

Chicken & waffle sandwich

Mac & cheese

Downtown Huntington

After dinner, we traveled east on I-64 through Charleston (a surprisingly sprawling city), and then south to our Airbnb in Oak Hill, WV. Once off the interstate, it was a rather winding, narrow, foggy drive to our lodging for the night, but we finally made it, albeit late. We crashed into bed, exhausted from a rather long day.

Oak Hill // Fayetteville

Oak Hill, WV

Sunday morning, we woke up to a surprise layer of snow and (mostly) ice. Getting down the stairs of our Airbnb was quite treacherous, but we managed to load the truck, defrost it, and head on our way. We backtracked slightly to Fayetteville, WV, and stopped at Cathedral Cafe & Book Store for breakfast. The cafe is housed in an old, abandoned church, but still has the original stained-glass windows and wood floors.

Oak Hill, WV

Fayetteville, WV

It turned out to be an excellent breakfast spot. We split an order of biscuits and sausage gravy, a blueberry muffin, and a breakfast sandwich (bacon, egg, and cheddar on an asiago bagel). We saved most of the muffin for later, barely finished the biscuits and gravy, and devoured the bagel sandwich. The bagel was far and beyond the best of the bunch – one of the better breakfast sandwiches I’ve eaten.

Cathedral Cafe & Book Store

Coffee

Breakfast sandwich, biscuits and gravy, blueberry muffin

Cathedral Cafe & Book Store

Fayetteville, WV

West Virginia can sometimes seem like the land of infinite fast food options, so it’s refreshing to know there are still some local places where you can relax and enjoy a quality, healthy[ish] meal. All the food we had at Cathedral Cafe was very good, and it’s a unique location – I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a restaurant inside an abandoned church before.

* – Would definitely visit again

** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area

*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there

For more info on food ratings, click here.

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve

Surround by fluttering snowflakes, we left downtown Fayetteville and drove to the main visitor center at New River Gorge National Park & Preserve. We explored the museum, reading about the area’s history of mining, flora and fauna, railroads, and the construction of the New River Gorge Bridge. Some boardwalks a short distance from the main building provided scenic views of the bridge and gorge. We didn’t spend long outside though, because of the cold.

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve

Fayette Station Road

After some debate, we decided to drive down Fayette Station Road to the bottom of the New River Gorge. The one-way scenic drive descends slowly into the gorge, where you cross the New River via an old railroad trestle bridge, and then come up the other side. I downloaded an audio guide off the National Park Service’s website, which provided lots of interesting history about the settlement and mining in the area.

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve

There’s a pull-off where the road crosses under the New River Gorge Bridge that provides visitors with a stunning picture of the enormous scale of engineering required to build the bridge.

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve

At the bottom of the gorge, we stopped the car and walked around, taking in the raging river and some small waterfalls. We crossed the New River via an old trestle bridge, climbed up the other side, and then got back on the interstate to head home. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to explore several other parts of the national park, including Brooks Falls and Sandstone Falls, the Thurmond Historic District, and the Grandview Overlook. Maybe one day…

Fayette Station Road

Travel Home

Finally, we were back on the road. We came back down I-77, cut through Mouth of Wilson, and wound up back in Boone in the late afternoon. It was a great trip, though short, and we both agreed we would like make the trek again the next time App plays in Huntington.

Showshoe, WV

Video

Here’s some footage from New River Gorge National Park & Preserve:

Conclusion

Thanks for reading! Click here to subscribe to email notifications.

There’s one more 2022 catch-up post coming soon – be on the lookout for that sometime in the next few weeks!

– Isaac

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve

The post West Virginia 2022 – Huntington, New River Gorge, Kentucky appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

Pennsylvania Day 2/3

Isaac Church — Sat, 08 Sep 2018 02:24:28 +0000

Before I get started: sorry that this blog is coming about a week late; I’ve been very busy since I got back, and haven’t had time to work on it until today.

The Morning

Saturday morning, we awoke around 7:00 and enjoyed the remainder of our donuts from Krumpee’s (2 Bavarian cream, a coconut, and a glazed chocolate cake) for breakfast. We stopped at a gas station close to our hotel for fuel, and then started making our way up to State College, Pennsylvania.

There is no good way to get to State College. We were feeling adventurous, so we opted to take the most direct route, which was certainly not the easiest. We were mainly on US-522, US-22, and PA-26, but our path wound its way through the Pennsylvania mountains with numerous turns and side roads. To our great annoyance, we got caught behind an enormous tractor for almost 30 minutes, and finally ended our suffering when the driver decided to turn off into one of the thousands of corn fields we’d been driving through. It was a very scenic drive, but we thought it was never going to end!

The Pennsylvania State University

It seemed as if State College just materialized out of nowhere. It is very isolated, but the campus itself is quite expansive. After getting stuck on some side roads, we finally made it to the yellow lot (which was just one of the intramural fields), and parked. Those people know how to tailgate! I’ve never seen so many people crammed into one space. Everyone was very friendly, and it was definitely the most welcoming crowd of all the Power 5 schools we’ve faced.

After we parked, we walked around campus for well over an hour, seeing the soccer fields, swimming complex, tennis courts, intramural facilities, practice facilities, dorms, and several academic buildings. The most interesting structure we saw was the Millenium Campus building, which housed life sciences, design, and several other programs. It is a very bizarre shape, and had an open space with a garden in the center of it.

The Pennsylvania State University

The Tailgate

Finally, we met up with Cody and Morgan McKinney (my former roommate/fellow accounting graduate and his wife), and Kenneth Davis and his friend Blake, who we know from other Appalachian sporting events. We’d planned to tailgate with some friends of Kenneth, so we waited around until we finally found where they were parking. Somehow, they’d managed to secure a spot in the green lot right next to the visitor’s gate. We enjoyed a wonderful tailgate, and Cody, Morgan, and I walked around the stadium some more.

The Game

About an hour and a half before kickoff, we entered Beaver stadium, and climbed up to our seats. It was a fantastic game! I’m sure you’ve seen multiple highlights from it by now. It was wonderful to hear the fans silenced as we far surpassed all reasonable expectations for a small Group of Five school.

I’m still disappointed that we lost in overtime, but it was one of the best football games I’ve ever seen, and I have great confidence that we are well-situated for the current and the next several years. All I really care about is that we destroy UNC-Charlotte next weekend in Charlotte at Jerry Richardson Stadium.

The Post-Game Meal

After the game, we finally found the truck (there were so many people and cars we weren’t sure we would), and headed out of town to I-99. Along the way, we dropped off Kenneth and Blake at their hotel. We decided to take the Interstate back, rather than attempting to navigate the Pennsylvania backwoods in the dark. A few exits down, we stopped at an Outback to take care of our hunger and exhaustion (we felt like we’d been down on the field playing alongside the team).

We took I-99 > I-70 > I-81 back to our hotel, about a 2h 40m drive. Finally we arrived back at the hotel, and immediately showered and fell asleep, only pausing to watch our highlights on SportsCenter before we headed to bed.

Outback

The Sunday Travel

The next morning, we woke up around 7:30, and left our hotel by 8:00 for our journey home. We made it through most of the Shenandoah Valley in good time, only stopping once at a rest area. Around 11:30, we stopped at a barbecue restaurant in Christiansburg, VA (halfway between Roanoke and Blacksburg) called Due South BBQ. Dad got a brisket sandwich, mac & cheese, baked beans, and banana pudding; I got a pulled pork sandwich, mac & cheese, and fried okra. The sandwiches were excellent, and we enjoyed some live music from a local while we ate.

Around 13:45, we arrived back where I had dropped my car in Wilkesboro. I journeyed back up the mountain for my weekly Sunday afternoon soccer match at the Valle Crucis Community Park, and Dad headed back to Granite Falls.

Overall, it was a great trip, even though we lost, and we are looking forward to many other Power 5 road trips in the future. We are also traveling to Charlotte for our game next weekend, but I likely won’t break out the blog for that, since it’s just a day trip.

Thanks for reading! I hope to have my email links fixed soon.

The post Pennsylvania Day 2/3 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

Pennsylvania Day 1

Isaac Church — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 01:50:22 +0000

Dad picked me up at work in Wilkesboro early this afternoon, and we began our journey to Pennsylvania. We headed up I-77, and after surviving several traffic jams near Roanoke, and stopping once for gas, we finally made it to Harrisonburg, VA, where we stopped for dinner.

Shenandoah Valley

Dinner - Bella Luna Woodfired Pizza

We stopped at Bella Luna Woodfired Pizza in downtown Harrisonburg, and enjoyed an excellent meal. We split an antipasto platter (with cheese, meats, bread, and various pickled fruits and vegetables) for an appetizer, and then split two small 10″ pizzas (a sopressata and a meatball).

Bella Luna Woodfired Pizza

Harrisonburg, VA

A great pizzeria with a small but creative menu. Great place for a pie!

* – Would definitely visit again

** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area

*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there

For more info on food ratings, click here.

Krumpe's Donuts

After dinner, we hopped back on I-81 and drove the remaining portion of the never-ending Shenandoah Valley. We stopped in Hagerstown, MD at a small donut shop called Krumpe’s Donuts. The shop has very bizarre hours (only 7pm-2am, and not open on Saturdays), and a very strange location (in a back alley in a neighborhood), but it was extremely crowded. We got a half-dozen donuts, and then headed slightly north of Hagerstown to our hotel. At the hotel, we ate a glazed donut each, and then headed to bed.

Up Next

Tomorrow morning, we’ll make the ~2.5 hour drive to State College, PA to Happy Valley/Beaver Stadium–home of the Penn State University Nittany Lions. Hopefully, we will cheer the Mountaineers on to victory!

The post Pennsylvania Day 1 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

Pennsylvania 2018 – Introduction

Isaac Church — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 15:55:29 +0000

Greetings everyone!

Our family trip happened in March instead of August this year, so I’ve all but neglected the blog for the summer. I’ve sort of been looking for even the slightest excuse to publish something, since there are a lot of updates to give! It’s been a summer of exciting changes, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to share a bit about the happenings.

Major Events - Graduation

I guess I should go in order…

First of all, I graduated! If that sounds like déjà vu all over again, it is. This was my third [and likely final] time graduating from ASU. This was my official graduation with two master’s degrees: a Master of Science in Accountancy, and a Master of Business Administration in Applied Business Analytics. I graduated as the top MBA student, and was invited to be the student speaker at graduation! This was a huge blessing, and I’m very grateful for that opportunity.

Graduation 2018

You can watch my commencement address in the video below:

Major Events - Employment

After an extensive job search, I accepted a position with Lowe’s Companies, Inc. in Wilkesboro, NC. I will continue to live in Boone, and commute off the mountain. I’m on the projects team in the accounting department, so I’ll be working on a wide variety of material, including a good bit of data analysis, so I’ll be making good use of all my degrees.

Major Events - Engagement

Last, and certainly not least, as most of you already know, I got engaged this summer!

A quick fun fact rundown:

Faith and I have known each other for a little over 6 years, but only dated for a very short time! We both knew very quickly we wanted to marry each other.
She is from Valle Crucis, and is a senior violin performance major at ASU (think professional weddings/symphony/teaching lessons).
We are getting married in Boone on December 15th.
You can find more info on our wedding website, isaacandfaith.com.

About 30 minutes after the proposal - Wiseman's View, NC

We are planning on taking a short honeymoon in December, and later (maybe in the summer) will hopefully travel somewhere awesome together! So, stay tuned for a blog series featuring the adventures of Isaac and Faith…

Major Events - Power Tools/Soccer/Website

In other less exciting news, the Church Family’s lives have consisted of wedding planning, yard care (our weedeater died, and Dad and I are very excited about the opportunity to use new power tools), the occasional picnic, and the occasional Saturday road trip. In the fall, I’m also going to be playing on a High Country Soccer adult league team in the Appalachian Mountain Brewery Premier League.

Also, you might–or, more likely, might not–have noticed that my website is slightly revamped and significantly faster. I finally gave up on my pocket computer server in my living room, and am now hosting the site via AWS Lightsail. In simpler terms, this means it will be faster, and less likely to go offline.

I basically recreated the site by hand because my old server was too decrepit to do any kind of data transfer, so there might be a few bugs or inconsistencies here and there. I was also unable to transfer any comments anyone may have left on posts. However, the email newsletter should still work, and I hope this site will last for many years to come!

Major Event - Football Season

I mentioned I needed a reason to fire up the blog again (other than just to give a life update), and what better excuse than Appalachian State football? So, finally, the reason that I’m posting on my travel blog: it’s road trip* time for the Church Family^!

*Note: by ‘road trip’, I mean a one and two-halves day trip.

^Note 2: by ‘Church Family’, I mean Dad and me, but that’s no surprise to those of you who know Mom’s football game attendance record.

On Labor Day weekend, ASU opens their 2018 football season at Penn State, and Dad and I are going to make the trip to Beaver Stadium in State College, PA to see the game! We plan on leaving NC Friday afternoon and driving to Hagerstown, MD (about 5h 20m through the never-ending Shenandoah Valley), and then driving the remaining 2h 30m to Penn State University the next morning; kickoff is at 3:30pm. After the game, we’ll return to Hagerstown, and will journey home Sunday. On our way home, we might stop in Shenahdoah National Park, or somewhere else along the way.

That’s all the life updates for now! Thanks for following our travels (even if this round will be brief). You can click the button below to subscribe to posts, if you haven’t already.

Beaver Stadium

The post Pennsylvania 2018 – Introduction appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

Day 1: Travel // Hershey

Isaac Church — Fri, 11 Aug 2017 02:05:29 +0000

Day one of our travels was relatively uneventful, but productive, thanks to 700+ miles traveled. We departed Granite Falls shortly after 05:00, and didn’t stop until we grabbed a couple American muffins (they’re not actually English) and a biscuit at a Chick-Fil-A near Blacksburg, VA. We only made one more pit stop along the never-ending Interstate 81, and after enduring what seemed like 10,000 miles of the Shenandoah Valley, we finally arrived in Hershey, PA around 13:15. Our first stop, of course, was to find food, since we were very “road-sick” and hungry.

Lunch - The Hershey Pantry

We dined at a neat little sandwich café called The Hershey Pantry. The food was excellent, and we each got a sandwich and split a small crab Florentine dip for an appetizer.

Mom got a Tex Mex wrap (grilled chicken, cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, ranch sauce, grilled onions and peppers, served on a sundried tomato wrap).
Dad got a beef cheesesteak (onions, lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise, mozzarella cheese, and tomato sauce on a multigrain roll).
I got a grilled turkey sandwich (on thick cut cinnamon bread with Swiss cheese and cranberry spread).

The Hershey Pantry

All the food was outstanding, and we were all very impressed with the restaurant!

The Hershey Pantry

Hershey, PA

Surprisingly good food, though looks are a bit deceiving. I’d recommend this place to anyone visiting the area.

* – Would definitely visit again

** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area

*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there

For more info on food ratings, click here.

hershey's Chocolate World

After lunch, we ventured back towards downtown Hershey, driving past the many marks of the company, including kiss-shaped street lights. We headed to Hershey’s Chocolate World, found a great parking spot, and headed inside.

Hershey's Chocolate World

The factory offered a free tour, so we hopped/scrambled/fell in a rotating train car and rode through a simulated factory tour, complete with the history of the company and the production process. It was fascinating, and best of all, we got a free miniature Hershey’s bar at the end.

Hershey's Chocolate World

Desserts by The Hershey Pantry

In the interest of eating food we can’t buy at home, we opted not to get anything from the giant Hershey’s store, and instead traveled back across town to a bakery operated by the café at which we ate lunch. It was simply called Desserts by the Hershey Pantry, and was across the street from the restaurant in a little grey house.

Desserts by the Hershey Pantry

We split a blueberry muffin, a chocolate muffin, and an Oreo fudge bomb. The fudge bomb was by far the best, but all three were excellent. The blueberry muffin came in second place.

Desserts By The Hershey Pantry

Hershey, PA

We finally felt like we’d had an authentic chocolate experience after visiting here. You have to try the fudge bombs!

* – Would definitely visit again

** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area

*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there

For more info on food ratings, click here.

Scranton, PA

After dessert, we made a quick run to the local Tanger Outlets, found nothing, and to our great dismay returned to I-81 and resumed our journey north. We made a quick stop in Scranton, PA to take a picture (if you don’t get the reference, don’t worry about it).

Scranton, PA

Conclusion

Around 17:00, we realized we were farther up the road than we expected, so we called and moved our hotel room for the night from PA to upstate NY, and opted to drive a few extra hours in an effort to be able to sleep in tomorrow. We arrived at our hotel in Oneonta, NY around 21:00, and retired for the evening.

Hershey's Chocolate World

Thanks for reading! Tomorrow, we head to Cooperstown, NY and the Adirondacks.

Click below to subscribe if you haven’t already!

Hershey's Chocolate World

The post Day 1: Travel // Hershey appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

Introduction // Church Trip 2017

Isaac Church — Tue, 08 Aug 2017 21:00:22 +0000

Before we get too far into the details of this post, I think I’ll give a quick update on what’s going on with the family.

If you’d like to skip all that and get to the new stuff, click here. If not, you can keep reading at your own risk.

I completed my Master of Science in Accountancy degree from Appalachian this June, and I’m currently in the second half of my graduate program working on an MBA in Data Analytics. Mom has been working on the pastoral search committee at church, and Dad has been keeping the Town of Granite Falls functioning amongst a collapsed bridge and a massive fire.

Graduation (Halfway Point) // May 2017

In May, I studied abroad in the Alps to complete the global requirement for the MBA program. You can click below to read about my adventures in Switzerland, Italy, and France!

Lausanne

In July, my roommates and I conducted a water taste test (long story), so if you’d like to find out what brands of water to buy/not buy based on the scientific observations of a handful of college students, click here.

[If you didn’t get an email about that post, please check your spam mailbox and check the alert below about avoiding spam filters.]

While I’m on the topic of blog posts, click below to subscribe to future posts.

For those of you who already subscribe, please add postmaster@mail.isaactchurch.com to your email address book if you haven’t been getting emails. If you haven’t received any messages from me, check your spam mailbox. Thanks!

Church trip 2017

For those of you who don’t remember, our family went on an unprecedented trip up north last summer. I’m still not quite sure how we got Mom to travel that far, but she enjoyed it so much that she essentially demanded that we take a similar trip this summer!

It didn’t exactly take much convincing for Dad and me to agree to travel back to the land of Red Sox games and lobster rolls. Since we now have some experience galavanting around the New England, we hope that this will be a more streamlined, yet equally adventurous trip.

Our itinerary includes, among other things: Hershey and Amish Country, Baseball Hall of Fame, northern Appalachian Mountains, Maine, New England, NYC, DC, and more. Along the way I expect we’ll have lots of good food (I know that’s shocking—I’ve been researching hole-in-the-wall restaurants for months), see some beautiful scenery, explore some new territory, and experience some inevitable craziness.

For those of you who would like to follow our adventures, you can subscribe by email. (If you’ve subscribed to a previous blog, there’s no need to subscribe again.) Once again, the link so subscribe is below.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to sharing our adventures with you!

The post Introduction // Church Trip 2017 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

Day 1: DC, Philadelphia, and Travel

Isaac Church — Sat, 06 Aug 2016 16:58:37 +0000

Today marked the beginning of the “Church Trip”, or whatever you want to call it. I still haven’t even made up my mind. We spent most of the day in the car, so the day was fairly uneventful, and by the end of it we were pretty “road sick”.

Washington, D.C.

We left Granite Falls a little after 5:00am, stopped for breakfast along the way, and managed to make it to Washington, D.C. (through some of the worst traffic I’ve ever seen) around 2:00pm. We stopped at District Taco on F Street for some barbacoa, carnitas, and pollo asado tacos, which were excellent!

Originally, we planned to take a walking/circulator tour of the monuments and National Mall after lunch, but because we were running behind and it was drizzling, we opted to drive around the Mall one time and then head out of the city.

Library of Congress

Philadelphia

We finally arrived in Philadelphia around 7:00pm, which was unfortunately too late to tour any of the historical sites. After we found some parking, we walked around the Independence Hall area, toured the President’s House, and walked around the outside of the Liberty Bell museum (thrilling). After our rather uneventful tour, it was on to better things: cheese steaks!

Independence Hall

The Libery Bell and Independence Hall

Our first endeavor was to find a place called Joe’s Steaks + Soda Shop that supposedly had great steaks. By this time, it was close to their closing time at 8:00pm, and we were headed towards a rough part of town, so we opted for Plan B, which was basically whatever Dad had pulled up on his phone. It turned out to be a good decision. We ate at a place on Broad Street called Jimmy G’s Steaks that was outstanding.

Jimmy G's Steaks

Philadelphia, PA

An authentic Philly steak. Unfortunately, Jimmy G’s is now permanently closed.

* – Would definitely visit again

** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area

*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there

For more info on food ratings, click here.

Conclusion

After ordering our steaks “prov wit” like semi-authentic Philly natives (the only difference being a bit of a noticeable drawl) and devouring them at the tables outside, we decided it was time to hit the road, so we headed up to NJ (some familiar territory for Dad and me) and finally checked into our hotel just shy of 11:00pm.

Tomorrow, the Church family will take on the Big Apple and hopefully some big waffles. Oh, and something about Connecticut too, but we’ll see if Mom survives the subway before we start to speculate.

Final Thoughts

Like I said, there wasn’t much to report from today, but tomorrow should be pretty interesting because [Churches + NYC = ???].

A few other things of note from today:

Obviously, we didn’t teleport straight to DC and then to Philadelphia, though that would have saved us a significant amount of time and possibly prevented some amount of road rage. Today we saw sights in NC, VA, MD, DE, NJ, PA, and then NJ again.
We realized we still don’t know what’s happening on this trip. I suppose I kinda do because I planned it, but Mom thought we were going to Boston tomorrow instead of New York City, so that created some temporary confusion. Dad remembers the plans by types of food, so I don’t believe he has any concerns as long as the status-quo is being well-fed.
Mom was amazed that it’s illegal to pump your own gas in NJ, and that they offer full service at every gas station. And that service stations are sometimes in the median. Dad and I were too busy discussing the job-creating potential of requiring that in other states.

The post Day 1: DC, Philadelphia, and Travel appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

An Introduction: Part II

Isaac Church — Fri, 05 Aug 2016 16:56:03 +0000

A follow-up to my last post: Once I finally relented to Mom’s (and several other people’s) requests to create a blog for this trip, I realized I needed a good name for the blog.

After consulting a few of my esteemed colleagues, these are the options I considered. Please don’t cringe too hard.

“Church Family Road Trip 2k16”
“Eating Our Way Through New England”
“Our Moose Hunting Trip”
“Our Food Hunting Trip”
“The Maine Adventure”
“Churching the Most Unchurched Part of America”
“Where is Canada?”
“Churches Migrating North for the Summer”
“Discovering the States in Which One Cannot Make Left Turns”
“15 States, 1 District, 2 Countries, 9 Days”
“Are there Moose in Maine?”
“How Many Consecutive Days Can a Very Southern Man Tolerate Northerners Before Exploding?: A Semi-Scientific Experiment”
“The Hand Sanitizer Habits of a Woman Under Germ-Induced Duress: A Semi-Scientific Observation”
“Which Genres of Music are Best for Lulling a 22-Year-Old to Sleep in a Car?: Another Semi-Scientific Experiment/Observation”

I thought these might be worth sharing. I do however realize I probably just lost at least half my potential readers.

I finally settled on “Church Trips: Adventures, Food, and the Occasional Wildlife Sighting” for sake of simplicity, and so I won’t have to start another separate blog for any future trips. That way, if we get real wild and head up to Ashe County one day, I can document it for your viewing pleasure.

The post An Introduction: Part II appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

An Introduction

Isaac Church — Fri, 05 Aug 2016 16:02:06 +0000

As with all good stories, one must start at the very beginning. So, to explain why I’m writing an adventure blog for the rest of the summer, we must backtrack about a couple months.

Many months ago, I committed to go on a mission trip to Cleveland to work with the Syrian refugee population there. Our church planned the trip for the second week of August. Even after many months of preparation, fundraising, prayer, and planning, interest in our trip had gradually dwindled and many participants had to cancel, so we reluctantly decided it was best to cancel the trip (due to lack of interest), and to donate any fundraising dollars to the CMA mission group in Ohio.

Sometime in mid-June, I told my parents that I was now free at the beginning of August. Contrary to their recent behavior while I’ve been away at college, they invited me to join them on a vacation for that week. (For our family, a vacation always means eating lots of seafood somewhere north of Myrtle Beach.) And so, the discussion began. The conversation went something like this:

Mom: “I’m really glad you’re going to be able to come with us on this trip!”

Me: “Me too, I’m looking forward to eating some good seafood. Do we have a plan for the week?”
Mom: “No, we don’t actually know where we would stay. I haven’t planned anything yet.”
Me: *With slight sarcasm and not expecting serious consideration* “Here’s a crazy idea: why don’t we try going somewhere other than Cherry Grove?”
Mom: “That sounds like a great idea to me!”
Me:
Me:
Me:
Me: *Jaw dropped, and speechless*
Me:
Me:
Me:
Mom: “We could go to Niagara Falls! That’s what [some of our friends from church] did recently!”
Me: “Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh………….that sounds great!!”

For those of you who don’t know my mother well, I will now take time to attempt to explain why this might, in fact, be the single most unprecedented event of at least the past several decades.

For those of you who do know her and already savvy, feel free to skip this paragraph. — Let me begin by saying that to my knowledge, Mom has never traveled outside of the Carolinas, Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia in my lifetime – maybe not even in her adult lifetime. And I’m not even sure about Virginia. Also, when I say Tennessee and Georgia, I’m talking Gatlinburg, one trip against her will to Watauga Lake, and a Braves game ten years ago.

Oh, and Dad and I dragged her to ASU’s championships in Chattanooga from ‘05-’07, but I know for a fact the first one scarred her for life, because after the first game she adamantly promised she would never go to another large public sporting event in her lifetime.

Because she likes to be very clean and, quite frankly, bacteria-free were it possible, hotels are somewhat of a nightmare, and any travel outside of the bustling metropolis of Granite Falls, NC (population 4,651) is almost always limited to a day trip. Flying is completely off the table.

As many wonderful things as I have learned and inherited from her over the years, my strong sense of spontaneity and adventure is NOT one of them. I can’t possibly describe to you how unusual this truly is.

For those of you who know me well, but not her, you know I may have never been at a loss for words, so that should give you a general idea. We won’t even mention how long it took me to convince her sister that this wasn’t an elaborate practical joke.

This message from the night we decided to go on the trip might help as well:

Now, back to another conversation that ensued.

Me: “I can’t believe this is actually happening! This trip will be so exciting, and I’ve always wanted to see that part of the country.”

Dad: *With great enthusiasm* “And there will be some really great food along the way!”
Mom: “How long does it take to drive to Maine from Niagara Falls?”
Dad and Me: *Repeat previous reaction*
Dad: “I hear there’s really great lobster up in Maine! That’s always been on my bucket list…to eat a bucket full of lobster.”

Side note: joking aside, I’m actually convinced that Dad’s ‘bucket list’, or at least a secondary list, is really just a list of foods of which he would like to consume an entire bucket.

After lots of Googling and quite a bit of planning, we determined that it was better to drive up to Maine first, and then head over to Niagara Falls. Of course, we figured we might as well stop along the way to smell the roses and taste the local cuisine.

One thing led to another, and this is what we ended up with:

The craziest part is that map doesn’t even cover everything. So, for those of you who were wondering “Why on earth did Isaac start a travel blog for his family?”, this is the reason. I promise my succeeding posts won’t be quite as long and lacking in the picture department, and I aim to make them as entertaining as possible.

I’ll cover our adventures, include some photos I’ve taken, and certainly document some of the food–the most important part of any adventure. I might even include a few I.A. posts with Dad’s quotes and lame jokes, documentation of how Northerners react to Caldwell County natives, and whatever else comes to mind.

Our current plan goes something like this: Granite Falls > Richmond > Washington, D.C. > Baltimore > Philadelphia > New York City > New Haven > Providence > Boston > Portsmouth > Portland > Bar Harbor > New Hampshire > Vermont > Syracuse > Rochester > Niagara Falls > Toronto > Pittsburgh > Granite Falls. Only time will tell if we’ll make it home (or past Greensboro, for that matter) alive.

The post An Introduction appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.