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Day 10 – Idaho 2025 // Boise, Three Island Crossing

Isaac Church — Sun, 28 Sep 2025 03:30:36 +0000

Today, we’re driving west to Boise with the primary goal of watching the football game, but we’ll make a few pit stops along the way.

Breakfast and Interstate

First thing this morning, we headed downtown to get some coffee, driving back to 2nd South Market, the food hall where we had barbecue a couple nights before. The coffee shop there is called Full Steam Espresso; I’ll give a more detailed review tomorrow. Most of the breakfast places in Twin Falls were either too crowded or not open early enough, so we wound up at a Great Harvest Bread Company so we could stay on schedule. We had a nice selection of cinnamon rolls, toast, scones, and egg dishes, which accomplished the twofold goal of satisfying our hunger and getting us back on the road quickly.

Great Harvest Bread Company - Twin Falls, ID

Snake River Valley

Three Island Crossing

Cody had recommended we stop at Three Island Crossing in Glenns Ferry. This marked a popular cutoff for the Oregon Trail, and one of the most important (and dangerous) places travelers would attempt to ford the Snake River, using (you guessed it!) the three islands in the middle of the river to assist them.

We arrived at the visitor center and museum right as they opened for the day, and were greeted by their very friendly staff, who gave us a quick tour, started a 20 minute information video for us to watch, and recommended a couple more related stops and viewpoints nearby.

Three Island Crossing State Park

We enjoyed the museum tour, and spent a little time looking at large waterfowl through a spotting scope, seeing bald eagles, pelicans, hawks, and geese. The next interstate exit down, we pulled off for another quick stop, where we could see wagon ruts going up and over the hillside right by the side of the interstate.

Boise

Soon we arrived in downtown Boise, and secured a parking space. Hooray again for the Jeep’s semi-worthless hybrid capabilities, because the only spot left in the deck was for EV parking and charging. We charged the battery from 0% to 98% for just $2, if you wondered how extensive the battery life is.

We walked through downtown Boise, visiting the Capital City Public Market, a large collection of street vendors, musicians, booths, and food. I forgot to take pictures, but I was concentrating on navigating the jostling crowd. Next, we headed over to Slow by Slow for coffee, grabbing a couple of pour overs and a couple of mochas.

Boise, ID

Slow by Slow Coffee

Basque Block

After the coffee and market, and walking around a bit more of downtown, we headed to the Basque Block, where the famed shepherds settled starting in the 1800s. Europe’s Basque Country is situated in NE Spain and SW France, and many immigrants came here over the years, settling in the west and bringing their food, language, and culture with them. While we were in the coffee shop, two young ladies in line in front of us were dressed in traditional Basque clothes, speaking the language, and using a special app on their phones to communicate in their language.

Basque Block - Boise, ID

Since it was recommended by almost every source I could find, we went to Bar Gernika for lunch. They have a very simple menu, filled with cultural staples. Most dishes are served with either Idaho fries, or their signature croquetas, little fried balls made of butter, onion, chicken, flour, and milk. Basque food is known for its use of sweet red pimiento peppers, as well as sheep’s milk cheeses and hearty breads. Cody and Morgan split their signature Solomo sandwich (marinated pork loin served with pimientos) and their chicken grinder. Dad and I split the Solomo sandwich and their Chorizo (local made Basque sausage served with grilled onions and pimientos) – think Spanish paprika-filled chorizo, not Mexican-style.

Bar Gernika - Boise, ID

The food was outstanding, and quite refreshing to have a very atypical option like this in the USA. I would come back in a heartbeat. We saw many other App State fans also eating there.

Bar Gernika

Boise, ID

A glimpse of authentic Basque food. The experience is quite unlike anything else I’ve ever had.

* – 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.

E-Sports

Continuing our walk through the Basque Block and downtown Boise, we happened upon the front door of Boise State University’s Esports program. Of course, we were curious, and Cody decided to pull on the door. Well, it opened, and really before anyone realized what was going on, we found ourselves in the lobby. The director of the program popped her head out of her office, and offered us a tour of the facilities, which we felt obliged to take since we had barged in unannounced.

Now, to be clear, I think the concept of “electronic sports” (a.k.a. competitive video games) is a bit ridiculous and best reserved for someone’s basement gaming set up. But, I will admit it was a very interesting tour, and quite an impressive facility. Boise State is one of the premier programs in the country, and they attract a lot of engineers, computer scientists, and other “nerdy” majors through this program, which offers somewhere around 15 full scholarships. Lots of organizations (including mining and forestry companies, drone operators, and the United State Armed Forces) want to hire people with “thumb dexterity” to operate their robots in areas where only a human touch can get the job done.

Boise River Greenbelt

Leaving downtown, we re-parked our car near the football stadium, and took to the Boise River Greenbelt for a walk before it was time to head to the game. This is a beautiful pathway that runs through campus and beside the Snake River. There are lots of picnic areas, drop-in spots for kayakers, and a ton of ducks! It seems almost everyone in Boise owns a bike and uses the Greenbelt to navigate the town.

We walked up and down the river for a while, until we finally started to tire and wanted to get out of the afternoon sun.

App State at Boise State

Zoo Boise

Crossing the river and entering Julia Davis Park, we found a public restroom and some benches in the shade, and decided to rest for a while. We just happened to be right across from the entrance to Zoo Boise, so we got the spontaneous idea to see how much the entrance fee was, since it seemed like a small zoo and a good way to kill more time before the game. Turns out the fee was very reasonable, so we decided to venture inside and see the exhibits. It’s a small zoo, mostly known for having red pandas, which really look more like colorful raccoons than pandas.

We managed to see all the exhibits, and even found some air conditioning to cool us down. It was very much worth the price of admission, despite being one of the smaller zoos I’ve been to.

Red Pandas at Zoo Boise

App State at Boise State

Now, it was finally time for the game. We met up with my friend Justin Evans; we grew up together and went to the same church our entire lives; his grandfather was our pastor. With him was his now-wife Hannah; they got engaged right after we left and are now married. They live in Idaho Falls, and are loving being out west. It was great to see Justin and to meet Hannah; we’d pre-arranged for them to go to the game with us, but circumstances unfortunately prevented us from spending more time with them that week.

App State at Boise State

The game was a sharp disappointment; we looked terrible from the start. But, it was neat to finally see the “Smurf turf” in person, and all the Boise fans were very nice. The stadium is really a lot smaller in person than it looks on TV; its capacity is very comparable to Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone. On a slightly more humorous note, I think every single crane in the state of Idaho was visible from our seats.

App State at Boise State

Dutch Bros and Burgers

After the game, we headed to Dutch Bros to drown our sorrows in Dutch Freezes, and get a little caffeine to keep us awake on the drive home. You’ve probably heard me sing their praises many times before, so I’ll spare you my spiel. But, do know they are one of my top-rated chain establishments.

We stopped at Bad Boy Burgers on the south side of Boise, grabbed some [not pictured] burgers and fries for the road, and then continued on the interstate until we got back to Twin Falls. We headed to bed, exhausted, but knowing we’d had a fun day.

The Best Things we Saw Today

Isaac

The best thing I saw today was… “the giant anteater and other animals at Zoo Boise”.

The best thing I ate today was… “the Solomo sandwich in the Basque Block”.

Jerry

The best thing I saw today was… “Zoo Boise“.

The best thing I ate today was… “all the Basque food”.

Conclusion

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Tomorrow night, we’ve got a red eye flight back home from SLC to CLT. We’ll spend the rest of the day cramming in a few last-minute adventures, and are actually going to dip down into Nevada for a while on our way from Idaho to Utah.

– Isaac & Jerry

App State at Boise State

The post Day 10 – Idaho 2025 // Boise, Three Island Crossing appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

Alabama 2023 // Montgomery, Troy, North GA, Western NC

Isaac Church — Sun, 03 Dec 2023 19:00:00 +0000

We’re back on the road again! This will be a short trip, but will be packed full of events.

Rather last minute, Dad, Trevor, and I decided to drive down to Troy, AL to watch App play the in the Sun Belt football championship game. Since we defeated undefeated JMU in Harrisonburg (who also wasn’t eligible to win the conference in their first year, per the agreement they signed), we were the Sun Belt East Division champions.

Ordinarily, a trip to southern Alabama would make a reasonable weekend road trip, but there was a slight wrinkle: App State men’s basketball was hosting Auburn in Boone on Sunday at 13:00 in front of a sold out Holmes Center crowd, so we had to be back in time to both fight the crowd and (hopefully) cheer the Mountaineers on to victory. So, I devised a logistics plan, and the three of us left Boone right after I got off work on Friday afternoon to start our whirlwind of a weekend.

Watami

To avoid Friday evening traffic in Charlotte, we decided to head west before we headed south. After passing through Asheville, we finally stopped for dinner in Waynesville, NC. My aunt and uncle had recommended a couple places, and Watami Sushi & Noodles had the trifecta of being both open, not overly crowded, and conveniently located.

Our meal was outstanding! We started out with some egg rolls, and then Trevor got General Tso’s chicken, and Dad and I split a couple sushi rolls and orange chicken. Everything was perfectly prepared and cooked; the portions were generous; the spice level was just right; and the prices were very reasonable.

Watami Sushi & Noodles

Waynesville, NC

Fantastic Japanese, Chinese, and sushi dishes. The food is reasonably priced, the quality is exceptional, and the flavor is phenomenal.

* – 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.

After dinner, we drove down US-23 through north Georgia, passing the Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School (a well-regarded athletic preparatory school), but not really seeing much else of interest.

Gainesville

A couple hours later, we arrived at our Airbnb in Gainesville, GA, and settled in for the night. We woke up early the next morning, and drove downtown to Inman Perk Coffee, arriving right when they opened at 07:00. We each got a large mocha to go, piled back in Dad’s truck, and proceeded down US-23, thankfully avoiding heavy traffic as we passed through the Atlanta metro area.

Inman Perk Coffee

After joining I-85 in Atlanta, we continued south, stopping at Buc-ee’s in Auburn, AL for a quick snack, some petrol, and a bathroom break. I’ll revisit Buc-ee’s later in this post, so for now I’ll just post a few photos of the mammoth gas station experience.

Buc-ee's - Auburn, AL

Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site

I guess it wouldn’t be an “Isaac-planned” trip without a detour to some random historical site. I made an eleventh-hour decision to pull into the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site. This was the training site for African-American pilots during WWII. When we first pulled in, we didn’t really expect much – it just looked like an abandoned airstrip and some empty hangars. However, as we walked down and entered the buildings, we realized there was a fantastic museum full of planes and other artifacts from the era.

Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site

Training Room

Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site

German Army Uniforms

Wartime Magazines

Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site

We spent about an hour doing a rushed walk-through of the museum’s three buildings, and then Trevor, braving the plethora of warning signs about aggressive bees (and many dead bees on the ground), climbed the observation tower while I opted to stay downstairs in bee-free territory. Thankfully, the bees were all dormant for the winter, so there were no issues. We visited the gift shop, and then headed back to the interstate. We learned a lot from our visit, and would highly encourage you to stop by sometime if you’re in the area. To avoid a history lecture, I’ll just share some photos from our visit, but I encourage you to read about the site and the brave pilots who trained there. I did find the room full of training materials particularly interesting. In addition to the uniform guides and propaganda on the walls, they had full guides available to browse through, including “The United Nations War Atlas” and a 1944 “Pilot’s Information File“.

Runway

Hangars

Montgomery

By now, we were getting very hungry, and needed to kill some time, so we took a slight detour over to Montgomery to seek out some seafood. We revisited a place we’d been a couple times before, Wintzell’s Oyster House in downtown Montgomery. When we first sat down in the restaurant, we saw the App State football team buses leaving their hotel to head to the stadium at Troy. We ordered a Chargrill Oyster sampler, which had all of the restaurant’s signature oyster flavors. We also got some onion rings, fish tacos, and po’boy’s, but if we had to do it again, we’d just order onion rings and oysters.

Wintzell's Oyster House

Montgomery, AL // Various Locations

We’ve been to Wintzell’s, an Alabama chain, at least three times now. The restaurant gets a star for their exceptional oysters and quirky wall décor, but I’d mostly avoid everything else on the menu. Focus on the oysters!

* – 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.

After lunch, we attempted to find a cheesecake place just outside of downtown. However, when we walked in the door and wound up straight in the kitchen, we quickly realized they were now a catering-only business. So, we scurried out without anyone noticing we’d ever been there, and continued (disappointed and dessert-free) towards the football game.

Troy

A couple hours before kickoff, we pulled into Veteran’s Memorial Stadium in Troy, AL, after passing as quickly as possible through a very rough part of town right outside campus. Despite its surroundings, Troy’s campus is actually quite nice. However, it was unnecessarily difficult to find an entrance into the football stadium. Once we finally found our way inside, we made our way to the App State section, rendezvoused with a handful of friends from Boone, and settled in for the game. It was a long, wet, miserable game. The Mountaineers, plagued with injuries, held on for a while, but were ultimately defeated by both a few unfortunate plays, and by Troy’s superior linemen and depth.

Veteran's Memorial Stadium

Though a loss, it was a fun game, and nice to check another collegiate stadium off our list. I was very unimpressed by the turnout of Troy fans, especially for a conference championship game, and equally impressed with the amount of App State fans that made the long drive.

App State at Troy - 2023 Sun Belt Championship

Buc-eeeEee's!

We arrived back at our vehicle soaking wet, as the steady showers had changed to a downpour right when we exited the stadium. We basically had to slide down a giant grass hill to get back to the truck – I wasn’t sure if Dad, still not fully recovered from his knee replacement, was going to make it. Even Trevor and I were having some difficulty navigating the slick grass and steep embankment.

As disappointed as we were with the loss, our spirits were quickly lifted by the knowledge that we’d soon arrive back at Buc-ee’s in Auburn for dinner. Our GPS enthusiastically called it “Buc-eeeeeeeeeee’s!”, so I’m using that pronunciation from now on. Apparently all the App State fans had the same pit stop idea, as did the Alabama fans who were headed home after defeating UGA in the SEC championship game in Atlanta.

Famished, we went all-out with our food order, and were so hungry we finished all of it except the “snack food”! We got a fried chicken sandwich, a sliced brisket sandwich, a pulled pork sandwich, and XXL chopped brisked sandwich, banana pudding, coconut cream pie-in-a-cup, chocolate pie-in-a-cup, and a cinnamon roll. For snacking later, we bought some Beaver Nuggets and a box of animal crackers.

Buc-ee's

The food was great – particularly the sandwiches. Even though we’d visited multiple Buc-ee’s in Texas, we hadn’t gotten many of their “meals”. I thought the chicken sandwich, though different, was just as good or better than Chick-fil-A, and the pork and brisket were also great. It’s not quite what you’d get from the best Texas barbecue joints, but it’s better than 99% of beef barbecue you can find in North Carolina. The dessert cups, which we consumed on the road to save time, were a delicious way to cap off the meal and the day.

Buc-ee’s is truly an experience like no other, so you need to make sure you go sometime. One awestruck App State fan commented to us as we exited, “You can buy everything in there to hunt and process a deer except the gun and the bullets!”. Indeed, they had tree stands displayed between the soft drinks and the beef jerky wall, plus a robust camo selection a couple hundred yards away on the other end of the store.

Buc-ee's

Auburn, AL // Various Locations

There’s a reason everyone can’t stop talking about it. You have to visit at least once in your life, and until you do, there are no words with which I could accurately describe it to you.

* – 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.

We really struggled to stay awake the rest of the rainy drive north, but we made it through Atlanta and back to the Airbnb alive, mostly thanks to some extra-large caffeinated drinks from Buc-eeeeee’s and lots of loud music. We rolled into Gainesville after midnight, showered, and headed straight to bed, knowing we’d have to wake up early in the morning to make it back to Boone for the basketball game.

Waynesville

Our alarms went off around 05:30 the next morning, and after snoozing a few times, we reloaded the truck, and drove north on US-23 back to Waynesville, NC. On our way through northern Georgia, we passed by the beautiful Tallulah Gorge, an area I’d like to visit sometime. Our first stop in Waynesville was Daylight Donuts, a donut chain that used to have locations in Boone and Hickory. We got a dozen, focusing (as one should) on their old-fashioned donuts, but we sprinkled in two glazed yeast, a maple, and a chocolate glazed for some variety.

Daylight Donuts

Waynesville, NC // Various Locations

In my opinion, Daylight is the best donut franchise in the country. Be sure to get their signature old-fashioneds, but the yeast donuts are fantastic too!

* – 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.

Patiently waiting to eat our donuts (and maybe doing a little taste-testing), we drove up the hill to downtown, where we headed in Orchard Coffee to get some much-welcome caffeine to complement our donuts. All three of us got large mocha cafe lattes, which were exceptionally good.

Orchard Coffee

Waynesville, NC

Excellent coffee with an attention to detail.

* – 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.

Leaving Waynesville, we joined I-40, and then US-221 as we climbed the mountain back to Boone. We arrived just in time to easily secure a parking space, and were one of the few dozen people in the arena right after the doors opened around 11:00.

App State vs Auburn

Once inside the Holmes Convocation Center, we headed to the Yosef Club room, where they were serving sandwiches and snacks. We ate a light “lunch”, and then walked out into the arena to watch warmups and cheer on the Mountaineers.

App State vs Auburn

The atmosphere for this game was incredible. The highly anticipated matchup between the Tigers and the Mountaineers marked the first time since 1999 that a Power 5 program had come to Boone. Both teams were having an exceptional season (the Tigers would go on to be SEC champions, and the Mountaineers were regular-season SBC champions), so we were in for an unforgettable game. The noise was so loud that I kept getting “loud environment/potential hearing damage” warnings on my smart watch.

App State vs Auburn

After a nail-biter of a game, the Mountaineers pulled out the win, upsetting the Tigers in a win that all will remember as a signature win for App State basketball – like Michigan was for the football program in 2007. The students stormed the court, and the crowd went absolutely wild. It was a moment we’ll never forget!

App State vs Auburn

Here’s a sort highlight video from the game:

Video

Here’s a video from this trip’s adventures, and some more highlights from the game.

The Best Things We Saw [This Weekend]

I’m not doing my usual “best things we saw/ate”, because we simply had too eventful of a weekend to recap it in one short section. Our biggest highlights were the Tuskegee museum and the basketball game. Our best food included Watami, Buc-eeeeee’s, Daylight Donuts, and Orchard Coffee. It was a memorable weekend, and another successful App State sports road trip!

Conclusion

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There’s another Church Trip coming soon (in early summer 2024). Keep a sharp eye for an intro post coming soon – its should be another exciting trip with 3+ national parks and lots of great scenery!

– Isaac, Jerry, and Trevor

App State vs Auburn

Sunset in Boone, NC

The post Alabama 2023 // Montgomery, Troy, North GA, Western NC appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

Day 7 – Church Trip 2023 // Fort Collins, Snowy Range, Laramie

Isaac Church — Sun, 24 Sep 2023 02:00:00 +0000

Today we left Colorado and headed north to Wyoming. After waking up early and loading the car yet again, we left our hotel to seek out some breakfast.

Breakfast

For breakfast, we drove to the Jessup Farm Artisan Village – the same place we went last night for ice cream. This time, we stopped at Bindle Coffee for some pastries and drinks. Before we even ordered, I knew this was going to be an excellent choice by the menu and the rapidly forming long line. I went inside to order, while everyone else found us a table outside. It was a cool morning, but still pleasant in the bright sunlight.

Dad and I got medium roast drip, Mom got a mocha latte, and Faith got an iced americano. We got a sampling of pastries to try: a pear frangipane royale, a morning bun, a vanilla plum cruffin, a maple knot, a pumpkin pecan muffin, and a mini chocolate croissant. Everything was outstanding, especially the pastries. The maple knot was world-class, and the vanilla-plum cruffin was a delicious flavor combination I’d never had before.

My only regret was not going back to get every other kind of pastry to try, and to get another maple knot. I would have, but the line was even longer by the time we finished the first round.

Bindle Coffee

By the time we left, a lady was setting up a flower truck outside the shop. We all thought that was a neat business idea.

Fort Collins Flower Truck

Bindle Coffee

Fort Collins, CO

A rare combination of phenomenal pastries and great coffee under one roof – Bindle has top-notch baked goods with creative flavors, plus delicious coffee that they roast themselves.

* – 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.

Fort Collins

Leaving Bindle, Mom and Faith decided they wanted to look for some kind of a baby outfit at a nearby T.J. Maxx, so Dad and I dropped them off and went on a mission of our own. We drove over to Colorado State University to see their campus and football stadium. Both were beautiful, as was the entire city of Fort Collins. It doesn’t have any mountains, but it does have lots of amenities, and is smoothly navigable.

Canvas Stadium - Colorado State University

We drove back to pick up Mom and Faith, stopped by a USPS box to drop off a couple postcards, and headed on our merry way.

Laramie, WY

Soon, we left Colorado and crossed into Wyoming. The drive was pretty, but mostly flat, with mountains in the distance. We stopped briefly to take a picture of the Colorado and Wyoming welcome signs – you might recognize the Wyoming welcome sign from last year’s trip. It was extremely windy (there was a high wind advisory for the morning), and Dad almost lost his hat getting out of the car to take the pictures. Consider that foreshadowing…

Welcome to Colorful Colorado Sign

Welcome to Wyoming Sign

Arriving in Laramie, we stopped for gas, and then left the city to go up into the mountains.

Laramie, WY

Snowy Range

Our scenic destination of the day was the Snowy Range in Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests. It’s a short drive outside of Laramie (less than an hour one-way), so I figured it would be a nice scenic detour before it was time to go to the football game.

Just past the tiny town of Centennial (population 270), we stopped at the Snowy Range Visitor Center, which is operated by the US Forest Service. The center had some maps and free stickers, but no other amenities – not a restroom nor even a trash can!

Barber Lake Road

Shortly after the visitor center, we left the main road and turned on Barber Lake Road, which is a narrow, sparsely-maintained but paved road that passed alongside a steep canyon and a river. The mountainsides were dotted with beautiful yellow aspens, and the scenery was very nice overall.

Snowy Range Scenic Byway

Soon, we re-emerged back onto the main scenic byway, and continued west. We skipped Brooklyn Lake Road for sake of time, and began climbing up, dancing in and out of the forests as the tree line fluctuated.

Libby Lake

Our first stop on the byway was Libby Lake, which is down a bumpy but short gravel road. At the end of the road, our endurance of the jostling was rewarded with a gorgeous view of the lake and surrounding mountains. There’s also a small picnic site by the lake, but any picnickers’ sandwiches would have blown clear back into Colorado if they tried to eat outside today.

Libby Lake

Snowy Range

Libby Flats Observation Area

Next, we crossed the Snowy Range Pass, and I took a frigid walk to the Libby Flats Observation Area. It was so cold that I didn’t even take any pictures from the tower. My journey back to the car turned into a frigid run rather than a walk.

Snowy Range Pass

Libby Flats Observations Area

Mirror Lake + Lake Marie

Our next stop was the highlight of the scenic byway – Mirror Lake and Lake Marie. These picturesque lakes are surrounded by the rocky peaks of the Snowy Range. The turquoise-tinted water was amazingly clear, although very choppy from the high winds.

Snowy Range

Mirror Lake

Silver Lake

A short distance past the two lakes, we stopped at Silver Lake Campground for another great view. I somehow forgot to take a picture of Silver Lake, but it was very pretty…you’ll just have to take my word for it. Sorry, I have trouble remembering to document things whilst I’m freezing to death.

Silver Lake Overlook

We decided to make one last pullout on the byway before turning around: the Ralph Hesson Fishing Platform. This was supposed to be a good area for wildlife watching, but unfortunately we didn’t see anything. From here, we turned around and started driving back towards Laramie, enjoying the scenery from the car.

Laramie + Lunch

Back in Laramie, we tried to eat at a place I’d seen recommended called Alibi Wood Fire, but unfortunately it was flooded with football fans, most of them App State fans. Running short on time, we decided there was no way we could manage the wait with such a big crowd, so we began looking for another option.

Dad and I ended up eating in an Irish pub called O’Dwyer’s Public House, while Mom, Faith, and Walker decided to drive over to Cheyenne to find food and kill time during the game. Dad and I got a reuben with pub chips, country fried steak and colcannon with gravy, and a beef pasty. The food was very good, especially the reuben. The portions were huge, especially the pasty; we didn’t get anywhere close to finishing it. The restaurant itself was in an interesting building – it was dome-shaped, and we could hear the conversations of the table on the opposite side of the room because of the acoustics.

O'Dwyers Public House

Heading to Cheyenne, WY

O'Dwyer's Public House

Laramie, WY

Good, hearty food and generous portions. The reuben in particular was very good.

* – 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.

App State @ Wyoming

Dad and I walked to War Memorial Stadium, where we watched yet another disappointing game for the Mountaineers. I have never seen a team dominate a game so completely and still lose.

App State @ Wyoming

Wyoming’s stadium was a great place to experience a game. Their cowboy-themed intro was neat, and I thought the end zones with the mountains were exceptional enough that App should copy them. The ROTC operated a cannon that fired after every Cowboys touchdown, making most of the crowd jump. Appalachian had a crowd of about 2,300 fans attending, which I thought was excellent for a road game so far away. The stadium also had the least security I’ve seen at a major NCAA event – I’ve seen Walmarts with better security. I’d speculate that half the people in the stadium were exercising their 2nd Amendment rights, so I guess they figured that was plenty of security for the middle of nowhere in Wyoming.

App State @ Wyoming

Wrapping Up

Mom and Faith returned from their adventures in Cheyenne, which involved an Italian dinner and some shopping. Along the way, Faith took some nice photos at sunset of a windmill farm beside I-80. They conveniently picked us up right outside the stadium after the game was over.

Near Cheyenne, WY

We’d originally planned to drive to Lander, WY (almost four hours away) to spend the night after the game. At the last minute, I cancelled that reservation and instead made us one in Rawlins, WY, which is only an hour and a half west of Laramie via I-80. It was a good decision; we were all tired and dejected after a long day and a longer football game.

Video

Here’s a brief video from today.

The Best Things we Saw Today

Isaac

The best thing I saw today was… “Mirror Lake and Lake Marie”.

The best thing I ate today was… “the maple knot and the vanilla plum cruffin”.

Faith

The best thing I saw today was… “the Snowy Range and the windmills near Cheyenne at sunset”.

The best thing I ate today was… “the morning bun and my salad at dinner”.

Jerry

The best thing I saw today was… “actually the worst thing I saw was Appalachian totally dominating an opponent and still managing to lose”.

The best thing I ate today was… “pastries, especially the vanilla plum cruffin and the maple knot”.

Amy

The best thing I saw today was… “Mirror Lake”.

The best thing I ate today was… “the maple knot”.

Conclusion

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Tomorrow, we’ll travel northwest across most of Wyoming. We’ll spend the next week in the Tetons and Yellowstone.

– Isaac & Co.

Silver Lake Overlook

Mirror Lake

App State @ Wyoming

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Trip 2, Day 1/2 – Austin, Snow’s BBQ, San Marcos // Texas 2022

Isaac Church — Sun, 09 Oct 2022 02:00:10 +0000

Welcome to part two of our 2022 Texas adventures! For those of you just now joining, we traveled to Texas at the beginning of September to watch App State upset #6 Texas A&M. Last time, Dad, Trevor, and I made the trip; this time we added Larry Knight (a friend from Granite Falls) and Cody (one of my college roommates).

The first two days of our second trip, we ate some excellent barbecue, saw some beautiful scenery, and watched an extremely disappointing football game.

Travel // Allison's

We all took a half day off work on Friday, and met in Granite Falls just before 13:00. From there, we piled into Larry’s SUV and headed for Asheville. First, we stopped at Allison’s Family Restaurant in Morganton so everyone could get caught up on lunch. After fighting I-26 traffic, we finally made it to the airport, and wound up having to park in an overflow lot (which I’m convinced was actually in Fletcher) and ride a shuttle back to the terminal. We checked in, and finally made it through security, notwithstanding a slight mishap with Cody’s birth date in the airline’s system.

Allison's Family Restaurant

Flying into AUS

Terry Black's BBQ

We landed in Austin just after 19:00CST at the AUS South Terminal, and waiting a solid 30 minutes on a shuttle to take us on a long drive back to the main terminal. As Cody commented, “It took us 30 minutes to get from the airport to the airport”.

We waited in a moderately long rental car line, got our matching black Nissan Altima’s (one for Larry and Dad and one for Cody, Trevor, and me), and headed to downtown Austin to find some food. Of course, our first stop in Texas was going to be barbecue, so we went to Terry Black’s BBQ in downtown Austin.

Terry Black’s is a buffet-style (except they dip/weigh everything for you) joint that serves a tremendous amount of people. I primarily chose it because they’re open late, and was honestly not expecting the food to be as good as it was. We got brisket (plus the free burnt ends they gave us), a beef rib, turkey, pork ribs, creamed corn, mac & cheese, pickles, jalapeños, onions, and white bread. For dessert, I got a peach cobbler, and everyone else got banana pudding.

Terry Blacks' BBQ

The whole meal was excellent. The brisket and beef rib had a thick, peppery crust and a delicious fat cap. The turkey was tender and moist, and the sides were very good. It was an excellent kick-off to our trip.

Terry Blacks' BBQ

Austin, TX

We were all genuinely surprised by this place. I expected a bit of a tourist trap because of the sheer volume of business they do, but I was wrong. Everything was exceptionally good, even late at night. While Snow’s was better, considering we didn’t have to wait in line at Terry Black’s (or wake up at 04:00), I’d be more likely to revisit Terry Black’s. Don’t miss the beef ribs!

* – 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.

Lexington

The Austin City Limits music festival was going on, so it took quite a while to get out of Terry Black’s parking lot. However, while we waited, we enjoyed some of the best people-watching we’d ever seen, as thousands of University of Texas students paraded down the road in rickshaw bikes, on foot, and via other various wheeled vehicles.

We finally made it out of the parking lot, and drove northeast to Lexington, TX. If that sounds familiar to you, you’re not mistaken; we stayed there last time. Just after our first trip, we decided to make yet another early morning barbecue run, this time with Cody and Larry joining us.

We stayed at an Airbnb just outside of Lexington in Blue, TX. The property was managed by Rosamaria, who ran the 10 acres as a well-decorated “health retreat”. Clearly, our planned pre-dawn brisket run didn’t constitute “health”, but the house was a nice place to stay for the far-too-short night.

Snow's, Part II

Sometime before 04:30, I dragged everyone out of bed. Everyone piled (quite literally) in Larry and Dad’s rental car, and we drove over to Snow’s BBQ, arriving just before 04:45. Last time, we arrived around 05:15 and were #44 in line; this time, we were number #85, despite arriving over 30 minutes earlier. The five of us rotated standing in line and sitting at a picnic table, until an hour or so later when someone from Snow’s brought out a pallet of dilapidated lawn chairs. We snagged three of them.

Early start in Lexington, TX

At some point, Cody and I walked down the street to observe the local cattle auction. Eventually, Snow’s broke out the cornhole boards, and Cody and I took on Trevor and Larry. Pro tip: don’t play Larry in cornhole unless you enjoy getting soundly beaten, especially not at 05:00.

Snow's BBQ

Cattle auction

We soon realized what all the fuss and longer lines was about: Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages, a regional distributor, was sponsoring an event at Snow’s that day. They were giving away various prizes, and had commissioned a drone light show at around 06:00. I’d never witnessed anything like that…it was basically like a quiet, choreographed fireworks show. Here are some social media posts highlighting the event:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages (@cocacolaswb)

The in the dark. @snowsbbq for @CocaColaSWB
CC: @flintfieldtx pic.twitter.com/ToD1wvk4rW
— Mark Champion (@Mark_Champion) October 13, 2022

The restaurant started serving around 07:30, and we got our food around 08:45. The line definitely moved faster than our previous visit. We ordered everything on the menu, except for chicken, which sold out at #80 in line, just before us. The food was just as special as before, and the ribs were even better this time. We ate at a picnic table beside the pits, and then headed back to our Airbnb.

Snow's BBQ

Brisket

Turkey and pork ribs

Pork steak and sausages

Dad and Larry left quickly so they could travel to New Braunfels to watch Larry’s grandson’s football game. Meanwhile, Cody, Trevor, and I stripped the beds, checked out, and then started the drive back towards Austin.

Snow's BBQ

Lexington, TX

Okay, you know this place is going to get three stars, because we’ve made two special trips to come eat here, and have woken up at 04:00 to wait in line for hours. Would I wake up that early again? If you offer me a chance to go back, I probably won’t refuse.

* – 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.

McKinney Falls State Park

Our first stop was McKinney Falls State Park, which sits southeast of downtown on Onion Creek. The park has two falls, a variety of ruins, a giant bald cypress tree, and an old Tonkawa shelter dating back to 500 BC. We hiked the trail to the lower falls, and crossed the limestone creek bed to traverse the trail through the homestead and grist mill ruins. Both the upper and lower falls were quite dry due to the lack of recent rain, but there were several people swimming in the creek at their bases. Next, we drove up the road to the visitor center parking lot, walked to the upper falls, found “Old Baldy”, visited the ancient rock shelter, and got semi-lost in a cactus field on our way back to the car.

McKinney Falls State Park

Smith Rock Shelter

Cacti

Upper Falls

Dutch Bros

By now, we were thoroughly hot and exhausted, so we decided to seek out something cold to drink. After a quick search, I excitedly realized that Dutch Bros had spread to Texas. Faith and I discovered the Grants Pass, OR-based chain during our trip to Colorado Springs this summer. We each got a Dutch Freeze, a frappuccino-like drink with chocolate and a shot or two of espresso. It was extremely refreshing, and we immediately started discussing when we would return.

San Marcos

Since we didn’t really have time for another adventure before the football game, we decided to drive on to San Marcos, home of Texas State University. We easily found parking next to the stadium, and proceeded to walk around campus and the town for a couple hours. Texas State has a beautiful (and huge) campus, highlighted by the San Marcos River flowing through the area. There’s a place on campus where they’ve canaled the river, and students can swim in the clear waters under lifeguard supervision. Farther downstream, you can rent a kayak and paddle through campus and town.

San Marcos River

While we’d rate their campus 5 stars for water features, we would rate it 0 stars for gameday atmosphere, 1 star for landscaping, and 1 star for friendliness. The friendliness star was earned solely by a campus employee who directed us from our parking lot towards the river and campus. Most of their campus is on a sizeable hill, with nice views of the buildings below. Other highlights of our campus tour included not finding a statue of George Strait (very disappointing, considering he’s an alumnus), finding a statue of LBJ (I guess that’s understandable, since he was president), and a finding a very large statue of fighting horses (with no plaque explaining its meaning). Interestingly, their performing arts theater also had a moat around it, scattered with several sizable snapping turtles.

Texas State University

Not George Strait

Moat

Snapping turtle

Texas State University

Football

Soon, we walked over to Bobcat Stadium, well before kickoff, to watch warmups and explore the venue. It’s a pretty nice stadium, but the overall gameday atmosphere pales in comparison to most college football games we’ve visited. Atmosphere aside, Appalachian played horribly, mostly thanks to a lack of pass defense, and suffered an embarrassing loss. But, as always, it’s great to be a Mountaineer, and we all had fun despite the dismal result.

Bobcat Stadium

Tailgating

Bobcat Stadium

Buc-ee's // In-N-Out

After the game, Cody, Trevor, and I managed to weave our way back to our car, despite railroad tracks and baseball fields making it challenging to walk in a straight line. Once again, we drove south on I-35, this time heading towards San Antonio for the night. On the way, we stopped at Buc-ee’s (read this post for more info) so Cody could experience the 138 gas pumps and endless snack options. Instead of getting “sat-out-all-day” food from Buc-ee’s, we opted to drive down the street to In-N-Out for a hot $3.25 burger. Can’t beat that! It took a while to get our food, but it was delicious.

Buc-ee's

In-N-Out Burger

We finally arrived at our hotel in San Antonio around 23:00, and immediately headed to bed.

Conclusion

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The next two days, we’ll explore San Antonio and possibly more of Austin.

– Isaac & Co.

Snow's BBQ

Restaurant

Location

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* – 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.

The post Trip 2, Day 1/2 – Austin, Snow’s BBQ, San Marcos // Texas 2022 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

Trip 1, Day 3 – Snow’s BBQ, App State at Texas A&M // Texas 2022

Isaac Church — Sat, 10 Sep 2022 16:00:52 +0000

Today was a great day, but a long one. It started with one of the best meals we’ve ever eaten, and finished with another Alltime Upset.

Snow's BBQ

Before we get into the food, let me preface this section with a bit of history. In the small town of Lexington, TX, there’s an unassuming barbecue joint, open only on Saturdays, called Snow’s BBQ. Snow’s received national acclaim after Texas Monthly magazine (the Long Star State’s self-proclaimed barbecue authority) named it the best barbecue in the state of Texas in 2008. Since then, Snow’s has received celebrity-like status, largely due to their no-nonsense approach, and their pitmaster, an 86-year-old lady named Tootsie Tomanetz. She’s the custodian at the local high school, and after the Friday night football games, begins cooking at 02:00. Formerly, she was the owner of and pitmaster at a meat market in Giddings, TX.

The list of acclamation goes on and on. Netflix’s series Chef’s Table: BBQ featured Tootsie in the debut episode of their 2020 series. Texas Monthly continued to publish articles: the original in 2008, one in 2010, another in 2013, and eventually a permanent page on their website. Other publications followed suit, and the crowds flooded to Lexington to see what everyone was raving about.

Unfortunately, the raging popularity means getting some of the famous barbecue requires waking up extremely early and waiting in line for hours. I knew this trip would be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to visit Snow’s, so we decided to go for it. We borrowed some lawn chairs from our Airbnb host on Friday night, and headed to bed as early as possible.

I rolled out of bed around 04:45, and Dad and Trevor finally got up right around 05:00. We threw on some clothes, and made it over to Snow’s around 05:20, where we joined the line. As early as we arrived, we were still #44-46 in line. It was a bit of a tailgating-like event. People played cornhole and a variety of other games while they waited. Periodically, patrons would wander over to the pits to see what was going on.

Early morning - Lexington, TX

Pits at Snow's BBQ

Kerry, the owner, walked around just before 07:00 to raffle off some prizes. You could win a coupon, free hats and shirts, or best of all, the opportunity for your group to jump forward 50 spots in the line. We weren’t fortunate enough to win anything, but we did get a nice surprise – they decided to open up early, around 07:30.

Snow's BBQ

We ditched the chairs and had Trevor take them back to the car, and proceeded to meander through the line, until we finally made it inside around 08:30. Naturally, we ordered everything on the menu, save a jalapeño sausage, since they gave us a free sample as we passed through the line. Their post oak-smoked menu features brisket, pork steak (pork shoulder cooked directly over coals), turkey, sausage, ribs, and chicken bathed in a mop sauce.

Snow's BBQ

I really have no words to describe how good the food was. It was so good, we decided we wouldn’t eat barbecue for the rest of the trip, because it would just be disappointing. Everything was amazingly tender and flavorful, and made even our excellent meal from Pinkerton’s (Day 1) seem like an amateur attempt at the art of barbecue. We finished up around 09:20, drove a mile and a half back to our rental house, dropped off our leftovers, and prepared for the rest of the day.

Snow's BBQ

Lexington, TX

Snow’s lived up to, or maybe even exceeded our expectations. Not only is it the best barbecue we’ve ever had, it’s also one of the most unique experiences I’ve ever had at a restaurant. It’s hard to access, but an amazing place!

* – 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.

College STation

We changed into our gameday clothes and hit the road for College Station, about an hour east of us. Traffic wasn’t congested at all on the way in, and we made it to our reserved parking spot just before 11:00. After lathering up with sunscreen, we decided to wander around as much as my ankle would allow. By this time, I was surviving on just one crutch, since it allowed me to walk a little faster.

Memorial Student Union

Eventually, we settled down in the Memorial Student Union, since it was nicely air conditioned. I grabbed a frosted lemonade from the cafeteria Chick-fil-A, and we waited out the heat until closer to 13:00. Outside the student union, we watched some of the cadets marching by, and then went inside to find our seats.

Cadets

Football

App State vs Texas A&M kicked off at 14:30. As you probably know by now, it was a great game, and the Mountaineers pulled off the upset against the #6/6-ranked Aggies. Kyle Field had a great atmosphere, and all the fans were very respectful and nice, both before and after the game. After time expired, we stayed in and around the stadium for about another hour, celebrating and catching up with friends.

Kyle Field

The App crowd made a great showing, and we could often be heard over the roar of the home crowd. It was hot for most of the game (over 90°F), but we pushed through, downing about 2L of water/ea throughout the game. Kyle field seats 102,733, and it was just over 90% full for this game.

Texas A&M does not have cheerleaders, just “yell leaders”, who lead the crowds in chants and cheers. As they cheer and sway, it seems as if the whole stadium is moving. We managed to silence them frequently, since App played at or above their level most of the game.

Kyle Field

Knight Family

Finally, with some encouragement from the stadium staff, we headed back to the car and headed off to find some food.

Kyle Field

Whataburger

We ended up stopping at Whataburger in Bryan, TX, the town adjacent to College Station. We got some burgers, milkshakes, fries, and onion rings, which was more than enough to satisfy our hunger. The “Texas tradition” burger joint was very good.

Whataburger

After dinner, we drove back to Lexington, took some much-needed showers, and collapsed in bed.

Sunset

Conclusion

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Tomorrow, we’re headed to Houston for a baseball game and some other adventures TBD.

– Isaac & Co.

The post Trip 1, Day 3 – Snow’s BBQ, App State at Texas A&M // Texas 2022 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

Trip 1, Day 1/2 – Austin, Houston, Hill Country // Texas 2022

Isaac Church — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 16:00:00 +0000

Greetings! This post combines the first two days of our trip to Texas. We ate some great food, and visited the hill country near Lake Travis.

Travel

Thursday morning, we picked up Trevor, drove to the CLT airport, and made our way through security. Just after arriving at our gate, we promptly got a notification our flight was delayed. So, we settled in with a bagel, and finally boarded our plane about 40 minutes later than scheduled. We managed to flag down a man with a golf cart to chauffeur us through most of the Houston airport, then we took a shuttle to the rental car garage.

Leaving CLT

Bagel at CLT

Riding a golf cart in IAH

Houston Interstate

Pinkerton's Barbecue

Butcher paper menu

Pinkerton's Barbecue

We immediately headed into Houston to get some Texas barbecue at Pinkerton’s Texas Pit Barbecue, a spot in Houston Heights. We split an outstanding meal consisting of prime brisket, smoked turkey, glazed pork ribs, beans, bacon mac & cheese, and smoked duck and sausage jambalaya. Most Texas barbecue is served with white bread, pickles, and onions, and this was no exception. All the food was excellent, particularly the brisket and turkey. We barely polished it off, and took some blueberry cobbler to-go to enjoy later.

Pinkerton's Barbecue

Brisket

Turkey and Pork Ribs

Mac & Cheese and Duck/Sausage Jambalaya

Pinkerton's Texas Pit Barbecue

Houston, TX

Our first barbecue stop was a quintessential Texas barbecue joint – flavorful food with a rustic atmosphere. Pinkerton’s has some unique items on the menu, and the traditional favorites are delicious.

* – 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.

Buc-ee's

Leaving Houston, we got on US-290 and headed NW to Lexington, our home for the next three nights. On the way, we spotted a Buc-ee’s on the side of the highway (it was impossible to miss), so we decided we’d stop and see what all the fuss is about.

I really don’t have adequate words to describe it. If you can imagine elements of a Tractor Supply, Bass Pro Shop, Hobby Lobby, the grocery store deli from a giant Ingles, and a convenience store all merged together, you’ve got a pretty good idea. It’s enormous, with hundreds of gas pumps, and endless snack options. We got some of their fresh roasted candied pecans and cashews, and hit the road again.

Buc-ee's

Candied nuts

We arrived in Lexington right at sunset and checked into our Airbnb, a small old ranch house that had been recently renovated. We settled in for the evening, watched a movie, and headed to bed.

Sunset

Breakfast

The next morning, we woke up around 07:30 and had some scones for breakfast. Our host had provided some from a local baker, and they were most excellent. After breakfast, we hopped in the car and headed towards Austin, which is about an hour drive from our Airbnb.

View from our Airbnb

Scones

Vaquero Taquero

Arriving in Austin around 11:30, we headed to Vaquero Taquero for an early lunch. It’s an interesting spot for a restaurant; you basically order at a side window on a convenience store, and then eat under tables next to the side of the building.

Vaquero Taquero

We got a variety of tacos to try (seven between the three of us), including trompo al pastor (flame-seared marinated pork with cilantro, onion, salsa verde, fresh avocado cream, and pineapple slices); tinga de pollo (chipotle marinated shredded chicken dressed with cilantro, purple limed-onions, and crema); bistec (brined strip loin steak with cilantro, onion, roasted salsa roja, and fresh avocado cream); nopales (sautéed cactus (salsa macha), onions, and corn); and bacon, egg, & cheese (crispy chopped bacon and Costra de Queso (melted & crispy cheese) scrambled with eggs). The food was stellar. We couldn’t quite finish everything – they were huge tacos. The tortillas, both corn and flour, were homemade and incredibly fresh and soft. I regret not trying their quesadillas, because they looked amazing – they browned the cheese on the flattop until it was crispy.

Tacos

Vaquero Taquero

Austin, TX

One wouldn’t normally expect great food out of the side of a convenience store, but maybe one should. The tacos here are excellent, and I’ll definitely be coming back for breakfast and/or lunch if I’m in 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.

Austin

After lunch, we drove a couple blocks south toward the University of Texas campus, and rode around to see the sights, namely the bell tower and Texas Memorial Stadium. We drove by the Texas State Capitol, and then headed to Trader Joe’s to purchase sunscreen in preparation for our inevitable baking the next day. We walked/hobbled down to part of the riverwalk the next block over, and then headed back to the car.

Texas Memorial Stadium

University of Texas campus

Texas State Capitol

Austin Riverwalk

Balcones Canyonlands

To kill some time and enjoy the scenery, we drove out to the hill country by Lake Travis, and visited Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge. We drove around to a couple viewpoints, but quickly continued on our way since it was miserably hot.

Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge

Lake Travis

Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge

Cactus

Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge

J.J. Mansfield Hydroelectric Dam

Lake Travis

The Salt Lick

For dinner, we headed to the southwest of Austin to The Salt Lick in Driftwood, TX. It’s a huge venue, similar to Sim’s Country BBQ, if you’ve ever been there. The seating is all picnic tables, and you can bring your own cooler and chairs and hang out for the evening. They cook everything over an open pit in the entryway. We got a smoked sausage, one beef rib, two bison ribs, brisket, potato salad, beans, and slaw (they only have three sides). They have a unique style of barbecue, which is caramelized with a slightly spicy sauce. The ribs are tender, but nicely charred and sticky instead of ultra-tender. Everything was excellent, but the sausage and potato salad were especially good.

The Salt Lick

Winding down

On the way back to the house, we stopped at Amy’s Ice Creams to get a scoop or two. Their specialties are Mexican Vanilla (vanilla beans crossbred with orchids) and Dark Belgian Chocolate. We tried both of these, and both were very good, but we didn’t feel like it was a good value for the money. The portions were skimpy and prices were quite high, even if the portions hadn’t been skimpy. We returned to the house right at sunset, and watched a movie while I iced my ankle. For a late night snack, we ate the blueberry cobbler from Pinkerton’s, which was extraordinary. We wished we’d gotten a serving each instead of splitting one three ways.

Lexington, TX

Our Airbnb in Lexington, TX

Lexington, TX

Conclusion

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Another post coming soon…

– Isaac & Co.

The Salt Lick

The post Trip 1, Day 1/2 – Austin, Houston, Hill Country // Texas 2022 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

Introduction // Texas 2022

Isaac Church — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 16:00:00 +0000

Greetings all! It’s good to be traveling again.

It’s fall, and that means football. App’s 2022 schedule allows us to see a handful of road games (yay!), starting with a trip to Kyle Field to see the Mountaineers face the #6-ranked Aggies of Texas A&M. In October, we’ll return to the Lone Star State to watch the App play the Texas State Bobcats.

Kyle Field

For the A&M game this weekend, Trevor, Dad, and I are flying into Houston (IAH), and then staying about halfway between College Station and Austin, strategically near one of the greatest barbecue spots in the world. After watching the football game and a game in Minute Maid Park, we’ll spend our final night back in Houston.

In October, Trevor, Cody, and I are flying into Austin for the Texas State game. We’ll drive south to watch the game in San Marcos, and then explore San Antonio and possibly parts of Austin. This is the same group that traveled to Atlanta last year for the Georgia State game.

In November, Dad and I will travel to Huntington, WV to watch the Mountaineers battle the Marshall Thundering Herd.

Thoughts

This is my first trip to Texas (excluding airports), but Dad has visited many times before. We’re especially excited to eat some good brisket and Tex-Mex, and to experience the Texas A&M game day atmosphere, which supposed to be one of, if not the best in college football. We had a bit of a scare when our VRBO was canceled by the host due to a death in the family, but I managed to secure alternate housing.

A last-minute “twist”: I managed to severely sprain my ankle on Sunday, so I’ll be hobbling around the whole trip, supported by crutches and medication. Turns out, I also have a loose piece of chipped-off bone from another previous injury floating around, so I’ll have to get that removed eventually. For those of you keeping track, yes, I was also injured the last time Trevor, Dad, and I went on a trip together. Makes you wonder…

Ankle bruising

Ankle x-ray

Conclusion

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Stay tuned for more posts coming soon. It’s great to be a Mountaineer!

– Isaac & Co.

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Introduction – Colorado 2022

Isaac Church — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 13:50:20 +0000

We’re back! Faith and I are taking a last-minute trip (at least by my standards of planning) out to the Centennial State.

We’re going to visit Faith’s brother (Ian), his wife (Abby), and their twin boys (Jesse and Micah). We’ve talked about visiting them for a long time, and it’s never quite happened. However, they’re moving to a different state soon, so it was now or never.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Orientation

I actually met Ian, who’s my age, a while before I met Faith; we attended App State at the same time. Faith and Abby (sometimes Abby Jean to avoid confusion with Faith’s sister of the same name) were good friends in college. Their twins are two years old.

Short of a FaceTime call with Ian and Abby last night, we’re embarking with little-to-no plans, which will be a new experience. Those who know me know that I sufficiently (some might say excessively) plan everything, so maybe a change of pace will be nice. The general hope is to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible, maybe see a national park (or two), eat some good food, and spend time with family. We’re planning to stay about a week.

Garden of the Gods

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

I’ve never been to Colorado before, so it will be nice to check that off my list of states. Faith has visited the area before, but didn’t spend a tremendous amount of time there. Our base of operations will be Colorado Springs; we’ll see if we stay in that area or venture farther out.

We fly out tonight from CLT on a very late flight, so it might be several days before I post again. I haven’t yet decided if I’m going to do a day-by-day blog, or just hit the highlights in some summary posts.

Updates

Before I forget, I’ll provide a quick life update:

Faith and I bought our first home! We signed a purchase contract on a new-construction townhome in Boone in November, and we closed at the end of May. We’d been on a wait list with the builder for over two years, and finally were able to secure a spot. Fortunately, that meant none of the usual Boone real estate nightmares, like bidding wars or overnight purchase decisions. I guess that made the considerable wait time worthwhile.

Since the beginning of the year, we’ve spent most of our free time either making decisions about the house, moving, or preparing to move. We’re very thankful to be in the new place, but there’s still a lot of work remaining!

Framing

Sheet rock finally in

We have carpet!

Dining table

Early on

Sunset from our porch

Faith’s sister Abby got married the weekend before we closed, and I was the wedding photographer – a first for me. Here are a few photos:

Otherwise, life is pretty much normal. Both sides of the family are doing well. We hope to travel quite a bit this fall, in short bursts. For now, it’s off to the Rocky Mountains!

Conclusion

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Stay tuned for more…

– Isaac and Faith

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Atlanta 2021

Isaac Church — Sun, 03 Oct 2021 16:00:00 +0000

Greetings all! Welcome to a weekend edition of the blog.

This time, we’re taking another three-day trip to Atlanta to catch a baseball game and watch some Mountaineer football at Georgia State. Oh, and by “we”, I mean Cody, Alex (Payne), Trevor, and me. Three of us took this same trip in 2019, complete with an unexpected stop at Cowpens National Battlefield.

Travel // Lunch

Friday morning, Trevor and I left Granite Falls and drove to Shelby to pick up Payne, and Cody, who was coming from east of Charlotte. I didn’t really want to deal with I-85 traffic, so I decided to route us west through the mountains and then turn south, sacrificing a bit of travel time for better views and less crowded roads.

On the way down, we stopped at HenDough in Hendersonville for a quick bite to eat. We got a variety of sandwiches: I got a fried chicken sandwich with caramelized onions, bacon, and maple glaze; Payne got a fried chicken BLT; Trevor got a buffalo chicken sandwich; Cody got “Eggs in a Basket”, which is a breakfast dish with eggs, bacon, fried chicken, and a donut. I also had a side of hash brown tots and a pumpkin white chocolate donut. The food was good, but not phenomenal. It was worth trying once, but I would visit somewhere else the next time I come to town.

HenDough - Hendersonville, NC

Chicken sandwich with maple glaze, bacon, and caramelized onions with a side of hash brown tots

Pumpkin white chocolate donut

Buffalo chicken sandwich and mac & cheese

Table Rock STate Park

Leaving Hendersonville, we drove south through Flat Rock down US-25, crossed the border into South Carolina, and then turned west onto SC-11. Eventually, we came to Table Rock State Park, just NW of Pumpkintown, SC. The park has two beautiful lakes, and a view of Table Rock Mountain (not the one in Linville Gorge). We stopped at a couple overlooks to enjoy the scenery, and then headed on our merry way. Had we more time, we probably would’ve done one of the many hiking trails in the area.

Table Rock State Park - SC

Toccoa Falls

From Table Rock, we took US-123 towards Toccoa Falls College in Toccoa Georgia, and stopped to see the falls. After paying a small entrance fee at the gift shop, it’s a short, flat walk to a 186′ waterfall. It’s taller than Niagara Falls, and in a beautiful cove. We stayed for a while, but time was of the essence, so we got back in the car and took US-23 to 85, sat in traffic on 85 and 285 for way too long, and finally arrived at our VRBO in Marietta.

Toccoa Falls

The Battery // Truist Park

Truist Park

We arrived at our parking lot near Truist Park around 17:15, and walked the footbridge across I-75 to Truist Park. It was still a while before the start of the game, so we decided to walk around The Battery (a collection of restaurants, shops, and activities near the stadium) for a while, and then find some food. For dinner, we got some incredible burgers and shakes at H&F Burger at the stadium, and then found our seats.

H&F Burger

Atlanta, GA

I’ll give the description straight from H&F’s website: “Griddled double cheeseburger, topped with red onion and house-made pickles, served on a freshly baked pan de mie bun with from-scratch ketchup, and mustard on the side. The buns, sized with ideal bun-to-burger ratio in mind, are butter-toasted on the griddle for crispy golden edges. This burger is a direct descendant of the original that debuted at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.” What more could you ask for?

* – 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.

Once inside the stadium, we explored the Monument Garden inside the park behind home plate. There are some interesting exhibits featuring Braves history and players. Several artifacts from past games are on display.

Monument Garden

Monument Garden jerseys

Atlanta Braves vs New York Mets

Braves vs Mets

First pitch was at 19:20. The Braves had clenched the NL East title the night before, and with it a playoff spot, so this game didn’t really matter. They rested many of their star players, including Swanson, Freeman, and D’Arnaud. Riley and Albies started. Swanson and D’Arnaud pinch-hit later in the game, but it wasn’t enough to rally the home team to victory; the Braves lost to the Mets, 4-3. At least the game was exciting to watch…

Braves vs Mets

Friday Night Fireworks

As per Friday tradition, there were fireworks after the game. It was late and we were tired, but we still stayed to watch the show. Plus, we were only staying a couple miles away from the stadium, so it’s not like we could’ve slept through the noise.

Friday Night Fireworks

College Football Hall of Fame

Saturday Morning, after stopping for some petrol, we drove to downtown Atlanta to visit the College Football Hall of Fame. We only had a couple hours before we needed to head to the football game, but it was nonetheless a great experience. The App State Alumni Association had tickets available for $10 instead of the usual $25, so it was definitely worth the visit, even though abbreviated.

College Football Hall of Fame

Helmet Wall

It was a fascinating museum, with exhibits covering the history of tailgating, uniforms, rules, equipment, coaching, rivalries, championships, and much more. We enjoyed reading about 2/3 of App’s inductees, Jerry Moore and Dexter Coakley. I don’t count Mack Brown. There were interactive exhibits, and as we left, we attempted a field goal and a 25yd pass (both were tough when not loose). I’d highly recommend this to anyone visiting Atlanta, and would like to go back one day.

Jerry Moore

Dexter Coakley

App State - College Football Hall of Fame

College Gameday Simulator

Helmet Wall and Mural

College Football Hall of Fame

Helmet Wall

The Varsity

For lunch, we drove to The Varsity, just off of Georgia Tech’s campus. We got the traditional chili dogs, onion rings, peach pies, and milkshakes. They also serve a “frosted orange”, which is essentially a milkshake made with orange soda flavor. As expected, it was a fantastic lunch – especially the onion rings!

The Varsity

Fun fact: Every day, The Varsity cooks 2 miles of hot dogs, 1 ton of onions, 2,500lb of potatoes, 5,000 fried pies, and 300 gallons of chili.

The Varsity

Atlanta, GA

The Varsity gets a star because it’s such an iconic spot in Atlanta. Everyone needs to go at least once in their lifetime. “What’ll ya have?!”

* – 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.

App State at Georgia State

Center Parc Credit Union Stadium

From The Varsity, we drove south to the old Turner Field (now Center Parc Credit Union Stadium) to watch App play football against the Georgia State Panthers. After a slow start in the first half, the Mountaineers pulled it together and thumped the Panthers 45-16, mainly thanks to some big defensive plays.

Center Parc Credit Union Stadium

Wall from Fulton County Stadium

Ponce City Market // Minero

After the game, we ventured to the NE corner of downtown to Ponce City Market in search of food. The market is an old Sears catalogue building that’s been converted into mixed-use property. Two floors of the building have a food hall and shopping, making it a popular place. It took us forever to find a parking spot, but we managed to get inside, add our name to the waiting list of a Mexican restaurant, and then explore the market while we waited for a text saying our table was ready.

Ponce City Market

We ate dinner at Minero, a Mexican restaurant. Payne, Cody, and I each got a catfish, charcoal chicken, and steak taco plate, and Trevor got a steak quesadilla. We also split a sampler of chips and salsas. The food was excellent, and we all agreed it was the best meal we’d had that weekend so far.

Monero - Ponce City Market

Minero

Atlanta, GA

Minero offered some exceptional, well-thought-out tacos. They had a little bit of everything. Portion sizes weren’t the best, but the quality of the food made up for it. Plus, its setting inside Ponce City Market makes it a unique location to visit.

* – 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.

Marietta Square Market

Seeking some dessert, we drove northeast to Marietta Square Market, a smaller food hall a block off of downtown Marietta. We got some ice cream at Four Fat Cows, after waiting in an unnecessarily long line. I got huckleberry cobbler and a double chocolate swirl ice cream. The huckleberry wasn’t nearly as good as what we’d had in Montana, but it was good nonetheless.

Marietta Square Market

Four Fat Cows Ice Cream

Travel Home

After an early start Sunday morning (mostly thanks to the stupid smart light in my room waking me up at 05:20), we arrived back in Shelby around 10:30. Trevor and I got back to Granite shortly thereafter. It was a great weekend, and I look forward to more [football] road trips in the future!

App State at Georgia State

Conclusion

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Our next trip is TBD, but keep a sharp eye and I’ll send out an email when it’s about to happen.

– Isaac, Trevor, Alex, and Cody

The post Atlanta 2021 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

Part 2 – New Orleans 2019

Isaac Church — Sun, 29 Dec 2019 03:33:00 +0000

We opened day two in New Orleans with a typical mediocre hotel breakfast, and immediately headed over the National World War II Museum for the day. Tonight is the New Orleans Bowl!

National WWII Museum

We didn’t take many photos in the museum, because we were far too busy engaging with the exhibits. It was a fascinating museum, and we all learned many new things about WWII. Each exhibit was decorated/designed to reflect the circumstances of the subject matter; for instance, it was colder in the room about the Battle of the Bulge, and hot in the North African front exhibit. Time passed quickly, and before we knew it, it was time for lunch.

Cochon

Some friends of ours recommended Cochon, a modern Southern/Cajun restaurant in the warehouse district, within walking distance of the museum. Though arriving earlier than our reservation, we were immediately seated, and promptly ordered a variety of items to split:

Fried alligator with chili-garlic mayonaise
Pork belly confit with sweet apple relish
Boucherie plate (cured meats, pickles, mustard, head cheese, pickled green tomatoes, crab pâté, and crostinis)
Wood-fired shrimp with chili-garlic butter
Macaroni and cheese

Mac & cheese, pork belly, and shrimp

Yeast rolls

Alligator

Boucherie plate

The entire meal was outstanding, from the complimentary yeast rolls to the mustard. We all agreed the macaroni and cheese was by far the best any of us have ever had, which is saying something.

Cochon

New Orleans, LA

One of the best, and most distinctive meals I’ve ever had. Everything was amazing – this was probably our best meal in NOLA, or maybe in the whole south.

* – 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.

More Museum

After lunch, we walked back to the museum and browsed some more. At 15:00 we headed to the Solomon Victory Theater to watch a fantastic ~45min 4D movie narrated by Tom Hanks.

I would highly recommend visiting the WWII museum if you ever get the chance. All the exhibits were extremely realistic, engaging, and inspiring. It was great for all ages, and we could’ve spent far more time there than we did.

The museum finally wore us out, so we headed back to our hotel to rest a little before the big game.

Enigma

Bourbon House

Bourbon House oysters

Before the game, we went to grab a quick bite at Bourbon House in the French Quarter, after our original restaurant choice had a line wrapped around the block.

It turned out to be a fortunate misfortune: we split two dozen charbroiled oysters with a Creole bordelaise sauce, and a Caesar salad topped with Brussels sprouts and bacon. Both dishes were excellent, and we soon arrived at the Superdome with no delay.

Bourbon House

New Orleans, LA

We only got oysters and a salad, but I’d come back just for that!

* – 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.

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

As I mentioned in the Introduction, App played UAB in the New Orleans Bowl, at 20:00CST (21:00EST). We arrived around 18:00CST, found our seats, reunited with many friends of ours, and prepared to watch the game. I donned my protective plastic faceguard to shield my nose…

After a rough start, the Mountaineers pulled together and dominated the final three quarters of the game, pulling out a 31-17 victory over the Blazers. The victory extended App’s NCAA record of five straight bowl victories by teams in their first years of bowl eligibility.

The Superdome lit up black and gold after a Mountaineer victory

Victory Donuts

Once back at the hotel, we were too hyped-up to go to sleep, so I ordered us a dozen donuts via Uber Eats, and they arrived at our doorstep a quick 25 minutes later. They were unsurprisingly a bit stale from sitting in the shop most of the day, but they hit the spot nonetheless. The sugar rush didn’t keep us from crashing in bed less than 10 minutes after our last bites.

Conclusion

That’s all for today! More to come…

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl 2019

The post Part 2 – New Orleans 2019 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.