App State Archives - Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com

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

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

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.

Intro, Day 1 – Idaho 2025 // Travel, Bozeman

Isaac Church — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 03:59:26 +0000

Welcome back — after over a year-long hiatus, we’re back on the road again, headed out west. I’ll give you a little trip background below, and then jump right in with the good stuff.

Background

As you might have guessed, this story, like many great stories, starts with Appalachian State football. A couple years ago, we found out through a conversation with an administrator in the ASU Athletic Department that we’d be playing a two game series with the Boise State Broncos. Naturally, we immediately blocked off the surrounding weeks on our calendars.

Faith’s grandmother lives in Idaho, which added to the trip’s potential. Originally, there was talk of some of Faith’s family, both of my parents, our kids, etc. making the trip together. Or, we would travel our separate ways out there, rendezvousing in southern Idaho a couple days before the game. Unfortunately, this plan fell through due to various circumstances (I’ll spare you the details), and slowly but surely the guest list dwindled.

Eventually, we decided that Dad and I would make the trip out west, meeting up with some of our friends along the way. Mom opted out of this trip, wanting to take a break from traveling. A large chunk of Faith’s family is taking a beach trip while we are gone, so Faith, Walker, and Ivey will be on that trip along with a host of their nieces, nephews, cousins, brothers, sisters, and who knows who else.

Oxbow Bend

Sunset - Lamar Valley

Dad and I are going to revisit a few places, and also see a few completely new destinations. We’re starting in Bozeman, driving through Yellowstone, the Tetons, southern Idaho, northern Nevada, and then flying back out of Utah. We’re excited to be back out west during the fabulous fall season!

Cars, Planes, & Automobiles

Last night, after I got the kids to bed, I headed down the mountain to Granite Falls. Mom volunteered to drop Dad and I off at the airport, so we left Granite around 06:00, arrived at the CLT airport around 07:15, and migrated through the whole airport process. Our flight departed CLT at 09:20, and after 4 hours and 33 minutes in the air, we landed in Montana at the Bozeman airport. We picked up our rental car (a Jeep Grand Cherokee) from Alamo, and headed for downtown Bozeman.

Downtown Bozeman + Food

In downtown, we found a parking space, and began walking down Main Street. First, we made our way to Five on Black, a Brazilian lunch counter known for quick, nutritious bowls and pão de queijo, their Brazilian cheese bread (see my Brazil blog for more info). Unfortunately, this late in the day, they were out of many of their most popular dishes. Even more unfortunately, I forgot to order the cheese bread, and the line was so long we didn’t go back through. Nevertheless, the bowl we ordered to split was excellent. It had tilapia with mango barbecue sauce, coconut roasted sweet potato, brown rice, cilantro, and lime wedges.

Five on Black

Bozeman, MT

Good, quick food – with a selection you don’t find in many places. It’s like local fast-casual Brazilian Chipotle or Cava.

* – 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.

Main Street + Coffee

Back on the street, we perused a few more shops in downtown, including Schnee’s, a toy store, a couple bookshops, the Bozeman Community Food Co-Op, a few leather goods stores, and some cowboy apparel shops.

Schnee's

Bozeman Community Food Co-Op

Schnee's

Soon, we stopped for coffee at Rockford Coffee. I got an Ethiopian pour over, and Dad got a Nicaraguan Americano. Both were good, and a nice pick-me-up after a long flight. They had a nice looking selection of pastries too, but we had our sights set on other sweets.

Rockford Coffee

Dessert

We walked back towards the eastern end of the shopping district and got some ice cream at Sweet Peaks, a Montana-based small chain that we visited during our trip to Montana in 2021. We got four flavors and split them: “Into the Woods”, which is pine-infused ice cream with granola and orange essence; huckleberry; “Wüstner Honey Cinnamon”; and “River Float”, which has Dutch-oven-style cornbread with extra honey and butter and a fruity swirl of forest berry jam. All the flavors were excellent, and we were hard-pressed to pick a favorite – but the “River Float” was truly unique and exceptional. Dad said it was probably the best ice cream he’d ever had.

Sweet Peaks Ice Cream

Downtown Bozeman

Sweet Peaks Ice Cream

Bozeman, MT

Amazing traditional and creative flavors, fresh ingredients, and friendly service. Everything you’d ever want in an ice cream shop!

* – 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.

Murdoch's Home & Ranch Supply

We left downtown and decided to kill some time and run some errands before it was time to check into our lodging for the evening. First, we went to Murdoch’s Home & Ranch Supply, a western chain we’d heard about but never visited. It’s kind of like a Tractor Supply or Rural King on steroids, but with a large clothing and housewares section, and really a good bit of anything and everything you’d ever need or want. It was a fascinating place to walk around, and we managed to kill over an hour wandering the aisles.

Murdoch's Home & Ranch Supply

After Murdoch’s, we headed down the road to Walmart and Safeway to pick up some supplies. We got all the essentials you need for a western trip: snacks, a disposable cooler, water, and cleaning wipes…but forgot laundry detergent.

Sapphire Motel

By now it was finally time to check into our lodging, the Sapphire Motel just north of downtown. This is an old motor lodge that has been nicely renovated with a retro theme. We checked into our hotel, FaceTimed the family back home, resituated our luggage, and relaxed for a while.

Sapphire Motel

Montana Ale Works

We had a dinner reservation at Montana Ale Works for later in the evening, but I decided to call over and see if they had any super-early openings so we could eat and head to bed early. Sure enough, they did, so we headed on over to the restaurant for dinner. Montana Ale Works is situated in a historic Northern Pacific freight building, and is a beautiful, rustic restaurant that has the honor of being Bozeman’s most decorated establishment.

Montana Ale Works

We started with an appetizer of bison potstickers with mango-garlic chili sauce, and then split two entrees: the “Montana Meatloaf” with local bacon-wrapped pork, beef & Idaho Kootenai bison, mashers, and caramelized onion gravy; and the “Monarch Elk Burger” with North American elk, melted Gruyère, tomato jam, arugula, and truffled porcini aioli.

Montana Ale Works

Everything was phenomenal, down to the veggies that came with the meatloaf. We loved the meal, and saw many other things on the menu we’d love to try one day.

Montana Ale Works

Bozeman, MT

Amazing atmosphere, finely crafted menu items, and great service. This is one of our favorites we’ve visited for western food.

* – 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.

Sightseeing + Ice Cream

After dinner, we drove through Montana State University’s campus to see the sights (they have a duck pond similar to App’s!), and then stopped at Genuine Ice Cream Co. to split a couple of small cups. Genuine was once in downtown, and we visited their old location on a previous trip to Bozeman. For the day’s second round of ice cream, we once again got four flavors to split: huckleberry, salted caramel cookie dough, chocolate orange, and honey cornbread. All were fantastic, but perhaps a small step below Sweet Peaks from earlier. Although, we both agreed Genuine’s huckleberry might’ve been slightly better.

Montana State University

Genuine Ice Cream Co.

Bozeman, MT Mural

Genuine Ice Cream Co.

Bozeman, MT

Very good, very creamy ice cream. Great flavor selection. If Sweet Peaks wasn’t right down the road, this would probably be a 3-star establishment.

* – 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.

Early To Bed, Early To Rise

We headed back to the Sapphire, and settled in for the night, ready to get an early start in the morning. We’ve committed to stay mostly on eastern time, so you’ll see a lot of early nights and early mornings from us on this trip (we hope).

Sapphire Motel

The Best Things we Saw Today

Isaac

The best thing I saw today was… “Murdoch’s Home & Ranch Supply”.

The best thing I ate today was… “a tie between Sweet Peaks Ice Cream and the meatloaf”.

Jerry

The best thing I saw today was… “Murdoch’s Home & Ranch Supply”.

The best thing I ate today was… “bison potsticker and cornbread ice cream”.

Conclusion

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

Tomorrow we’ll be driving south into Yellowstone, but we’ll be taking a new [to us] route into the park. It’ll be a roundabout way—shocker—to get to our final destination, but I’m hoping we’ll see some great scenery along the way.

– Isaac & Jerry

The post Intro, Day 1 – Idaho 2025 // Travel, Bozeman 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

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

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 8 – App State at JMU, Harrisonburg // Maryland/Virginia 2023

Isaac Church — Sat, 18 Nov 2023 23:00:28 +0000

We all slept in this morning, which was quite welcome after our week-on-the-go parading around Maryland and the surrounding states/commonwealths.

Moxie33

Dad and I drove down from our Airbnb to Moxie33, a local bakery and coffee shop right next to Kline’s Dairy Bar, where we visited last night. We got a few flavors of sweet rolls (one caramel pecan sticky bun, one peaches and cream, and two browned butter cinnamon rolls) and some coffee to bring back for breakfast. Mom and Dad got mochas, Faith got an Americano, and I got black coffee. Everything was very good, and gave us a much-needed jump start to get us moving; we were all very tired.

Moxie33

App State at James Madison

Dad and I loaded up my car and drove into Harrisonburg to the campus of James Madison University (JMU), to tailgate with some friends and see some of the campus. JMU (ranked #18) was hosting ESPN’s College GameDay, which had been in Boone last year after our monumental victory over Texas A&M. The Dukes boasted an undefeated record for the 2023 season, and our Mountaineers hoped to spoil their chances at a perfect season.

Bridgeforth Stadium

App State at JMU

JMU’s stadium, Bridgeforth Stadium, is very nice (other than being purple), but is strangely lopsided, with most of the stands in one large half-bowl on only one side of the stadium.

App State at JMU

Meanwhile...

While Dad and I were at the game, Mom, Faith, and Walker spent the day shopping, browsing a large bookstore, and relaxing at the Airbnb.

Bridgeforth Stadium

Green Valley Book Fair - Crawford, VA

Harrisonburg, VA

7Brew

Sunset

Victory

The game went into overtime, but the Mountaineers managed to secure the victory with a goal line touchdown pass to Kaiden Robinson to end the game. There was a sizable crowd of App fans, up in the nosebleeds and the celebration was a lot of fun. It had gotten quite cold by the end of the game, but there was plenty of standing and jumping around to keep us warm.

App State at JMU

Here are some highlight videos from the game, and a recording of the entire TV broadcast.

Romano's // Kline's

After the game, we drove back to Massanutten, picked up dinner from Romano’s Italian Bistro, and took dinner back to the Airbnb. We got a bacon/pineapple and a meat lover’s pizza, and two Caesar salads. After scarfing down the pizza, Dad and I went back out to Kline’s Dairy Bar to get more soft serve, per Mom’s request. This time, we got two pints to go: chocolate and chocolate brownie batter. It was a very good meal, and we were happy to finally have some hot food after a very tiring and cold day.

Romano's Italian Bistro

Mom enjoyed her birthday dinner and dessert, but she especially enjoyed spending the day with Walker (and Faith)!

The Best Things we Saw Today

Isaac

The best thing I saw today was… “the victory celebration”.

The best thing I ate today was… “the browned butter cinnamon roll”.

Faith

The best thing I saw today was… “the book fair”.

The best thing I ate today was… “custard”.

Jerry

The best thing I saw today was… “an App State victory”.

The best thing I ate today was… “the cinnamon rolls”.

Amy

The best thing I saw today was… “the giant bookstore”.

The best thing I ate today was… “cinnamon roll and pizza”.

Conclusion

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

Tomorrow, we’re headed back to North Carolina via Roanoke.

– The Churches

The post Day 8 – App State at JMU, Harrisonburg // Maryland/Virginia 2023 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

Day 3 – Yorktown, Norfolk // Colonial VA 2023

Isaac Church — Sat, 21 Oct 2023 22:00:54 +0000

Today (Saturday), we spent the day exploring the Yorktown area, and trying to battle a nest of wasps that were somehow making their way inside our Airbnb.

Yorktown Market Days

After a fairly early start, we drove around the embankment down to the Yorktown Riverwalk Landing. Much to our delight, we discovered that the local farmer’s market, Yorktown Market Days, was set up for the morning. Abandoning our original plan of going back to Mobjack Bay Coffee for breakfast, we decided to get breakfast and coffee from the food trucks and vendors and eat by the river. It was very cold, but bearable on a sunny morning.

Yorktown Market Days

Cody and I got some pastries from Diana’s European Delights, a German bakery. We got a lemon curd roll, a poppyseed roll, a pumpkin muffin, and a slice of German apple cake. Meanwhile, Morgan and Faith got coffee (for all) and breakfast (for them) from the Coastal Thirst food truck.

Breakfast burrito - Coastal Thirst

Pastries - Diana's European Delights

All the food was good, especially Faith’s breakfast burrito. I was impressed by the selection at the market, particularly for such a small town. We took our food to a bench down by the river and ate, enjoying the view.

York River

Beach

Yorktown Market Days

Yorktown, VA

A farmer’s market with a surprising selection of items for such a small town. A great place to get some food and stroll along the York River to enjoy the scenery.

* – 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.

Yorktown

After a brief stop back at the Airbnb to locate the wasp nest (our host was very helpful, and quickly got someone over there to take care of it), we went back to the riverfront, and started our walking tour of Yorktown. We started along the York River, where Cornwallis was forced to move his headquarters during the final bombardment of Yorktown. The location made me realize what dire shape the British were really in during the siege.

Cornwallis's Headquarters

Continuing along the walking tour, directed by Cody with an app on his phone, we headed up the hill to the Yorktown Victory Monument. The monument to the last major battle of the American Revolution was authorized by the Continental Congress in 1781, but wasn’t constructed until 1881-1884.

Yorktown Victory Monument

Next, we strolled through some of Yorktown’s historic houses. Some of them still have holes in the brick from cannon fire. We were very disappointed to learn that the cannonballs implanted in the sides of the homes are not original, and were added to help tourists spot the holes. It was amazing to see how the shots came from every direction.

Yorktown, VA

Lunch

After another quick stop back at our Airbnb (verifying that the wasps were now gone), we headed out for lunch. I selected Chung Oak Korean Restaurant as our destination, which was somewhat on a leap of faith, as the reviews were very good but the place was definitely a hole-in-the-strip-mall-wall.

Chung Oak Korean Restaurant

We ordered egg rolls, beef bulgogi, rice, and dumplings. The seasoned, shaved ribeye was extraordinarily tender and flavorful. I wasn’t particularly hungry after our pastry-full breakfast, but still very much enjoyed the meat.

Chung Oak Korean Restaurant

Newport News, VA

Excellent beef bulgogi. Don’t be fooled by the rough exterior and interior.

* – 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.

Colonial National Historic Park

After lunch, we started our driving tour of the Colonial National Historic Park. First, we made a quick stop at the visitor center to check in with our pass, get some stickers and tags for our car, and get a map of the park’s weaving roads. There was a museum inside the visitor center, so we browsed through for a while. The two most interesting exhibits they had were George Washington’s tent and a recreation of a ship like the ones used to blockade Yorktown.

Visitor Center - Colonial National Historic Park

We began the driving tour around the “Red Loop” portion of the battlefield. The stops on this tour included the British Inner Defense Line, Grand French Battery, Second Allied Siege Line, Redoubts 9 and 10, Moore House, and the Surrender Field.

Dinner

Cody and I drove under the tunnel to Norfolk, and navigated to A.W. Shucks Raw Bar & Grill for a semi-quick dinner before the football game. For an appetizer, we split a half-dozen “Oysters Romano” with fresh greens, bacon, and Italian cheeses. I got a crab cake sandwich with a tomato salad as a side, and Cody got some buffalo wings with a very tasty basket of fries on the side.

Oysters Romano

Crab cake sandwich and tomato salad

Wings and fries

A.W. Shucks Raw Bar & Grill

Norfolk, VA

Solid seafood in a casual setting. The Oysters Romano are worth a 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.

Meanwhile, back in Yorktown, Faith and Morgan went toy shopping for the kids, walked along the river, got a pizza to go from a local restaurant, and played games at the townhome to round out their evening.

App State @ ODU

We finished up our dinner and drove over to Old Dominion’s campus. They have a ton of commuter students, and thus a ton of parking, so parking is free for football games. We parked in a parking deck, and walked through the heart of campus towards Kornblau Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium. ODU’s campus is pretty nice, with a mix of older and modern buildings. It reminded us a lot of a flat (and less scenic) version of App’s campus.

Fountain

The game was yet another disappointment for the Mountaineers. ODU had a pretty good band, the stadium was clean and new, and there was a great sunset, but otherwise it was another frustrating away game. It was also quite cold up at our seats, especially with the wind blowing steadily.

S.B. Ballard Stadium

After the game, we attempted to stop at a Wendy’s to get a Frosty, only to find out their machine was down. We tried again at the next Wendy’s we came to, but it only had pumpkin spice Frostys. We reclutantly ordered a couple, and ate them on the rest of the way back to Yorktown. They were mediocre at best, but they kept us awake.

The Best Things we Saw Today

Isaac

The best thing I saw today was… “the sunset in Norfolk”.

The best thing I ate today was… “beef bulgogi and oysters Romano”.

Faith

The best thing I saw today was… “walking along the York River”.

The best thing I ate today was… “beef bulgogi”.

Conclusion

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

Tomorrow, we’ll head back to Colonial Williamsburg to finish up our visit there.

– The Churches and McKinneys

S.B. Ballard Stadium

Yorktown Victory Monument

Dead wasp

Wormley Creek

The post Day 3 – Yorktown, Norfolk // Colonial VA 2023 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

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

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

The post Day 7 – Church Trip 2023 // Fort Collins, Snowy Range, Laramie appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

Intro – Church Trip 2023

Isaac Church — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 16:30:00 +0000

We’re back! Sorry the blog has largely been absent this year…we’ve been busy with a newborn, and thus haven’t really traveled (or had much free time at all, for that matter). After our semi-involuntary hiatus, we’re back on the road/in the air for another Church Family adventure.

Soon, we’re heading back out to the Rocky Mountains for the third time in three years! We’re very excited for the trip, and can’t wait to share about our travels. As you might have suspected, there’s a football game involved. App is playing at the University of Wyoming, so we’ll be attending the game, and we also hope to make at least a few innings of a Rockies game.

War Memorial Stadium

Coors Field

The original plan was to visit South Dakota (Black Hills and Mount Rushmore, Badlands, Wind Cave, etc.), drive to the game in Laramie, and then head northwest to Yellowstone. However, we again ran into rental car availability and pricing issues (see also: Church Trip 2021), so we decided to fly into Denver, where we could rent a minivan for our travels. After exploring Colorado, we’ll head up to the football game, and then continue to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone.

Updates

First, some life updates. Our son Walker was born this spring, so it’s been an exciting (and sleepless) time for everyone. FYI, our blog won’t include pictures of him, or really any other information, for that matter. All the tech giants spy on us adults enough as it is, so we don’t need to feed them an advertising profile for our little ones on top of that. If you want to meet him (or see pictures), text me, or better yet, come visit sometime!

Dad and I are both recovering well from our winter surgeries, and are starting to get back to business as usual. We’ve even managed to play golf a few times.

Sunset Dinner

In August, some friends graciously gifted Faith and me a sunset dinner atop Beech Mountain, since they made reservations but were unable to attend. The evening, hosted by Chef Will Young, started around 17:30 with a chairlift ride to the 5,506′ summit, followed by appetizers, salad, entrées, and dessert.

Chairlift ride

5,506'

The appetizers served were: various charcuterie; smoked trout, crab, and spinach dip on grilled crostini; and various fruits and vegetables. The curry pickled cauliflower and trout dip were our favorites.

Appetizers

During a break, we were treated to a rather entertaining doorbell camera video of our babysitters entertaining Walker.

Appetizers

The Babysitter

The salad was mixed greens with strawberries, glazed apples, goat cheese, and various praline nuts with a zesty apple cider vinaigrette.

View

Salad

View

We enjoyed watching several does and a large buck while we ate. Between courses, we were able to roam around the mountaintop, taking in the splendid mountain views.

Buck

View

The main course was grilled spinalis (the best part of the ribeye), risotto with roasted red peppers and local mushrooms, and asparagus wrapped in provolone and prosciutto.

Main course

For dessert, we enjoyed a homemade sugar cookie and three types of homemade ice cream: chocolate, strawberry, and butter pecan.

Dessert

There was a splendid sunset that evening – one of the best I’ve seen in the High Country. After dinner, we rode the shuttle back down the mountain to our car. I’d definitely return sometime – it’s a great place for a special dinner.

Sunset

Sunset Dinner at 5,506'

Beech Mountain, NC

A great place to spend a special evening! It was nice to roam around the mountaintop between courses. The setting is very casual and relaxed, but the food is top-notch. The combination of setting, service, and food ears this dinner a star. Note: reservations are required.

* – 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.

Sunset dinner

Trip Preview

That brings me to the purpose of this post: our latest trip is fast approaching. We’re headed out to the Rocky Mountains to visit four states, watch a football game, see some wildlife, eat some good food, hike, and relax. We’ll be in Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, and will visit three national parks: Rocky Mountain, Grand Teton, and Yellowstone. We’ve visited Yellowstone and Grand Teton before – click here for a link to that blog. We also visited Colorado Springs in 2022 – click here for that blog. We’ll also visit Wyoming’s Snowy and Wind River Ranges, and some of north-central Colorado.

Grand Teton National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Pike's Peak Summit

Pike National Forest

By the way, when I say “we”, I mean Isaac, Faith, Jerry, Amy, and Walker. While some destinations will be repeats for us, we’re excited to have more time to explore places we missed (or had to skirt over) last time, to visit the parks in a different season, and to see things a second time! Neither Dad nor Mom has been to Colorado, so we’re going to take them to some places Faith and I visited last summer. We’re excited about visiting in the fall, which brings cooler weather, more wildlife activity, the elk and bison ruts, and colorful fall foliage – especially Colorado’s famous aspens.

Conclusion

Thanks for reading! Click here to subscribe to email notifications of new blog posts from our journeys (no need to re-subscribe if you already get emails).

– Isaac & Co.

Pike's Peak

The post Intro – Church Trip 2023 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

Georgia 2022 – Augusta, Statesboro

Isaac Church — Sun, 27 Nov 2022 21:00:19 +0000

Greetings! As promised, here’s the second post I never got around to writing back in the fall of 2022. Sorry I’m so delinquent! We’ve got a lot of content coming soon, so I figured it was time to finally get caught up.

For the final game of App’s 2022 football season, Dad and I drove south to Statesboro, GA to watch the Mountaineers play Georgia Southern University. There were some spectacular sunsets on Thanksgiving weekend, so I thought I’d start by sharing a couple pictures.

Granite Falls sunset

Travel // Breakfast

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Dad and I left Granite Falls early, driving to Pineville for our first stop of the day. We stopped at MJ Donuts, a Korean-run shop close to Carolina Place Mall. By the time we arrived, they were sold out of their old-fashioned sour cream donuts, so we had to settle for some iced yeast donuts and some donut holes. They were very good and reasonably priced.

MJ Donuts

After breakfast, we stopped by REI Co-Op at the mall to return an item and do some Christmas shopping, and then hit the road again. After making a pit stop at Chick-fil-A in Lexington, SC to grab a drink, we continued southwest on I-20 towards Augusta.

Augusta, GA

Hawai'ian Barbecue

We arrived in Augusta just after 14:00, stopped at our hotel to drop off our luggage (turns out, we’d stayed there before when we visited the Masters almost a decade ago), and then headed to find a late lunch/early dinner. After weighing a number of options, we decided to be adventurous and try a Hawai’ian barbecue joint, which, judging by its roof, was housed in an former Pizza Hut.

Hawaiian Style BBQ

We ordered a variety of meats to split: chicken katsu, garlic shrimp, teriyaki steak, and beef short ribs. As sides, we got steamed cabbage, rice, Hawai’ian sweet rolls, and Hawai’ian-style kimchi. Everything was outstanding, and we were genuinely surprised at how delicious the meal was. I’d like to visit again sometime.

Hawaiian Style BBQ

Hawai'ian Style BBQ

Augusta, GA

Truly a “hole-in-the-wall” gem of a restaurant. Not in the best part of town, but the food was amazing. Everything was superbly flavorful, tender, and generally well-prepared. While prices were a bit high, portion sizes were extremely generous. I never expected a taste of the Pacific islands like this in the 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.

Swamp

Running a little behind, we rolled into Statesboro about 1.5hrs before kickoff, secured a parking spot, and walked through a dirty swamp (not exaggerating) to get to the football stadium. The stadium layout made basically no sense, and the pickup line for visitor tickets was horrendously slow and long, but we finally managed to get our tickets and make our way to our seats. The game was a major disappointment; the Mountaineers lost, eliminating them from bowl competition.

Paulson Stadium

Krystal

After the game, we drove back to Augusta, stopping at a Krystal Burger for some post-game sustenance. I hadn’t had Krystal in years, and it was a pretty good late night snack. We arrived back at the hotel, ate our undersized burgers and tots, and headed to bed.

Krystal Burger

A Spanish Breakfast

In the morning, we set out to find some breakfast, but first, we decided we’d do some quick sightseeing. We drove past the entrance to Augusta National Golf Club, getting a nice view of Magnolia Lane from the road. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a picture. Next, we drove through the surrounding neighborhoods to the backside of Augusta Country Club, and eventually wound up at our breakfast spot.

Our chosen breakfast spot was Bodega Ultima, a Spanish-inspired cafe in a posh shopping center. Dad and I got a table and settled in to watch some of the World Cup while we ate. We split a cinnamon roll as an appetizer, and then split a hot honey smoked and fried chicken biscuit, and a Jamon croissant with butter, an omelette-style egg, smoked ham, aged provolone, and house aioli. We each got a coffee too.

Bodega Ultima

Breakfast was excellent, and I would definitely go back if I’m in the area. The croissant sandwich was particularly good.

Bodega Ultima

Augusta, GA

An excellent place for a Spanish-inspired breakfast. I considered giving it 2 stars, but seating and the menu were somewhat limited. The food, however, was outstanding, and you don’t see much Spanish cuisine.

* – 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.

Cookie Shortage

We headed back to Charlotte, stopping at Trader Joe’s in Midtown to purchase some more Christmas gifts. Dad loves to give their butter cookies out as Christmas gifts, so he managed to purchase an entire buggy full; I too secured a good haul. We loaded up the truck and got back on the road for the final stretch back home.

Trader Joe's

Conclusion

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

Sadly, we had to cancel our final trip of 2022 – we’d planned to visit family in the Chesapeake Bay area over Thanksgiving. Since Faith was expecting and was quite sick, we had to postpone. We’ve rescheduled for 2023 though!

I bumped up my ankle surgery to two days after our return from Statesboro, and Dad had a impending knee replacement in January. Thus, the delays in posting all this. Between surgeries, a new baby, and many other happenings, I’m just now getting caught up.

Ankle surgery

Rollin'

Here we are in August (almost September 2023)…I may be belated with my posts, but that comes with some good news! We have three exciting trips coming up very soon, so the blog will finally be active again. I won’t spoil the surprises too much, but there will be one trip out west, one involving a lot of colonial history, and our rescheduled Chesapeake trip. Stay tuned in the next couple of weeks for the intro to our western adventures.

Thanks for reading!

– Isaac & Co.

Restaurant

Location

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

* – 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 Georgia 2022 – Augusta, Statesboro appeared first on 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.

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

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

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

– Isaac & Co.

Snow's BBQ

Restaurant

Location

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

* – 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.