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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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 3 – New Orleans 2019

Isaac Church — Sun, 29 Dec 2019 22:42:02 +0000

Sunday morning, we slept in for a while to recover from the previous night’s game. Eventually, we headed to Gallier’s Restaurant and Oyster Bar, just off Canal Street.

Lunch - Gallier's

At Gallier’s, Dad got a bowl of gumbo and a seafood platter, Trevor got an oyster po-boy, and I got barbecue shrimp and grits. They were all excellent, especially the gumbo.

Gallier’s Restaurant and Oyster Bar

A blurry seafood platter with potato salad

Gallier's Restaurant and Oyster Bar

New Orleans, LA

Some of the best gumbo we’ve ever had – that alone is worth a stop.

* – 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.

Riverwalk

We took the rest of the afternoon to walk around down by the mighty Mississippi River. Our stops included a rather large shopping mall, the New Orleans Holocaust Memorial, and Cafe du Monde for another round of beignets.

New Orleans Riverwalk

New Orleans Holocaust Memorial

Cafe du Monde

New Orleans, LA

You haven’t had beignets until you’ve had them from here.

* – 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.

Finally, we went back to the hotel to watch some football before it was time to eat again.

Dinner - Galliano

Our final meal in New Orleans was at Galliano, a restaurant close to the warehouse district. As had been the trend, we split a dozen charbroiled oysters as an appetizer, and then got our main dishes:

Dad got shrimp and grits with a cauldron of gumbo.
Trevor got crawfish pasta monica.
I got seafood coubion, a brothy stew with boudin, crawfish, shrimp, fish, tomatoes, rice, and fried okra.

Dessert

After dinner, we headed over to Drip Affogato Bar to get some gelato. Dad and Trevor got chocolate, and I got the Classique Affogato, which is vanilla gelato topped with crushed pistacios, stroopwafel, sea salt, and a hot shot of espresso. It was all excellent, and I especially was bouncing off the walls for the next two hours or so.

After the gelato, we headed back to the hotel to get some rest before our early flight the next morning.

Drip Affogato Bar

Travel Home

We left the hotel in New Orleans at 05:00CST, struggled through the TSA, and then had an extremely delayed and bumpy flight to ATL. We had to run through the Atlanta airport to catch our next flight, and even so almost lost our spot on the plane back to Greensboro. I’m pretty sure we set the record for the world’s shortest layover – definitely less than five minutes. Thankfully, we didn’t miss our connection – we were the last people to board, and even got the exit row with extra legroom. Dad says he still hurts from the airport hustle.

Louis Armstrong International Airport

Once back in Greensboro, we began the drive back home, stopping briefly at Jimmy John’s in Kernersville, and finally arriving back in Granite Falls around 14:45.

Conclusion

Overall, it was a fantastic trip, filled with great food and great memories. We were all thoroughly exhausted (and then some friends convinced me to go see the new Star Wars at 22:15 that evening), but had plenty of time to recover the next few days over Christmas.

Thanks for reading! Until next time,

Isaac, Jerry, and Trevor

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Atlanta 2019

Isaac Church — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 14:34:28 +0000

It’s road trip season again in the Church household. I’ve been traveling a lot recently – mostly related to App football. Dad and I have already been to Chapel Hill in September, and Columbia [SC] two weeks ago to see the Mountaineers defeat the Gamecocks, 20-15. This past weekend, I headed down to Atlanta to see our game against the Panthers of Georgia State University.

Two of my former college roommates joined me: Trevor Gragg and Alex Payne, from Granite Falls and Shelby, respectively. The game kicked off at 19:30EST, so we headed down early Saturday morning, spend the night after the game, and then came back to NC on Sunday.

While titled “Atlanta”, this post will actually cover a bit more, including the other two ASU Football-related trips.

North & South

No, I’m not talking about the 1855 novel by Elizabeth Gaskell. Here are a few pictures of our previous football-related trips to the Universities of North and South Carolina.

Chapel Hill, NC

Victory

We got some great food in the Triangle – especially breakfast at Guglhupf Bakery in Durham.

Three Bulls Steakhouse in Clemmons

Time Out in Chapel Hill

Guglhupf Bakery

Durham, NC

Tender, moist pastries with just the right amount of sweetness.

* – 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.

Columbia, SC

Dinner at The Improper Pig in Fort Mill, SC

ASU vs South Carolina 2019

The Improper Pig

Fort Mill, SC

Solid barbecue with delicious sides – worth trying.

* – 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.

Congaree National Park

While in Columbia, Dad and I stopped at Congaree National Park, checking another item off the bucket list of visiting all 61 National Parks. Congaree is quite obscure, and for good reason: most of the park is only accessible by kayak during high-water. The park is largely old growth forest in the floodplain of the Congaree River, with swampland, oxbow lakes, and incredible biodiversity.

We walked the Boardwalk Loop, a 2.3-mile boardwalk that circles through the forest above the 6-feet-deep mud.

Atlanta

Finally, we get back to the titled purpose of this post: our trip to Atlanta.

Trevor and I left Granite Falls around 07:00 Saturday morning, picked up Payne in Shelby, stopped for coffee and pastries at Hannah’s Coffee House, and then hit the road bound for Hotlanta. Thankfully, the high is only 56° for the weekend.

Hannah’s Coffee House

Chick-fil-A Dwarf House Grill

Our first stop in Atlanta was the Dwarf House Chick-fil-A in Hapeville, GA. This was the original restaurant, called the Dwarf Grill because it was so small. Half the restaurant is a traditional Chick-fil-A, and half is a tribute to the original diner-style food. You can get several menu items that have long disappeared from Chick-fil-A menus, including lemon icebox pie, carrot and raisin salad, and chicken salad. Unfortunately, the brownies seem to be gone for good.

Alongside some current menu items, we got a ribeye, burger, corn muffins, fried okra, and a slice of lemon pie and a fried peach pie for dessert.

After lunch, we went to our hotel in Buckhead, browsed a lot of stuff we’ll never be able to afford at Lenox Square Mall to kill some time, and then drove down to the game.

App State @ Georgia STate

Before it was demolished in November 2017, the Georgia Dome hosted Georgia State football.

Georgia State then purchased Turner Field, which formerly housed the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and the Atlanta Braves.

It was interesting to see the stadium’s transformation. The layout was a bit odd, but overall it was very nice. The crowd was probably 75% black and gold. ASU travels extremely well, and easily filled up one half of the stadium.

As always, it was a great day to be a Mountaineer. After struggling at the beginning of the game, the Apps mounted a comeback and handled Georgia State easily, winning 56-27.

Food Food Food

During the game, we split a couple gyros from a Greek food truck parked inside. Afterwards, we were rather hungry, so we went about the rather difficult task of finding somewhere good (and safe) to eat at 23:30.

Apparently, The Cheesecake Factory is open till almost 01:00, so we went back to Lenox Square Mall to get a quick bite. We split some appetizers: Brussels sprouts, potstickers, and Buffalo chicken blasters; we each got a piece of cheesecake as well. They were out of my favorite, the classic strawberry, but I got lemon raspberry, an acceptable substitute.

I’ll also throw in this cranberry-orange muffin from Hannah’s Coffee House in Shelby from early Saturday morning (somewhere above).

Potstickers

Cowpens National Battlefield

We stopped in Greenville on the way home to grab some lunch and do a little Christmas shopping. After a quick lunch at Whole Foods’ deli, we soon returned to I-85 to continue our journey home. Unfortunately, yet unsurprisingly, traffic was backed up on the interstate for miles due to a wreck, so we looked for an alternate route.

We ended up on US-221-Alt somewhere east of Chesnee, and happened upon Cowpens National Battlefield, part of the National Park Service. We stopped to drive the park loop and browsed the museum for a while before continuing back towards Shelby.

Cowpens National Battlefield

Cowpens was one of the most memorable battles of the American Revolution, and was a notable defeat of Banastre Tarleton.

Conclusion

That’s all for this round of travels! I’m hoping to plan another trip for Faith and me soon, so stay tuned for that.

Thanks for reading!

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