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Day 5 – Idaho 2025 // Yellowstone Lake, Pelican Valley

Isaac Church — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 03:30:45 +0000

Today was a rather wet and dreary day, at least for the morning. We stayed dry in a museum for a while, and then headed back into Yellowstone to explore the Lake area.

Breakfast, Sunrise, Breakfast

We started our day in the Airbnb by waking up early to finish doing the laundry. Then, we split a day-old microwave-warmed orange sticky bun leftover from Cattail Bakery in Red Lodge. After finishing our laundry and loading the Jeep in a sporadically torrential downpour, we headed over to The Station by Cody Coffee. This restaurant is an old filling station now converted into a breakfast and coffee shop. We filled our paper cups and travel mugs with their exceptionally hot coffee, each ordered an egg, cheese, and ham crêpe, and ate our breakfast while the rain pattered down on the building’s metal roof. A hearty pinch of salt made the coffee much better; the crêpes were surprisingly good and very filling. So, I’ll count this place as a pretty good option for the middle of Wyoming on a rainy morning.

Orange roll from Cattail Bakery

Cody, WY Sunrise

The Station by Cody Coffee

Buffalo Bill Center of the West

After breakfast, we were some of the first people in the door of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, a massive complex made up of five museums: Buffalo Bill Museum, Plains Indian Museum, Cody Firearms Museum, Whitney Western Art Museum, and Draper Natural History Museum. After getting our tickets at the front desk, we made our way through each of the museums, trying to squeeze in as much as possible during the morning. This was the only day it really rained on our trip, and the timing couldn’t have been better for an indoor activity.

Buffalo Bill Center of the West

Cody Firearms Museum

Beginning our tour in the firearms wing of the building, we were quickly overwhelmed by the sheer volume of items the museum held. They have over 10,000 artifacts, including some of the rarest firearms in existence. In the basement, there is an archive and research center that authenticates and researches old firearms that people bring in – dating back to the French & Indian War, and even earlier.

Buffalo Bill Center of the West

Plains Indian Museum

Next, after walking by the raptor display (no idea what was there, access would have required walking outside in a downpour), we browsed through the Plains Indian Museum. This was also fascinating. Dad particularly enjoyed seeing the life-sized earth lodge; I was fascinated to see “Lone Dog’s Winter Count”, an animal skin depicting the most significant events from each winter during Lone Dog’s life. This served somewhat like a Rosetta Stone for western history, particularly because it documents the Leonid Meteor Storm in November 1833, “The Night the Stars Fell”. I’ve read about this and seen it in many documentaries, so it was fascinating to see it in person.

Buffalo Bill Center of the West

Draper Natural History Museum

Walking out of the Plain Indian section, we went through the natural history museum, which spiraled down, going through each class of animals. This area was very engaging and had lots of fascinating info, so much so that I was apparently too distracted to take pictures.

Buffalo Bill Center of the West

Buffalo Bill Museum

The central wing of the building houses the Buffalo Bill museum, dedicated to the life of its namesake, William Frederick Cody. This was also fascinating, as I quickly realized I knew some, but really very little about Buffalo Bill. It was interesting to see his touring schedule, which made me exhausted just to read about it. He loved the west, and dedicated his life to sharing it with others through his touring show. There were a lot of archival videos and interactive displays, which we much enjoyed.

Buffalo Bill Center of the West

Whitney Western Art Museum

Finally, while Dad rested, I quickly walked through the art wing. I don’t care much for the abstract stuff, but it was neat to see paintings of historic Yellowstone. Some artist had his studio set up as a museum at the end of the wing, but I was out of energy and decided it was time to wrap things up rather than reading another sign.

We picked up a souvenir from the gift shop, bought a snack or two from the museum’s cafe, drove back across to The Filling Station to get a coffee refill, and hit the road.

No Moose Pond

Leaving Cody, we drove back down Yellowstone’s east entrance road and into the park. Shortly after we passed through the east entrance station and approached Yellowstone Lake, we rounded a steep curve and saw a sizable crowd gathered at an overlook. This could only mean one thing: wildlife! Sure enough, there was a grizzly bear eating an elk carcass by the side of a small pond, which I later learned is called “No Moose Pond” by locals, even though it’s unlabeled on official park maps.

Grizzly Bear - No Moose Pond

The bear put on quite the show. He swiped at a coyote trying to steal a bite of elk, fished with his enormous claws in the edge of the lake, and strutted around showing off his jiggly winter blubber and thick fur coat. We watched him for over 30 minutes, and then decided to move on, after we’d gotten our fill of pictures and videos from our convenient high vantage point.

Grizzly Bear - No Moose Pond

Lake Butte Overlook

After a brief drive that dropped us down to lake-level, we pulled up the short side road to Lake Butte Overlook, which has a rather self-explanatory name, and a great view of Yellowstone Lake. We hiked up a steep hill, and were rewarded with even more stunning views of the lake and surrounding landscape.

Lake Butte Overlook

A very nice man with a very nice spotting scope pointed out to me that there was another grizzly in a distant field some 600 yards away. It soon disappeared into the trees. There was also a wolf pack in the same field, which I was able to capture with my camera – though the wolves are still tiny in the frame. Look just above the treeline in the photos and you might be able to see white, grey, and black dots lying down in the yellow grass.

Wolf Pack - Lake Butte Overlook

We could see a storm rolling in quickly across the lake, and the wind was picking up significantly, so we decided it was time to head back to the Jeep to warm up our frozen fingers and eat our “lunch” that we purchased at the museum. We got a couple mini to-go characterie packs, which turned out to be pretty good other than the exceptionally stale crackers. They had some cheese, some nuts, grapes, and a few other little goodies. It wasn’t a spectacular meal, but we enjoyed a spectacular view from the car while we ate.

Lake Butte Overlook

Lunch at Lake Butte

Pelican Valley Trail

We felt slightly recovered from being on our feet all morning at the museum, so we decided it was time for another hike. Without much distance or destination in mind, we decided to undertake at least part of the Pelican Valley Trail. The full trail is 6.2 miles one-way, but is more of a “journey hike” than a “destination hike”. We started the hike by crossing through some open meadows by the Pelican Creek. The trail was muddy from recent rains, but navigable.

Pelican Valley Trail

Soon we came to a densely wooded area. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw something moving in the trees. Can you spot it too?

Great Horned Owl - Pelican Valley Trail

Sure enough, after an intense game of “I Spy” (except we didn’t know what we were looking for), we spotted a great horned owl perched in a tree. It flew and landed on a different branch, completely silent as it flew – a surreal thing to witness. I didn’t have my wildlife lens to get a close-up photo, and unfortunately by the time I attempted to sneak closer it flew away.

Great Horned Owl - Pelican Valley Trail

Continuing down the trail, we passed through densely wooded areas, with occasional patches of now-wilting wildflowers and grasses. You could tell bison and other animals occasionally used this trail as a cut-through, so we were very intentionally making noise and keeping an eye out for animals.

Pelican Valley Trail

Soon, the trail opened up into a long, fairly narrow valley lined with grass. It seemed to go on forever in both directions.

Pelican Valley Trail

Following the path up the valley, we were eventually rewarded with a wide panoramic view of of the greater Pelican Valley, with bison in the distance and a hawk swooping down over our heads.

Pelican Valley Trail

The trail and its distributaries continued on for many more miles, but we decided to turn around and head back to the parking lot. Retracing our steps, we had a pleasantly uneventful journey back to the car, where we wolfed down a “that hits the spot” bran muffin and blueberry muffin, also leftover from Cattail Bakery in Red Lodge. In total, we hiked about 4 miles on the trail, but it seemed much longer because of the squelchy mud that stuck in our hiking shoes and slowed us down.

Pelican Valley Trail

Muffins from Cattail Bakery

Fishing Bridge

Not more than a couple hundred yards down the road, we stopped in the Fishing Bridge General Store and visitor center, brushed up on our ornithology/strigiformology (you might have to look that one up, I did), and walked down to the beach at the lakeshore for a quick view. Not pictured: we also saw a tremendous amount of the trumpeter swans in a pond just off the lake. I didn’t take any pictures because at the time I didn’t realize it was a bank of rare swans…we both mistakenly thought it was a gaggle of Canadian geese, which are creatures most vile and detestable. Instead, you can enjoy a picture of this massive swan mannequin from the visitor center; I assure you it is significantly bigger than you’d ever imagine.

Fishing Bridge Visitor Center

Yellowstone Lake

Wildlife Spottings

We decided to head over to the Lake Hotel to check into our lodging for the evening. Beside the pullout for the hotel, there was a herd of elk with a rather grand bull leading them.

Elk

At the next turn, I spotted another grey blob high in a tree. This time, instead of a Great Horned Owl, it was an even-larger Great Grey Owl. It was staring down at us from the tree, eyes aglow and rather angry-looking. We watched for a while, managed to gather a very large crowd from other cars that pulled over, and then resumed our mission of finding the night’s lodging.

Great Grey Owl

Lake Lodge-Ing

Dad dropped me off at the Lake Hotel, complete with its iconic pale-yellow paint job, bustling grand lobby, and live music. It’s almost like stepping back in time. However, my visit didn’t last long, because we were staying in one of the Lake Lodge cabins, so we needed to check in a short distance down the drive.

Lake Hotel

Lake Hotel Lounge

The Lake Lodge is just as grand, but in a much more rustic way. We checked into our triplex cabin, which was cozy, simple, and very nice. We FaceTimed home, freshened up a bit, and decided to head back out for the evening and sunset. We had a very late dinner reservation at the Lake Hotel Dining Room – but were lucky to have one at all; it’s a very popular place.

Yellowstone Lake Lodge

Yellowstone Lake Lodge Cabins

Mud Volcano

We decided to follow the Yellowstone River downstream to Mud Volcano, a smelly geothermal basin known for strange water features and boiling mud. We got to see a couple features we missed two trips ago due to boardwalk construction, so it was worth stopping in.

Mud Volcano

Pelican Creek Nature Trail

Backtracking to the Lake, we decided to undertake another hike, this one quite easy and short. The Pelican Creek Nature Trial (not to be confused with the Pelican Valley Trail, which we hiked earlier) is a 0.6 mile loop that winds through a meadow, forest, and down to the lake. It was a very relaxing hike, and the soft, spongy, moss-covered ground was a nice contrast to the thick mud and hard concrete that had defined most of our walking today.

Pelican Creek Nature Trail

Lake Sunset

As the sun began to set, we drove around the Lake, stopping at various overlooks to take pictures as things caught our eye. We were treated to a beautiful sunset over the mountains, as elk grazed along the lake shore and birds fished in the shallows, creeks, and ponds.

Yellowstone Lake

Pelican Creek

Yellowstone Lake

Late Dinner

Back at the cabins, we took a nice hot shower (complete with a heater in the bathroom ceiling to offset the drafty walls), changed clothes, and reorganized our luggage some. Our dinner reservation was not until 20:30, but we went over to the Lake Hotel lobby about an hour early to relax, and to see if there was any chance of us getting a table sooner. There wasn’t.

Our wait and rumbling stomachs were rewarded with a fantastic meal. We started out with their house made bread and butter, and a salad with tomatoes, candied pecans, and a huckleberry vinaigrette. For our main courses, Dad ordered grilled shrimp with cheesy polenta, green beans, and cowboy caviar; I ordered their rabbit ravioli with a browned mushroom sauce. Both were good, but the ravioli was one of the best dishes either one of us have ever eaten. We both said we could’ve just had the sauce in a cup with a straw. For dessert, we split a goblet of huckleberry ice cream and their Basque cake, which was like pound cake, but served warm with a pastry cream filling and a brandied cherry sauce over the top. Once again, both were very good, but the Basque cake stole the show.

Lake Yellowstone Hotel Dining Room

After dinner, we collapsed in bed, our feet and legs aching from close to 10 miles of hiking/walking today. It was worth it though, as was the wait to eat dinner after 21:00.

Yellowstone Lake Hotel

Yellowstone national Park

We honestly had pretty low expectations for this, given how most of the national park food we’ve had has been routinely mediocre. We couldn’t have been more surprised. It was a genuinely amazing meal, and an incredible historic setting to enjoy it in.

* – 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.

Video

Here’s a video from today’s adventures.

The Best Things we Saw Today

Isaac

The best thing I saw today was… “the great horned owl flying silently in the Pelican Valley”.

The best thing I ate today was… “rabbit ravioli, with honorable mention to the Basque cake”.

Jerry

The best thing I saw today was… “the view from Lake Butte Overlook”.

The best thing I ate today was… “rabbit ravioli, with honorable mention to the Basque cake”.

Conclusion

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Tomorrow we’ll continue through the eastern and southern sides of the park, and venture over to a remote corner of Yellowstone that most people never see.

– Isaac & Jerry

The post Day 5 – Idaho 2025 // Yellowstone Lake, Pelican Valley appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

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

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

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

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

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

Watami

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

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

Watami Sushi & Noodles

Waynesville, NC

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

* – Would definitely visit again

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

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

For more info on food ratings, click here.

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

Gainesville

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

Inman Perk Coffee

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

Buc-ee's - Auburn, AL

Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site

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

Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site

Training Room

Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site

German Army Uniforms

Wartime Magazines

Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site

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

Runway

Hangars

Montgomery

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

Wintzell's Oyster House

Montgomery, AL // Various Locations

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

* – Would definitely visit again

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

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

For more info on food ratings, click here.

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

Troy

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

Veteran's Memorial Stadium

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

App State at Troy - 2023 Sun Belt Championship

Buc-eeeEee's!

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

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

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

Buc-ee's

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

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

Buc-ee's

Auburn, AL // Various Locations

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

* – Would definitely visit again

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

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

For more info on food ratings, click here.

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

Waynesville

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

Daylight Donuts

Waynesville, NC // Various Locations

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

* – Would definitely visit again

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

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

For more info on food ratings, click here.

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

Orchard Coffee

Waynesville, NC

Excellent coffee with an attention to detail.

* – Would definitely visit again

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

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

For more info on food ratings, click here.

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

App State vs Auburn

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

App State vs Auburn

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

App State vs Auburn

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

App State vs Auburn

Here’s a sort highlight video from the game:

Video

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

The Best Things We Saw [This Weekend]

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

Conclusion

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

– Isaac, Jerry, and Trevor

App State vs Auburn

Sunset in Boone, NC

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

Day 6 – Washington, D.C. // Maryland/Virginia 2023

Isaac Church — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 23:00:58 +0000

Today was our final full day staying with the Pinkertons. Since we didn’t get to go into Washington, D.C. on Day 4 of our travels, Faith and I decided we would venture into the capital for a day to see a few sites. The rest of the kids had a school-related event, so it was good timing for us to take a day trip. I hadn’t been to DC since I went with some friends back in 2017.

Pancake Breakfast // DC Commute

We woke up fairly early and ate pancakes for breakfast, hopped in the car, and immediately began the drive to DC. It took us about an hour and a half to navigate the Baltimore tunnels and DC beltway, but we finally made it to the city. We parked in an underground deck near the NASA headquarters on the south side of the National Mall, emerged above ground, and began walking without a real destination in mind.

We tried to find some coffee, a snack, and a restroom, but couldn’t find a good cafe anywhere nearby. We noticed on the map that the Museum of the Bible had a couple restaurants inside, so we decided to walk a couple blocks to try our luck there.

Museum of the Bible

We actually didn’t know much about the museum before we happened upon it, but after reading about it, we decided we’d pay the entrance fee and take the rest of the morning to tour it. Entering just after the museum opened, we headed upstairs to the Milk + Honey Café, grabbed a blueberry muffin to split, and then began our tour.

Museum of the Bible

Blueberry muffin - Museum of the Bible

First, we walked through the visiting/temporary exhibit on the lower level (something about the Bible and astronomy), and weren’t particularly impressed. However, as we ventured on to the main exhibits, we were amazed by the both the quality and quantity of exhibits. Because we didn’t have all day, we had to skim over some of the galleries, but we both wished we’d had more time to browse. There were particularly interesting displays on Bible printing and manufacturing, and on the life of Elisabeth Elliot.

Bay Psalm Book

Divina Comedia

Gutenberg Printing Press

Continuing upstairs, we walked through the “New Testament Experience”, which recreates many of the places Jesus visited during his ministry, some in 1:1 scale. There were replicas of wine presses, synagogues, and much more.

New Testament Experience

The Second Temple

Due to time constraints, we had to skip the Old Testament experience, as it took 30 minutes to walk through, and only started every 45 minutes or so. We started watching a 4D movie that they were showing, but it was a little loud for the baby, so we slipped out the back and moved on. We proceeded to a large exhibit hall focused on different versions of the Bible throughout time, including significant translations, versions, preservation efforts, etc.

Livestream of Jerusalem

Museum of the Bible

The Killer Bible

Museum of the Bible

On the way out of the translation galleries, there was an oval-shaped room documenting the translation progress of the Old and New Testaments into all known languages.

Translation progress

On the upper floors, there were two more visiting exhibits. One showed all the churches that bear the name “Haggia Sophia”, like the famous Turkish cathedral-now-turned-mosque. This was fascinating; apparently there are hundreds of them all around the world, all with different architecture and unique backgrounds. The other exhibit displayed a large selection of artifacts from the Holy Land. Each exhibit spanned a couple thousand square feet.

Haggai Sophia across the world

Israeli artifacts exhibit

We ended our visit with a short walk through their rooftop garden (akin to one in Jerusalem), visited the museum gift shop, and then exited back onto 4th Street.

Rooftop garden

Museum of the Bible

Rice Bar

From the museum, we walked north past L’Enfant Plaza to the Capital Gallery Shopping Mall, in the same building that houses the Smithsonian’s headquarters. We ate lunch at Rice Bar, a Korean build-your-own bowl counter chain that is very popular in the DC area. Faith and I both got bowls with shaved Korean beef, Korean BBQ sauce, broccoli, carrots, and crispy onions. One bowl had brown rice, and the other had black rice, something neither of us had ever tried (or even heard of!) before. The black rice was more purple than black, but it was incredibly delicious, and definitely our favorite of the two. Here’s an article if you’d like to learn more about the “forbidden rice”.

Department of Education

Rice Bar

Washington, D.C. // Multiple Locations

Build-your-own Korean bowls with delicious options. Be sure to try the black rice!

* – 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.

National Museum of American History

After finishing our lunch, we made the nearly mile-long walk to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Along the way, we enjoyed nice views of the US Capitol and Washington monument.

U.S. Capitol

Washington Monument

As usual, the museum didn’t disappoint, but it was very crowded with tour groups from various schools. We walked through the exhibits on American enterprise, the history of American food, American technology, and American farming.

We quickly dipped into a smaller room with displays of various unique currencies, and then headed back outside so we could get in a longer walk before we needed to head back home.

History of Currency

Outside the museum, we decided the best way to spend our time was to just walk around and see some of the monuments. We bought an outrageously expensive strawberry smoothie from a food truck, and began strolling west down Madison Drive towards the Washington Monument.

National Mall

First, we walked to the base of the Monument – something we’d never seen up close. We’d hoped we could maybe ride to the top, but you have to book that at least a day in advance.

Washington Monument

The White House

Jefferson Memorial

Next, we walked around the fountains at the World War II Memorial.

World War II Memorial

Finally, we finished our National Mall walking tour at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool

Metro Difficulties // Long Drive Home

It was now time to start heading back to our car and back to Maryland. The closest metro stop was back on the mall near the Smithsonian Castle, so we walked a very brisk mile to the broken escalator (temporarily stairs) and descended to the platforms to find a train to take back to our car at Federal Place and Patriot’s Plaza.

Metro Station

Unfortunately, the broken escalator was only the beginning of our troubles. Since we only wanted to take one short Metro ride, I decided I’d pay on my phone, rather than having to load a minimum amount on a card. Apparently, you can’t pay for multiple fares on one phone, like you can with a physical card, and Faith’s phone was dead, so we couldn’t use it to purchase another card. It took us over 30 minutes to sort the payment situation out with the attendant, and then we had even more difficulty getting the accessible turnstile to work so we could fit the stroller through.

I was not a very happy camper/metro rider at this point. We were both miserably hot in the sultry tunnels, and the stress of trying to explain the situation to a rather disagreeable attendant was not helping matters. Thankfully, Walker stayed asleep in his stroller for the duration of the fiasco, and we were finally able to get on our less-than-merry way. By this point, we’d missed a handful of trains because of the delay, so we had to wait even longer to catch the correct line.

The drive into the city took us less than an hour and a half, but it took us over three hours to get back to Havre de Grace! Despite our best efforts to avoid both rush hour and the most congested roads, the Metrorail mishap had delayed us right into the middle of rush-hour traffic. Our valiant effort to leave in plenty of time was all for naught. At least the agonizingly slow drive up the Baltimore-Washington Parkway was somewhat scenic, highlighted by a few deer crossing the highway, and seeing the NSA’s headquarters at Fort Meade, MD.

Crabs!

We arrived back at Havre de Grace just in time for dinner. Since it was our last night with the Pinkertons, William went out to get a sack full of steamed crabs so we could have a proper Maryland dinner before we left. It was incredibly delicious, and even more so after a long day. We learned we need a lot more practice shelling crabs, though!

Maryland steamed crab dinner

After dinner, we made some more affogatos, finished the rest of Gettysburg, played a couple games of Scrabble, and then headed off to bed.

The Best Things we Saw Today

Isaac

The best thing I saw today was… “the farming and food exhibits at the Smithsonian, and the various Bible translations”.

The best thing I ate today was… “the crab dinner, with black rice getting and honorable mention”.

Faith

The best thing I saw today was… “the Museum of the Bible”.

The best thing I ate today was… “crabs!”.

Conclusion

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Tomorrow, we’ll head south into Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley.

– Isaac, Faith, and Walker

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Day 4 – Annapolis // Maryland/Virginia 2023

Isaac Church — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 23:00:55 +0000

Last night, we were in a bit of a frenzy figuring out a destination for today. Our top candidates were originally Harper’s Ferry + Antietam, or DC. Unfortunately, there was road construction causing significant detours and delays near Harper’s Ferry. We also learned there was a huge rally scheduled on the National Mall in Washington, with potentially 60,000 people expected, plus some accompanying security concerns. So, after breakfast, we decided to head southeast instead, and drove to Maryland’s state capital, Annapolis.

United States Naval Academy

After a pleasant hour and a half drive, we arrived in Annapolis, and secured street parking near King George St. with surprising ease. Faith and I walked over to the entrance of the US Naval Academy, and rendezvoused with the Pinkertons. William, a West Point graduate, made sure all the kids had “Go Army // Beat Navy” pins to wear for the duration of our visit…plus some sported Union infantry hats from our visit to Gettysburg. For good measure, I think one was even sporting a “Go Army // Beat Air Force” pin. We made a quick stop into the Armel-Leftwich Visitor Center to register and receive visitor passes, and then began our self-guided walking tour of campus.

United States Naval Academy

I should note that our “self-guided” tour was mostly led by William, who couldn’t resist making a few jabs about the superiority of his alma mater and preferred service branch. Nonetheless, he offered some excellent insight into the campus. We walked the grounds for a while, taking in the sights on the historic campus. We’d hoped to visit the museum on campus, but it was unfortunately closed for renovations.

United States Naval Academy

United States Naval Academy Chapel

The Naval Academy Chapel

Since the museum was closed, we headed across the terrace to the Naval Academy Chapel, a beautiful building that opened in 1908, with a 193′ tall dome. The inside is spectacular – not overly ornate, but very beautifully designed and built.

United States Naval Academy Chapel

To end our tour of the chapel, we headed to the lower level to view crypt and sarcophagus of John Paul Jones, a hero of the American Revolution who is known as the “Father of the American Navy”.

Crypt of John Paul Jones

After exiting the chapel, we decided it was time to find some lunch. We walked back across campus, exited through the gate, and began walking towards downtown.

United States Naval Academy

Chick & Ruth's Delly

We settled on eating at Chick & Ruth’s Delly, a local diner (open since 1965) that’s famous for their colossal crab cakes and equally hefty milkshakes – ranging from 20oz up to 6lb! Before we could order, I realized that even though you could “renew” your parking in the ParkMobile app, you had to move your car to a different zone. So, I had to walk all the way back to the other side of the Naval Academy, get in the car, and find another parking spot (which was thankfully close to the restaurant).

Finally back at the restaurant, I was now extraordinarily hungry from the long walk, as was everyone else from the extended wait. The “delly” was very accommodating though, and even allowed us to take our strollers in the back entrance so we could spread out at a larger table. Faith and I split two dishes, their signature half-pound crab cake sandwich, and a seafood club on rye, which had a crab cake and shrimp salad on a triple-decker sandwich. We also ordered a side of onion rings for all of us to split.

Chick & Ruth's Delly

I can say without a doubt that this was the best crab cake I’ve ever had. There was very little filler; just enough to hold together the giant lumps of sweet crab meat. Even though it was a ton of food, we ate nearly every bite, although we had to forego the bread towards the end of the club sandwich to make sure we didn’t waste any of the seafood.

Chick & Ruth's Delly

Annapolis, MD

Oversized everything, but you’ll be grateful for the excessive amount of meat in the crab cakes.

* – 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.

Maryland State House

We cleaned up from lunch (which is quite the process with a handful of kids), and headed back out to explore a bit more of Annapolis. Walking from the restaurant up to the top of the hill, we arrived at the Maryland State House, passing many historic buildings, beautiful flower beds, and colorful trees along the way. We attempted to visit St. Anne’s Parish, a historic church dating back to 1692, but it was closed at the time.

Downtown Annapolis, MD

Maryland State House

Downtown Annapolis, MD

Ice Cream // Waterfront

After walking about a mile more through the historic buildings, we decided to backtrack to the Annapolis Ice Cream Company, a spot we’d seen earlier that of course intrigued all the kids (and adults). I got oatmeal cream pie and lemon chocolate chip; Faith got oatmeal cream pie and pumpkin chocolate chip. All the flavors were excellent, especially the pumpkin chocolate chip, which Faith could not stop talking about the remainder of the trip.

Annapolis Ice Cream Company

Annapolis, MD

Excellent selection of homemade ice creams and sweet treats with some creative flavors.

* – 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 took our ice cream down to the waterfront, and sat and watched the ducks and people jaunt around a section of the Annapolis Harbor known as Spa Creek or Ego Alley.

Downtown Annapolis, MD

Ducks, Books, and Coffee

DTA Ducks

Once we finally tired of duck- and people-watching, we walked to Old Fox Books & Coffeehouse near St. John’s College, which was about a half-mile away. The weather was pleasant, but chilly and breezy, so it felt good to get moving again. The coffee shop/bookstore combo was an interesting place to browse, and had an excellent selection of children’s books. Faith and I split an Americano (since their drip coffee was shut down for the day) to give us a caffeine boost to stay awake for the drive home.

Aunt Faith

Old Fox Books & Coffeehouse

Maryland WWII Memorial // Bridges

We headed our separate ways back to our vehicles, and began the drive back to Havre de Grace at sunset. Faith and I saw a nice sunset over the Naval Academy Bridge, and made a quick stop at the Maryland WWII Memorial to take a picture of the colors over the water. Driving back north, we actually crossed the 1.6mi Francis Scott Key Bridge, which has since collapsed after a container ship collided with it in March 2024.

Naval Academy Bridge

Maryland WWII Memorial

Nighttime

Back at the Pinkertons’ house, Anna pulled together a light charcuterie selection for dinner. We made more affogatos with the ice cream I’d bought, and watched more of Gettysburg, but didn’t make it very long because we were so worn out from the day. Our feet were sore from walking on all the cobblestone road and sidewalks, but it was a fun and memorable day. Annapolis is one of our favorite cities we’ve visited, and far exceeded our expectations.

Charcuterie for dinner

Maryland State House

The Best Things we Saw Today

Isaac

The best thing I saw today was… “the Naval Academy, particularly the Chapel”.

The best thing I ate today was… “the crab cake at the delly”.

Faith

The best thing I saw today was… “the old buildings in Annapolis”.

The best thing I ate today was… “pumpkin chocolate chip ice cream”.

Conclusion

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Tomorrow, we’ll explore more of the Havre de Grace area.

– Isaac and Faith

Maryland State House

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Day 2 – Susquehanna State Park // Maryland/Virginia 2023

Isaac Church — Sun, 12 Nov 2023 23:00:54 +0000

Today was our first day waking up in Maryland. It was a fairly chill day; we didn’t have many planned activities.

Sunday Morning

In the morning, we woke up, ate breakfast, and hung around the house until it was time for church. We visited William and Anna’s church for an excellent service. They were scheduled to teach children’s Sunday School afterwards, so Faith and I left, taking the scenic route back to their house to kill some time.

Vignon Manor Farm

Church

Susquehanna State Park

Faith and I drove over to Susquehanna State Park, a 2,753 acre park on the Susquehanna River. There were still some leaves on the trees, making the drive very scenic. First, we drove down to the Deer Creek Trestle Bridge, where an old railroad track has been converted into a greenway of sorts.

Deer Creek Trestle Bridge

From the trestle bridge, there were some spectacular views of the river and the five islands in the center of the river: Robert, Wood, Snake, Spencer, and Steel Island.

Susquehanna River

From the trestle bridge, we drove downriver to the Rock Run Gristmill. The historic mill has a 12-ton water wheel.

Rock Run Grist Mill

We left the park, driving back to the house to get started on lunch and put Walker down for his nap.

Susquehanna State Park

Sunday Afternoon

We spent most of Sunday afternoon relaxing at the house. A crowd from church went to go play Frisbee at the park, but my knee/ankle still aren’t allowing me to run much. Instead, I spent some time catching up on photo editing from our western trip, and took a cat nap while Faith read and took some fall photos of Walker.

Dinner

In the evening, I went to pick up sushi for the adults’ dinner, while Anna fixed some food for the kids. We placed an order from Johnny’s Sushi House in Perryville on the other side of the Susquehanna River. We got a variety of rolls to try: salmon, salmon mango, crunchy crab, tempura shrimp with sweetpotato, Sakura (tempura salmon, cream cheese, crabmeat, fish roe, scallion, sauce), and an Angel (tempura shrimp, spicy crabmeat, snow crabmeat, and sweet mayo). All the sushi was excellent, especially the specialty rolls and the roll with sweetpotato and shrimp.

While I was out, I also got some vanilla ice cream, vanilla gelato, and Peppermint Park ice cream from Food Lion. We made affogatos using William and Anna’s espresso machine, and stayed up late hanging out and making plans for the week ahead.

Johnny's Sushi House

Tillamook Peppermint Bark Ice Cream

Johnny's Sushi House

Perryville, MD

Great sushi with some creative rolls on the menu.

* – 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 Best Things we Saw Today

Isaac

The best thing I saw today was… “the Susquehanna River”.

The best thing I ate today was… “shrimp tempura roll with sweetpotato and Sakura roll”.

Faith

The best thing I saw today was… “the train tracks by the river”.

The best thing I ate today was… “the shrimp tempura roll with sweetpotato”.

Conclusion

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Tomorrow, we’re going to drive into Pennsylvania to visit Gettysburg.

– Isaac

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Day 1 – Intro, Travel // Maryland/Virginia 2023

Isaac Church — Sat, 11 Nov 2023 23:00:00 +0000

We’re back on the road again! This time Faith, Walker, and I are headed up to Maryland to visit Faith’s sister Anna, her husband William, and their kids. They live in Havre de Grace, MD.

Spraying // Leaving

We woke up around 05:30 Saturday morning and began loading the car. I decided I’d spray our annual preventative bug treatment in/around the house before we left, so after we’d loaded the car I made the rounds with the sprayer. We finally left the house at exactly 06:30, and started our journey north.

I’d decided we’d take the slightly longer route up I-95 instead of taking I-81 through the Shenandoah Valley. This was partly because I wanted to have more options for stopping with Walker if we needed to. This was also partly because we will be meeting Mom and Dad next Friday in the Shenandoah Valley to spend a couple nights there.

Eating // Drinking

In Winston-Salem, we stopped for breakfast and coffee at Waterbean Coffee, an NC-based chain. Faith got a latte and I got a pour-over, and we both ordered a breakfast croissant sandwich with ham, salami, cheese, and some kind of mustardy aioli. It was a very good breakfast, and I would definitely visit one again.

Waterbean Coffee

Breakfast croissant sandwich - Waterbean Coffee

Unfortunately, we realized that even though we’d carefully planned our itinerary to align with Walker’s eating schedule, we were going to be off because he wasn’t hungry at his normal breakfast time. Faith attempted to feed him, and I even walked around in Academy Sports for a while because I was distracting him, but nothing worked. Oh well; onward we went…

Resting // Eating

We didn’t stop again until we reached one of Virginia’s famous rest areas, where we stopped to feed Walker and let him move around for a while. After a quick stop, we were back on the road again.

I-95 in Virginia

On the north side of Richmond, we stopped at a Chicken Fiesta (a local Richmond chain famous for their charcoal-roasted rotisserie chickens) to eat lunch. We both got combo plates with chicken, rice, and tortillas – a delicious meal.

Chicken Fiesta

Driving // Eating

Because traffic in DC looked terrible on our map app, I decided to swing east and take US-301 around the city. It turned out to be a very scenic drive, and even though it might not have saved much time, it certainly prevented some stress. We crossed the Potomac River into Maryland, and stopped at Landon’s Ices & Creams in La Plata to get some dessert, and to feed Walker again.

Crossing the Potomac River

The flavor selection at Landon’s was very interesting. I got sweet potato pie and triple chocolate cookie dough, and Faith got pumpkin pecan and honey vanilla. However, it was one of the only ice cream shops I’ve ever been to where they refused to give free samples, so they definitely lose points for that. And, it took an eternity to get four scoops of ice cream, even though I was probably the only customer they’d had all afternoon. Nevertheless, the ice cream was very tasty.

Landon's Ices and Creams

Arriving // Sleeping

App was playing football at Georgia State while we were on the road. Faith slipped in some noise-cancelling headphones, and I stayed on the phone with Dad, who gave me a play-by-play of the game over the phone. At 18:30, we finally arrived in Havre de Grace, exactly 12 hours after we’d left Boone. For dinner, we had leftovers from a Thanksgiving gathering Anna and William had hosted with some of Faith’s siblings who’d visited the week before. We visited for a while and then headed to bed, exhausted from the long drive.

The Best Things we Saw Today

Isaac

The best thing I saw today was… “the scenery in southern Maryland”.

The best thing I ate today was… “the breakfast croissant at Waterbean Coffee”.

Faith

The best thing I saw today was… “finally getting to the Pinkertons’ house”.

The best thing I ate today was… “lunch at Chicken Fiesta”.

Conclusion

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Tomorrow, we’ll explore some of the area around Havre de Grace.

– Isaac

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Day 5 – American Revolution Museum // Colonial VA 2023

Isaac Church — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 22:00:08 +0000

Today was the final day of our trip to Virginia’s Historic Triangle. This morning, we checked out of our Airbnb, loaded the cars, and headed out for breakfast.

Breakfast

We decided to go back to Mobjack Bay Coffee Roasters and Petite Cafe for breakfast and coffee. Breakfast was relatively small; most of us got blueberry turnovers, with a couple bombalini on the side (this time one vanilla- and one Nutella-filled). While waiting for and consuming our breakfast, we sat upstairs in one of the cafe’s historic rooms.

Mobjack Bay Coffee Roasters and Petite Cafe

American Revolution Museum

Morgan and Faith stayed at the cafe to hang out a little longer, and Cody and I drove over to the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown. The indoor section of the museum is generally divided into 5 sections:

The British Empire and America
The Changing Relationship – Britain and North America
Revolution
The American People
The New Nation

American Revolution Museum at Yorktown

We watched two different films at the museum; both were very well-made and informative.

American Revolution Museum at Yorktown

The outdoor section of the museum has two sections:

Continental Army Camp
Revolution-Era Farm

The camp had a musket-firing demonstration, exhibits of how the camp would operated, and some replicate tents and building you could go inside.

American Revolution Museum at Yorktown

Cody in a tent that slept 8 men

American Revolution Museum at Yorktown

The farm section was a working recreation of an 18th century farm from this area, complete with garden, kitchen, smokehouse tobacco barn, and a farm cat.

American Revolution Museum at Yorktown

It was really interesting to see how the farm operated, especially the preserving, drying, and curing processes. They also were growing an intriguing selection of heirloom plants and herbs. I made lots of notes and took plenty of pictures for inspiration in case we ever have a small homestead/farm.

Lunch

After finishing up at the museum, we drove over to Williamsburg, making a last-minute late lunch reservation en route. Our eatery of choice was Berret’s Seafood Restaurant and Taphouse Grill, a Williamsburg staple. For an appetizer, we split a hot oyster sampler, with baked oysters (seasoned crabmeat, country ham, and breadcrumbs), southern baked oysters (surry sausage, fresh tomatoes, and pimento cheese), and oysters Rockefeller. We also got an order of warm creamy pesto crab dip with homemade pita.

Lunch - Barrett's Seafood

For the main meal, we all got the same thing: a “double crab” sandwich, which was the lunch special. It was a giant crab cake with crab salad on top, and came with a side salad or fries. The meal was delicious, and a great value. The crab cake sandwich wasn’t as good as what I’d gotten in Norfolk, but it had twice the meat in it for less money.

Lunch - Barrett's Seafood

"Dinner"

After lunch, we parted ways for the journey home. Faith and I stayed on the road until Winston-Salem, where we stopped at Trader Joe’s to buy some groceries and get a snack for dinner. We bought some grab-and-go charcuterie packs for dinner, and then headed back to Boone, stopping in Wilkesboro to buy petrol.

Charcuterie - Trader's Joes

The Best Things we Saw Today

Isaac

The best thing I saw today was… “the farm and garden at the American Revolution Museum”.

The best thing I ate today was… “pita bread at lunch”.

Faith

The best thing I saw today was… “the farm and garden at the museum”.

The best thing I ate today was… “the fresh pita bread at Barrett’s”.

Conclusion

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There will be another trip coming soon, so keep an eye out for that!

– The Churches and McKinneys

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