SC Archives - Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com

Clemson 2024

Isaac Church — Sun, 01 Sep 2024 03:30:12 +0000

Welcome back, this time for a very short weekend trip down to Clemson, SC to see our Mountaineers take on the Tigers in football.

Saturday morning, September 7, we picked up Trevor (if you don’t know who that is by now, just read another football blog) first thing in the morning and drove to a house he’s building so he could give us a tour. Then, we hit the road towards western NC via I-40, en route to the game in Clemson.

Recess Coffee and Baked Goods

Our first stop was at Recess Coffee and Baked Goods in Black Mountain, NC. This cafe is fairly new, and serves excellent quality pastries and coffee. We got a tiramisu croissant and two turtle pecan monkey breads. Both were excellent, especially the turtle bread. Dad and I split Costa Rican (Cerrosan Luis honey process) and Colombian (Claudia Samboni Huila washed) pour overs, and Trevor got a latte. Everything was very good, as it has been every time I’ve visited.

Recess Coffee and Baked Goods

Recess Coffee and Bake Shop

Black Mountain, NC

Excellent coffee and pastries and extremely friendly service. They source their beans from Sweet Bloom Coffee in Lakewood, CO, an excellent roaster. If they roasted their own, I would probably give them three stars.

* – 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.

Haus Heidelberg

Leaving Black Mountain, we traveled south to the Asheville outlets so I could pick up a couple new dress shirts, and then continued on to Hendersonville, where we stopped at Haus Heidelberg for lunch. This is a traditional Bavarian-style tavern. We got a bratwurst and Bavarian lye-dipped pretzel as an appetizer, and then each got a Schnitzel sandwich with Bavarian hot potato salad for a side. Dad added melted Gouda and tomato to his sandwich, which Trevor and I both wish we’d also done.

Haus Heidelberg

The food was outstanding. It’s distinctly different from Berliner Kindl, the excellent German restaurant in Black Mountain, but equally as good. We’d definitely visit again!

Haus Heidelberg

hendersonville, NC

Outstanding Bavarian food in a relaxed atmosphere. You will leave stuffed!

* – 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.

From Hendersonville, we drove into Greenville, where we checked into our hotel just off of downtown. Most of the hotel was occupied by the Virginia Tech men’s soccer team. We settled into our room, requested an extra set of bedding for the pullout sofa, and then headed off for the game.

Football?

Soon we arrived in Clemson, and after FINALLY finding a place to park approximately 58 miles away from the stadium, we walked through campus and over to Memorial Stadium, also known as Death Valley. Clemson has a beautiful campus, and very friendly fans. They rank up in the top two or three nicest fanbases I’ve been around, probably.

Memorial Stadium - Clemson, SC

After climbing approximately 159 flights of stairs up to our seats, we sat down to eat a few snacks from the concession stand and watch the game. Unfortunately, it wasn’t much of a game at all, as we got blown off our feet right out of the gate.

Memorial Stadium - Clemson, SC

We got beat so badly, so fast, that we really didn’t even have time to get worked up. After sitting there for a while in flabbergasted silence, I finally said “I think this is the nicest weather I’ve experienced at a football game”. It really was…we got to see a gorgeous sunset over the lake, and the temperature was absolutely perfect during the game. Somehow, that didn’t make the two mile postgame walk back to the truck any more pleasant.

Memorial Stadium - Clemson, SC

We made it back to our hotel in Greenville without any real hassle other than traffic, and headed to bed.

Methodical Coffee

In the morning, we woke up respectably early, packed up, and headed out to find some breakfast and coffee. We settled on Methodical Coffee, right across from the Mast General Store in downtown. This was a wonderful choice, as we had a great breakfast. We split a few pastries (tomato tart, almond croissant, and morning bun), and got a few coffee drinks. Dad and I bought two bags of beans to split, which also came with two free to-go coffees. Everything was very good, and we decided we would likely order more beans from them in the future.

Methodical Coffee

Greenville, SC

Top quality beans and pastries in a great part of town. It’s also nice to drink and eat off of nice plates and mugs.

* – 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.

Roadside Produce

On our way back north, we stopped at a roadside stand to buy a large basket of SC peaches. The man at the stand said they were the last harvest of the year, and also gave us a free taste of some scuppernong and muscadine grapes.

P.F. Chang's

In Biltmore Park, we decided we’d stop to use the restroom, but while we were there, chose to go ahead and eat an early lunch at P.F. Chang’s, since they’d just opened and weren’t crowded at all. Trevor and I split a two-person deal they were running, which came with a house salad and Chang’s lettuce wraps as appetizers. For the main meal, Dad got orange chicken, Trevor got some kind of spicy chicken, and I got honey chicken.

P.F. Chang's

All the food was excellent. I don’t know that I’d give a chain like this any stars, because it’s always best to choose a local option, but it’s a great place to get a meal if you are in a hurry and it fits your schedule.

Home

We finally arrived back home, and then headed back up the mountain to Boone in time to see Faith and Walker before he headed to bed. It was a very fun trip, despite the terrible loss, and we’re glad we went.

Conclusion

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

Thanks for following our travels! Stay tuned for more trips coming sometime in 2025.

– Isaac, Jerry, and Trevor

The post Clemson 2024 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

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

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

Stay tuned for more…

– Isaac and Faith

The post Introduction – Colorado 2022 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

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

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

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.

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!

The post Atlanta 2019 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.