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

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

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

Moxie33

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

Moxie33

App State at James Madison

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

Bridgeforth Stadium

App State at JMU

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

App State at JMU

Meanwhile...

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

Bridgeforth Stadium

Green Valley Book Fair - Crawford, VA

Harrisonburg, VA

7Brew

Sunset

Victory

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

App State at JMU

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

Romano's // Kline's

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

Romano's Italian Bistro

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

The Best Things we Saw Today

Isaac

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

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

Faith

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

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

Jerry

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

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

Amy

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

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

Conclusion

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

– The Churches

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Day 1 – Church Trip 2023 // Denver, Colorado Springs

Isaac Church — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 02:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the beginning of our travels! This blog is on about a 2-3 week time delay, since it takes a while for me to edit photos, etc. Today was primarily a travel day as we headed out west, but we managed to squeeze in a few sights along the way.

Travel

We left Granite Falls around 06:00EST and headed to CLT to catch our flight. We dropped Mom, Faith, and Walker off at the airport, and then Dad and I parked the car, gathered the remainder of the luggage, and rejoined the rest of the party. We scrambled through security, and boarded the flight with no issues. I was pleased to confirm that you can, in fact, check both a car seat and a car seat base. The flight over to DEN was rather uneventful, other than a rather rough descent and landing. We landed a little early, around 11:00MST, but quickly lost all that time trying to fetch our rental car.

Flight

Flying into Denver

DEN

We gathered our remaining luggage from the baggage claim, and boarded a shuttle to head to the rental car lots, which turned out to be quite the lengthy ride, followed by an even longer wait in line at Enterprise.

Coors Field

After finally getting our rental car, we left the airport and drove downtown, where Mom and Faith dropped us off at Coors Field and then headed off to find some lunch. Dad and I watched several innings of the Rockies and Giants game – mostly just to say we’d visited that ballpark. We split a foot-long hotdog and a bratwurst during the game, both of which were pretty good. During the 5th inning, we got to see a flyover from a group of fighter jets (picture below).

The Giants scored 8 runs in the 6th inning, so we decided to leave early, since we had many other things to see. It turned out that the Rockies ended up mounting a significant comeback after we left, but still lost 11-10. Here’s a game recap from ESPN, if you’re interested.

Coors Field

Coors Field - Denver, CO

Bratwurst and Hot Dog

Fighter Jet Flyover

Coors Field

Coors Field is a nice venue, and is huge compared to other baseball stadiums I’d visited. It was great to be able to check another MLB park off our list. If you’re in Denver, it’s worth a visit; tickets are cheap and the stadium is in a very accessible location.

Dutch Bros + Target

Mom and Faith picked us up about a block from the stadium, and we made two quick pit stops before heading south. First, we went to Dutch Bros to grab a cold drink, since the weather was quite warm in Denver. I got my usual (a Tuxedo Dutch Freeze), Dad got an iced mocha, and Faith got one of their seasonal drinks – an iced Sweater Weather Chai White Coffee. All were delicious.

Dutch Bros

Leaving Dutch Bros, we headed south, stopping at Target in Lone Tree, CO to grab some supplies for the rest of our trip. Our pit stops complete, we headed south on I-25 towards Colorado Springs.

Colorado Springs

Once we got to Colorado Springs, we dropped our luggage off at our Airbnb, a guest cottage on a small ranch on the north side of town. It was a beautiful place to stay, and very spacious. The only downside is it was right next to the train tracks, which was fun during the day, but not enjoyable at 03:00 when the train woke us all up in the middle of the night.

Colorado Springs

North Cheyenne Cañon

After settling into our cottage for the evening, we drove southeast of the city to North Cheyenne Cañon, a place Faith and I visited last summer. I figured it’d be a nice quick scenic drive, since Mom and Dad hadn’t been. At the end of the road, we enjoyed a view of Helen Hunt Falls, which wasn’t flowing particularly strongly since it was late summer.

Helen Hunt Falls

North Cheyenne Cañon

Garden of the Gods

From North Cheyenne Cañon, we drove north to Garden of the Gods, drove some of the scenic loop roads in the park, and then stayed to watch a beautiful sunset.

Garden of the Gods

Dinner

Leaving Garden of the Gods, we headed back up to the north side of town to get some dinner, stopping at Trader Joe’s along the way to purchase snacks for the remainder of the trip. We were short on time, so we stopped at In-N-Out for a quick dinner, and ended up eating outside because the weather was so nice. Tired, but no longer hungry, we drove back to the Airbnb to head to bed in preparation for an early start in the morning.

In-N-Out

The Best Things we Saw Today

Isaac

The best thing I saw today was… “sunset at Garden of the Gods”.

The best thing I ate today was… “my drink from Dutch Bros”.

Faith

The best thing I saw today was… “sunset at Garden of the Gods”.

The best thing I ate today was… “the Sweater Weather drink at Dutch Bros”.

Jerry

The best thing I saw today was… “sunset at Garden of the Gods”.

The best thing I ate today was… “Isaac’s drink from Dutch Bros”.

Amy

The best thing I saw today was… “sunset at Garden of the Gods”.

The best thing I ate today was… “In-N-Out burger – I’m glad I got to experience it”.

Conclusion

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Tomorrow, we’re headed up Pike’s Peak, and then driving north through Breckenridge towards the Frisco Reservoir.

– Isaac & Co.

Garden of the Gods

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Intro – Church Trip 2023

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

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

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

War Memorial Stadium

Coors Field

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

Updates

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

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

Sunset Dinner

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

Chairlift ride

5,506'

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

Appetizers

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

Appetizers

The Babysitter

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

View

Salad

View

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

Buck

View

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

Main course

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

Dessert

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

Sunset

Sunset Dinner at 5,506'

Beech Mountain, NC

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

* – Would definitely visit again

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

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

For more info on food ratings, click here.

Sunset dinner

Trip Preview

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

Grand Teton National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Pike's Peak Summit

Pike National Forest

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

Conclusion

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– Isaac & Co.

Pike's Peak

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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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West Virginia 2022 – Huntington, New River Gorge, Kentucky

Isaac Church — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 21:15:43 +0000

Better late than never, right? Life has been rather crazy lately, and even though I’ve had this written for a while, I never got around to adding photos and editing everything. Actually, I have yet another trip I need to finish writing up, so stay tuned for one more late post coming soon.

As part of Dad’s 65th birthday quest to see all (home and away) App State football games, we headed up to Huntington, WV on November 11, 2022. The Mountaineers recently renewed an old rivalry against the Marshall Thundering Herd, after the two teams were finally reunited in the same conference after a decades long separation. Along the way, we stopped in the New River Gorge, ate some good food, and saw our first snow of the season.

Travel

We’d originally planned to leave after I got off work on Friday afternoon, but decided to leave a little early because of the torrential rain and flooding from Tropical Storm Nicole. I had to take a rather creative route home from work to avoid flooded roads. Leaving Boone, we took 421 to Mountain City, cut up to US-58, and passed through Damascus and Abingdon. A couple hours later, we turned onto US-23, and continued north across the Virginia-Kentucky border, eventually winding our way up to Prestonburg, KY, our home for the night.

US-23 was an impressively nice road that basically passed through the middle of nothing for several hours. We learned that it’s one of the oldest and longest north-south highways in the eastern US, stretching from Jacksonville, FL to Mackinaw City, MI. In Kentucky, it’s known as the “Country Music Highway”; signage notes connections to Loretta Lynn, Dwight Yoakam, Billy Ray Cyrus, Patty Loveless, and more along the route.

Prestonburg

We dropped off our luggage at our Airbnb, which was in the upstairs of an optometrist’s office. Though a strange location, it was a very spacious and nice place. We were the first guests to stay there, according to our hosts. Following their written guide for local fare, we drove over the The Brickhouse restaurant for a late dinner.

Dad and I decided to split some things for dinner – we ordered the apple-bourbon wings as an appetizer (topped with Granny Smith apples and scallions), and a pizza to split for the main course (half Kentucky Hot Brown – Mornay sauce, bacon, turkey, ham, and diced tomatoes; half 3 Lil’ Pigs – tomato sauce, pork ribeye, bacon, pulled pork, and red onions). We also got a side of Brussels sprouts salad to split, which was topped with blue cheese, bacon, and a vinaigrette. For dessert, we split a slice of blueberry cheesecake cake. Overall, the meal was very good, especially the wings. We weren’t a fan of the Hot Brown pizza; it was pretty bland.

Apple-bourbon wings

Pizza

Brussels sprouts

Blueberry cheesecake cake

After dinner, we took a brief drive through downtown Prestonburg, and then headed back to our Airbnb for the evening. The next morning, we got up, packed up our things, and enjoyed a quick breakfast consisting of a blueberry muffin and pecan bar that our hosts left for us.

Downtown Prestonburg, KY

Snacks at our Airbnb

Middle Creek National Battlefield

Airbnb in Prestonburg, KY

After breakfast, we left the optometrist’s office, briefly drove through the town’s park and rec facility, and traveled a short distance west of Prestonburg to Middle Creek National Battlefield. The Battle of Middle Creek was fought on January 10, 1862, and was the only battle commanded by future US President James A. Garfield. The area is basically just a large field with a few trees and some walking paths, but it was interesting to learn about the history of the area and the campaign. More interestingly, they have a miniature version of the Lincoln memorial on the grounds. It’s easy to understand why the battle took place there – it was the only place in the valley large enough for miles in either direction.

Middle Creek National Battlefield

Ashland // Ohio River

Departing Middle Creek, we continued north on US-23 and eventually wound up in Ashland, KY, which has a beautiful historic downtown. We crossed the Ohio River into Coal Grove, OH, and followed US-52 south back towards Chesapeake, OH and Huntington, WV. The scenery was nice, but it was becoming increasingly rainy and foggy, so we didn’t leave the car to snap any photos.

Ashland, KY

Crossing the Ohio River

Huntington, WV

Bahnhof WVrsthouse

Back across the Ohio River in Huntington, we began scouting out lunch. We settled on Bahnhof WVrsthaus & Biergarten, a German restaurant that makes most of their menu from scratch in-house. For an appetizer, we split a Haus Barley Malt Pretzel, which came with raspberry-wildflower honey butter, Bavarian mustard, everything whipped butter, and bier cheese. It was an excellent start to a meal that would only get better.

For the main course, we split a pork schnitzel sandwich with turbo sauerkraut, bavarian mustard aioli, chow-chow, and arugula. On the side, we got käsespätzle (think mac & cheese with caramelized onions and bacon). For the other entrée, we got a Haus Brat with mountain mustard, turbokraut, sautéed onion, and chives. It came with a side of extra-crispy fries with charmoula aioli and curry ketchup. Both the entrées were outstanding, and we both agreed the schnitzel was one of the best sandwiches we’ve ever had.

Pretzel

Schnitzel sandwich, käsespätzle

Bratwurst, fries

For dessert, we had to try one of their giant Bavarian cream puffs, even though we were both getting full. It was amazing – light and creamy, but not too sweet – an excellent end to an excellent meal!

Bavarian cream puffs

Bavarian cream puff

Restaurant Awards/Ratings We decided we would start providing ratings for restaurants, since we've visited so many.

The ratings system will be similar to the Michelin Star system (but less pretentious). We will only award a star if the restaurant is exceptional in some way. If a restaurant doesn't receive any stars, it doesn't mean the meal was bad, it just means it wasn't extraordinary. In fact, it would be more accurate to say we are "awarding" stars, rather than "rating" establishments.

Here's some info on our star awards:

Outstanding, would definitely visit again

Exceptional, must visit if in the area

Worth making a special trip just to eat there

Here’s some info on the Michelin star system, if you’re curious:

Without further adieu, I’m pleased to award the first stars of our blog – although I will be back-filling awards on our prior trips!

Bahnhof WVrsthouse

Huntington, WV

Our entire meal at Banhof WVrsthouse was outstanding. They clearly went the extra mile with every dish they served, hand-making all their condiments, buns, etc. The menu was unique, and well thought-out. We would love to return and try everything they make!

* – Would definitely visit again

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

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

For more info on food ratings, click here.

Marshall Univeristy

After lunch, we drove over to Marshall University, and parked in a parking deck fairly close to the stadium. Dad and I walked to the middle of campus to see the Memorial Fountain, which honors the 75 lives lost in the tragedy of Southern Airways Flight 932, which crashed just shy of the Huntington airport. The movie We Are Marshall tells the story of the lives lost and the University’s struggle to rebuild their football program after the catastrophe.

Marshall University student union

Memorial Fountain

Cody (who has been on many trips with me, most recently to Texas) and his wife Morgan had planned to meet us on campus before the game. However, they had car trouble about an hour outside of Huntington, so they just barely made it in time for the start of the game. We ended up hiding their two tickets in the parking deck for them to pick up once they finally arrived.

Football

The football game was extremely disappointing – I’ll leave it at that. As you probably know, App State football had a very underwhelming season after some thrilling games at the beginning of the season. Not only was it a disappointing outcome for the Mountaineers, but the weather was miserable as well; it was cold and rainy for most of the game. On the plus side, it was neat to see Marshall’s stadium, and I would definitely come back for another road game sometime in the future.

App State vs Marshall

Post-Game Dinner and Travel

After the game, the four of us went downtown to Huntington Ale House to grab some dinner. We got a chicken and waffle sandwich, a few kinds of loaded mac & cheese, and some salads. The food was sustaining but not the best – everything was a little bland.

Chicken & waffle sandwich

Mac & cheese

Downtown Huntington

After dinner, we traveled east on I-64 through Charleston (a surprisingly sprawling city), and then south to our Airbnb in Oak Hill, WV. Once off the interstate, it was a rather winding, narrow, foggy drive to our lodging for the night, but we finally made it, albeit late. We crashed into bed, exhausted from a rather long day.

Oak Hill // Fayetteville

Oak Hill, WV

Sunday morning, we woke up to a surprise layer of snow and (mostly) ice. Getting down the stairs of our Airbnb was quite treacherous, but we managed to load the truck, defrost it, and head on our way. We backtracked slightly to Fayetteville, WV, and stopped at Cathedral Cafe & Book Store for breakfast. The cafe is housed in an old, abandoned church, but still has the original stained-glass windows and wood floors.

Oak Hill, WV

Fayetteville, WV

It turned out to be an excellent breakfast spot. We split an order of biscuits and sausage gravy, a blueberry muffin, and a breakfast sandwich (bacon, egg, and cheddar on an asiago bagel). We saved most of the muffin for later, barely finished the biscuits and gravy, and devoured the bagel sandwich. The bagel was far and beyond the best of the bunch – one of the better breakfast sandwiches I’ve eaten.

Cathedral Cafe & Book Store

Coffee

Breakfast sandwich, biscuits and gravy, blueberry muffin

Cathedral Cafe & Book Store

Fayetteville, WV

West Virginia can sometimes seem like the land of infinite fast food options, so it’s refreshing to know there are still some local places where you can relax and enjoy a quality, healthy[ish] meal. All the food we had at Cathedral Cafe was very good, and it’s a unique location – I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a restaurant inside an abandoned church before.

* – Would definitely visit again

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

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

For more info on food ratings, click here.

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve

Surround by fluttering snowflakes, we left downtown Fayetteville and drove to the main visitor center at New River Gorge National Park & Preserve. We explored the museum, reading about the area’s history of mining, flora and fauna, railroads, and the construction of the New River Gorge Bridge. Some boardwalks a short distance from the main building provided scenic views of the bridge and gorge. We didn’t spend long outside though, because of the cold.

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve

Fayette Station Road

After some debate, we decided to drive down Fayette Station Road to the bottom of the New River Gorge. The one-way scenic drive descends slowly into the gorge, where you cross the New River via an old railroad trestle bridge, and then come up the other side. I downloaded an audio guide off the National Park Service’s website, which provided lots of interesting history about the settlement and mining in the area.

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve

There’s a pull-off where the road crosses under the New River Gorge Bridge that provides visitors with a stunning picture of the enormous scale of engineering required to build the bridge.

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve

At the bottom of the gorge, we stopped the car and walked around, taking in the raging river and some small waterfalls. We crossed the New River via an old trestle bridge, climbed up the other side, and then got back on the interstate to head home. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to explore several other parts of the national park, including Brooks Falls and Sandstone Falls, the Thurmond Historic District, and the Grandview Overlook. Maybe one day…

Fayette Station Road

Travel Home

Finally, we were back on the road. We came back down I-77, cut through Mouth of Wilson, and wound up back in Boone in the late afternoon. It was a great trip, though short, and we both agreed we would like make the trek again the next time App plays in Huntington.

Showshoe, WV

Video

Here’s some footage from New River Gorge National Park & Preserve:

Conclusion

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There’s one more 2022 catch-up post coming soon – be on the lookout for that sometime in the next few weeks!

– Isaac

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve

The post West Virginia 2022 – Huntington, New River Gorge, Kentucky appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

Trip 2, Day 3/4 – San Antonio, Austin // Texas 2022

Isaac Church — Tue, 11 Oct 2022 02:00:05 +0000

The final two days of our trip, we explored San Antonio’s attractions, drove back to Austin, and then flew back home to NC.

Merit Coffee Co.

Around 08:00, we left our hotel in San Antonio and drove just down the road to Merit Coffee Company for some coffee and breakfast. I got a blueberry lemon muffin, Trevor got some kind of granola bar, and Cody got a pumpkin cream cheese muffin with chocolate chips and pepitas. Everything was very good, but Trevor was very disappointed they were out of breakfast tacos.

Merit Coffee Co.

Remember The Alamo

Next, we drove to downtown San Antonio, found parking in a parking deck, and walked a couple blocks to our destination for the morning: The Alamo. I booked a guided tour for the three of us, so we checked in at the kiosk and waited for the tour to begin, using the time to locate a place to dispose of our empty coffee cups.

The tour lasted about an hour, and took us all around the grounds of The Alamo complex, starting in the courtyard outside, and ending in the exhibit building. Several things surprised me about The Alamo; I’ll list them below. You can read about most of the site’s history elsewhere, so I won’t bore you with a historical recap.

The Alamo is in the middle of downtown San Antonio, and I literally mean in the middle of it.
In 2023, The Alamo is opening a huge collections center across the street. The majority of the artifacts will be from the world’s largest collection of Alamo artifacts, owned by Phil Collins. Yes, I’m talking about the musician.
The Alamo complex is far larger than just the Alamo chapel, which is the most recognizable structure from the original Spain mission. In fact, the whole complex was about five acres, including long barracks, a large courtyard, outbuildings, and more.
The Alamo chapel didn’t have a roof for much of its existence. Sometime after the US Army took control in 1846, the soldiers added a roof to a building.

The Alamo

After the tour, we took another half hour to walk around the grounds and through the exhibits. We enjoyed the tour, and it was fascinating to learn about the history of the area. You can stop by just for a quick visit, but I would highly recommend booking a tour or getting an audio guide if you want to fully appreciate the history of the area.

The Alamo

River Walk

We left The Alamo, stopping briefly at an exhibit marking the corner of one The Alamo’s walls to see a cannon. It was a shocking experience (the hand rails had tons of static electricity). Continuing north, we descended about a story and a half below ground to the famous San Antonio River Walk. Since it’s below street level, the temperature is significantly cooler on the River Walk than the city above.

San Antonio River Walk

It’s a unique and beautiful experience, with exquisite landscaping, and a sense of peacefulness thanks to the white noise of the water drowning out the bustling traffic above. This stands out as probably the most unique downtown I’ve visited in the US, and I’d recommend everyone to visit at some point if given the chance. The River Walk itself winds in various directions; there’s a main “circle”, but they’ve significantly expanded it over the years. My only complaint is that most of the restaurants and shops on the river are very high-priced and touristy (e.g., Hard Rock Cafe, Dick’s Last Resort, etc.).

San Antonio River Walk

San Fernando Cathedral

Kallison Love Lock Walk Bridge

San Antonio River Walk

We’d originally planned to take a boat tour around the Walk, but we ended up walking so far, we decided to just complete the circle on foot instead. We briefly popped back up to street level to see the Main Plaza and San Fernando Cathedral, and managed to witness a small outdoor wedding in the process. Around 11:15, all of us were starting to get very hungry (and tired of walking), so we decided to make our way back to the car and head towards lunch.

Rosario's

We attempted to go to two different restaurants before finally settling on Rosario’s Mexican Cafe Y Cantina in Southtown. The first place we tried had no parking, and the second was in a rather bad-looking section of town, so we left for the sake of our rental car’s safety. Rosario’s turned out to be a great decision. It’s an art deco-themed restaurant, augmented with pink décor, that specializes in Tex-Mex cuisine.

For an appetizer, we ordered their fire-roasted salsa and chips. It was the best chips and salsa I’ve ever had by far – slightly spicy, slightly sweet, and deeply savory and smoky from the fire-roasted tomatoes. The chips were airy, thin, and light, but didn’t break when dipping in the salsa. We all got tacos of some kind – Trevor’s were rolled, Cody’s were loaded with all kinds of toppings, and mine were griddled with a gooey layer refried beans and cheese hugging the meat inside. Everything was exceptionally flavorful, especially the meat in the tacos. The refried and charro beans will make any I eat in the future taste bland, since Rosario’s were laced with a savory blend of ground spices that gave them exceptional flavor.

Rosario's

San Antonio, TX

Honestly some of the best Tex-Mex food I’ve ever had, if not the best. Everything was super flavorful – I don’t think I’ll be able to eat “normal” refried beans for a while after tasting these. If you in San Antonio, be sure to stop by!

* – 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.

Mission Espada

Thoroughly stuffed, we needed to kill some time before our next Dutch Bros run, so we drove south of the city to Mission Espada. This is the southernmost of the five Spanish missions in the area; we planned to start down here and work our way northward. Four of these missions now make up San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, excluding Misión San Antonio de Valero (The Alamo). We decided to visit all the missions in the park, spending a half-hour or so at each.

Mission Espada

Founded in 1690, this is the oldest of all the Spanish missions in Texas. It’s full name is Mission San Francisco de la Espada. The original church is still standing, but most of the mission complex is in ruins. We walked through all the exhibits, and then followed the San Antonio River north to the next mission.

Mission San Juan

We stopped briefly at Mission San Juan, which is a couple miles north of Mission Espada. There’s not much to see there, so we peeked inside the church and continued upriver.

Mission San Juan

Mission San José

Our next stop was Mission San José, the largest of the mission complexes. Inside, we toured the 18th Century church, and several exhibits. It amazed us how much of the original architecture was still intact, including the outer wall and the church with its stone archways. The park’s visitor center is on the opposite side of the parking lot from the mission, so we also stepped inside to browse the exhibits and visit the gift shop.

Mission San José

Mission Concepción

Mission Concepción (full name Mission Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Acuña) was founded in 1711, and is the oldest unrestored stone church in America. The church’s western entrance was built so it aligns with the sunset in an “annual double solar illumination event”, occurring around the Assumption of Mary in mid-August. The church was originally adorned with colorful frescoes, but those have since faded, and only small, faded sections remain. We kept our wanderings around the grounds fairly short, since we were starting to get tired and hungry.

Mission Concepción

Dutch Bros

After finishing our tour of the missions, we drove (once again) to Dutch Bros for a cold drink. By this point, we were scheming about how to open a franchise in NC. Turns out, it’s reasonably priced, but they only franchise internally, so you have to have been a Dutch Bros employee for at least three years. Trevor didn’t want to spend the next three years as a barista, so I guess our plan is defunct.

Redneck AC

Dutch Bros

Cabela's

Leaving Dutch Bros, we continued north to Buda, Texas, our home for the night. Buda (pronounced BYOO-də) is a small town situated on I-35 just south of Austin. It’s known as the “Outdoor Capital of Texas”, and is home to numerous outdoor retailers, including a 185,000 sq. ft. Cabela’s. So of course, when we had some time to kill before dinner, we we decided to visit the Cabela’s. It’s pretty much what you would expect, but with more wildlife displays than usual.

Cabela's

Matt's El Rancho

In search of dinner, we first stopped by Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ, only to find they were sold out of almost everything. Instead, we drove to Matt’s El Rancho, a Tex-Mex spot on the south side of Austin. Matt’s has been around since 1952, and serves classic dishes in a laid-back indoor/outdoor setting. We opted to eat outside by a fountain under a large oak.

For an appetizer, we split a Bob Armstrong dip, which is basically queso with taco-seasoned ground beef and guacamole mixed in. Additionally, they brought salsa and giant tortilla chips. For the meal, Cody got the Asadero tacos (beef tenderloin, grilled Asadero cheese, onions, and rajas, served with frijoles a la charra). Trevor and I split an order of beef enchiladas and the same tacos. All the food was very good, especially the tacos.

Matt's El Rancho - Austin, TX

Bob Armstrong Dip

Tacos

Enchiladas

After dinner, we headed back to our hotel for the night, and capped off the day with a lovely cold shower (apparently the hot water couldn’t quite make it to our room at the end of the building).

Matt's El Rancho

Austin, TX

Some solid Tex-Mex food, and in a unique setting – especially if you get to eat outside. The Asadero tacos alone are 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.

Summer Moon

The next morning, we slept in a little, since we were thoroughly exhausted. After taking another [even colder] shower, we checked out of the hotel and headed out for the day. For breakfast, we originally wanted to return to Vaquero Taquero in Austin, but they are closed on Mondays. Instead, we headed to downtown Buda and landed at Summer Moon Fire-Roasted Coffee, a small Texas chain. Downtown Buda isn’t much to speak of, so we were able to easily grab a parking spot and head inside. We each got some coffee; Cody got a chocolate croissant, I got a strawberry “pop tart”, and Trevor got a cinnamon roll. The baked goods were pretty good, but the coffee was lacking. I don’t think that any of us finished our drinks.

Black's Barbecue

After surviving the drive up I-35 to Austin, we decided to go ahead and stop for a small-ish lunch on the north side of town. We ate at Blacks’ Barbecue, a Texas staple originating in Lockhart, the “Barbecue Capital of Texas”. We got three slices of moist brisket, one slice of lean brisket, one original sausage, three pork spare ribs, some street corn, and of course pickles/onions/white bread/jalapeños. They were out of turkey, so we didn’t get to try that. We opted not to get one of their signature beef ribs, since we weren’t exceptionally hungry.

Black's Barbecue

Brisket, street corn, and sausage

Pork ribs and white bread

The brisket was very good, the ribs were excellent, and the corn was very good, but the sausage was not our favorite. The ribs might have been the best I’ve had in Texas. It was nice to get some barbecue without waiting in line.

Black's Barbecue

Austin, TX + Other Locations

Good, traditional Texas barbecue. It’s not the best we had this year, but it’s a classic, and one every brisket lover should try.

* – 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.

Texas Landmarks

After lunch, we decided to drive by the Texas State Capitol and through the University of Texas campus, since Cody hadn’t seen them yet. Cody was navigating, and he managed to route us to the Capital Plaza shopping center instead of the State Capitol. After some confusion, we made it back to our intended destination. We snapped a few quick pictures from the car and then headed on our merry way.

University of Texas

Hat Search

Next on our (mostly Cody’s) Texas to-do list: find cowboy hats. We drove to a place just north of downtown, walked inside, and immediately knew we were looking at the wrong price range. It was a nice store, if you wanted to spend $900 on a pair of boots and $500 on a hat.

Ironically, we drove back to the Capital Plaza shopping center and went in a Boot Barn, which was definitely more our price range. Cody found a cowboy hat, but they didn’t have any big enough for me, nor any small enough for Trevor. Can’t say I was overly disappointed…

Dutch Bros

Mission complete, we drove to Dutch Bros for yet another drink run. I got a bonus kids sized orange-blue raspberry milkshake to go with my regular double chocolate mocha Dutch Freeze, and Cody and Trevor tried the seasonal pumpkin brûlée cold brew freeze.

Dutch Bros

Javi's Best of Tex Mex

Before heading over to the airport, we met Dad and Larry at Javi’s Best of Tex Mex, which was about the only decent-looking spot close to the airport. We all got tacos or something similar; the food was on par with good Mexican back home. After dinner, we filled up our rental car at the Exxon next door, and headed to the airport to drop off our rental car.

Javi's Best of Tex Mex

Travel

After dropping off our rental cars, we waited at least 45 minutes for the shuttle to take us to the AUS South Terminal, and finally arrived at the gate just before TSA opened for the evening’s flights. We boarded the plane, and managed to land a full 45 minutes earlier than scheduled – our pilot must have been in a hurry. When we landed on the AVL runway, he probably took the curves at 65mph.

We waited around 30 minutes for the shuttle to take us back to our car at the overflow parking lot. It was rather cold outside, so we finally gave up on the shuttle, and Larry and I walked (I would guess about a mile, maybe more) to get the car. We got back to the terminal and picked up the rest of our party just as the shuttle bus arrived. It was doubtful we’d even have been able to board that shuttle; there was quite the crowd waiting by then.

Flight home

Flying into AVL

I’d originally intended to spend the night in Granite Falls, and then wake up early and drive up the mountain for work the next morning. By the time I’d unloaded the car in the cold air, I was wide awake, so I decided to drive on up the mountain. I finally arrived home around 02:40 and crashed into bed.

Conclusion

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This was a great trip (so was the last one), and it’s been great to share it with you. Stay tuned for two more short trips this year: West Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay area.

– Isaac & Co.

Flying home

The post Trip 2, Day 3/4 – San Antonio, Austin // Texas 2022 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

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

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

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

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

Travel // Allison's

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

Allison's Family Restaurant

Flying into AUS

Terry Black's BBQ

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

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

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

Terry Blacks' BBQ

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

Terry Blacks' BBQ

Austin, TX

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

* – Would definitely visit again

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

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

For more info on food ratings, click here.

Lexington

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

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

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

Snow's, Part II

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

Early start in Lexington, TX

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

Snow's BBQ

Cattle auction

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

View this post on Instagram

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

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

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

Snow's BBQ

Brisket

Turkey and pork ribs

Pork steak and sausages

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

Snow's BBQ

Lexington, TX

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

* – Would definitely visit again

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

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

For more info on food ratings, click here.

McKinney Falls State Park

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

McKinney Falls State Park

Smith Rock Shelter

Cacti

Upper Falls

Dutch Bros

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

San Marcos

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

San Marcos River

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

Texas State University

Not George Strait

Moat

Snapping turtle

Texas State University

Football

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

Bobcat Stadium

Tailgating

Bobcat Stadium

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

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

Buc-ee's

In-N-Out Burger

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

Conclusion

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

– Isaac & Co.

Snow's BBQ

Restaurant

Location

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* – Would definitely visit again

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

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

For more info on food ratings, click here.

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

Trip 1, Day 4/5 – Houston, Galveston, Minute Maid Park // Texas 2022

Isaac Church — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 16:00:35 +0000

The last two days of our trip, we went to a baseball game, drove to see the ocean and eat some seafood, and ate some good Mexican food before we traveled home.

Minute Maid Park

Sunday morning, we stumbled out of bed as early as we could (around 08:30), heated up our leftovers from Snow’s, and had barbecue for breakfast for the second day in a row. We checked out of our Airbnb, and hit the road for downtown Houston. We quickly found some parking, and headed into Minute Maid Park to watch the Houston Astros play the Los Angeles Angels.

Downtown Houston

To be clear, we all hate the Astros (cheaters), so we slightly pulled for the Angels. Shohei Ohtani launched a home run his first at-bat, and hit a ground-rule double later in the game. José Altuve got out on his own running error, which was pretty satisfying to watch. Sadly, Mike Trout had the day off, so we didn’t get to see him play. It was a close game for the first few innings, but the the Astros pulled away. Mostly, we were struggling to stay awake because we were so tired.

Houston Astros 9/11 Tribute 2022

We had great seats; albeit high, they were right behind home plate, and we could see over the strike zone. Minute Maid was a neat stadium, with lots of amenities. It’s definitely very unique, with its retractable roof (which was thankfully closed), large windows in left field, and strange outfield fence layout. During the game, Trevor got some popcorn, and Dad and I split a small Blue Bell cookies & cream container, but we were all starting to get hungry, so we left in the 8th inning. By then, the Astros had established a substantial lead, and we figured we could beat a bit of the traffic.

Minute Maid Park

Galveston

Since we had nothing better to do, we decided we would drive down to Galveston (yes, we listened to Glen Campbell on the way) for the evening. It was a bit of a spontaneous decision, but turned out to be a lot of fun. Along the way, we saw many oil rigs and refineries, plus some nice views of the bay from the Galveston Causeway on our way in, and a picturesque sunset by the Gulf of Mexico.

Galveston Causeway

Katie's Seafood House

For dinner, we stopped at Katie’s Seafood House, a “boat-to-table” dockside eatery on the bay specializing in extremely fresh seafood (they also have a seafood market next door). We split Dockside Oysters (char-grilled oysters sizzling with garlic butter, Parmesan, and breadcrumbs) and Oysters Katie (sweet herb marinated smoked oysters grilled with crab, Alfredo, & seasonings) as an appetizer. Trevor got a rather large seafood quesadilla (fresh Gulf fish and shrimp grilled in chimichurri and folded in mozzarella, with avocado and spicy salsa), and Dad and I split a large bowl of seafood gumbo and a fish (red snapper) and shrimp platter with crab mac & cheese, rice, veggies, and cornbread with honey butter.

Katie's Seafood House

All the food was excellent, particularly the red snapper. Once again, the Texas-sized portions defeated us, so we did our best to clean up the seafood and leave the sides behind. One complaint the entire state of Texas needs to hear: I do not, nor will I ever want jalapeños in my cornbread or hushpuppies. I like the peppers sometimes, but there’s no need to ruin hushpuppies with their inclusion.

Katie's Seafood House

Galveston

Ocean Star Oil Rig

Galveston

Galveston Seawall

After dinner, we drove down to the Galveston Seawall to see the Gulf of Mexico, which nicely framed the famous Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier. After snapping a few pictures and taking in the sea breeze, we headed back towards Houston.

Galveston

Galveston Seawall

Driving

Sunset on Galveston Causeway

Bridge

On our drive back, we saw many more of the refineries and oil rigs, beautifully illuminated by a crimson sunset. I tried to get some good pictures, but unfortunately my phone camera wasn’t appreciative of the combination of the bumpy interstate and low light. The refineries are seemingly endless, and slightly ominous looking at night, like some nefarious villain’s lair.

Sunset near Texas City, TX

El Bolillo

The next morning, we checked out of our hotel and drove north to the Houston Heights neighborhood, where we visited El Bolillo bakery, a Mexican bakery with a huge variety of pastries, fresh tortillas, chips, cakes, and more. It was quite an experience, and quite honestly I have no idea exactly what we purchased. We took it back to the hotel lobby to eat, and killed time by watching SportsCenter in the lobby until lunch time.

El Bolillo

From the bakery, we got a cinnamon-sugar donut, some kind of gingerbread-like spice cookie shaped like an animal (?), a chocolate shortbread cookie, a long cream cheese danish, some kind of cream cheese icing-covered pastry with dried fruit inside, a concha, and a churro. I’m 99% certain the churro was meant to be cooked further at home, so it was pretty tough. The cookies and pastries were all good, but the real star was the cinnamon-sugar donut. The most incredible part is that all these pastries, plus three bottles of milk, only cost ~$11.

El Bollilo

Houston, TX

This place is getting a star not because the food is exceptionally good (although it was good), but because it’s exceptionally cheap. Also, I’d never been anywhere quite like this before. As cheap as it is, it’s worth visiting while in Houston!

* – 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.

Puebla's Mexican Kitchen

Departing the hotel for the second time, we drove back to Houston Heights to Puebla’s Mexican Kitchen, an acclaimed Tex-Mex spot with limited seating and authentic Mexican food. Dad and I split some tacos, rice, and beans, and Trevor ordered chicken enchiladas, although they gave him chicken mole enchiladas by mistake. Dad and I split the following tacos: beef fajitas, carnitas, barbacoa, asado de puerco, chicharron, and grilled chicken. The tacos were good, especially the carnitas, but paled in comparison to Vaquero Taquero (Day 2).

Puebla's Mexican Kitchen

Travel HOme

After lunch, we stopped to top off the rental car with petrol, drove to the airport, and made it to our gate. Our flight was delayed by almost an hour, and we finally landed back in Charlotte around 20:00. We did, at least, get to witness yet another beautiful sunset.

CLT Sunset

On the drive home, we stopped at Chick-fil-A in Gastonia, and I got to try their new Autumn Spice milkshake – it was excellent, and a refreshing change from the typical pumpkin overload this time of year. We arrived back in Granite Falls around 21:30, and I made it back up the mountain just before 23:00.

Overall, it was a great trip, and I felt like we got a tour of the best of eastern Texas. Now, it’s on to more football for the next few months.

Conclusion

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Next month, we’re headed back to Texas, this time flying into Austin and then heading to San Marcos and San Antonio. Stay tuned from more posts in a few weeks!

– Isaac & Co.

Minute Maid Park

The post Trip 1, Day 4/5 – Houston, Galveston, Minute Maid Park // Texas 2022 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.