This year will be Coastal Carolina’s first season as a Sun Belt member in football. For the Coastal Carolina fans who will celebrate the occasion by making a few road trips to visit their new conference mates this season, we wanted to make them a traveler's guide. First up, Appalachian State.

I would like to start this off by welcoming Coastal Carolina to the Sun Belt Conference and the FBS. I have been a follower of the Chanticleers for many years and have seen them grow into a very good FCS team in the Big South Conference with guys like Mike Tolbert and Josh Norman making names for themselves at the college level. The Chanticleers will make the trip from Conway, South Carolina, to Boone, North Carolina, on October 21st, and for the fans that will make the trip I offer up this guide to the high country area that is Boone.

Weather

Weather in Boone is great most of the year. You get beautiful, breezy non-humid days in the spring and summer and snow in the winter. However, being used to sunny, hot, and humid beach weather I would suggest CCU fans to bring a coat when they travel up to ASU. The average temperature in mid to late October is in the mid to low 50s. It can even be in the high 40s. There is a strong possibility it will be a chilly late October day when the Chants and the N’eers do battle at “The Rock.”

Directions

The total time from Conway to Boone Via 501,74,421 is 4 hr & 45 min.

Get on I-74 W/US-74 W in Marks Creek from US-501 N and SC-38 W 1 h 44 min (93.8 mi)

Continue on I-74. Take US-421 N to Hardin St in Boone 3 hr (192 mi)

Continue on Hardin St. Take Rivers St to Stadium Heights Dr. 4 min (0.9 mi)

Kidd Brewer Stadium

270 Stadium Dr, Boone, NC 28607

Drivers Tip*- 421 is the way to come into boone which goes straight through wilkesboro so I mean its a straight shot till you get into the town of Boone and then their is honestly no good way cause its backed up from 8-9 AM through like an hour before kickoff

Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Gameday Atmosphere

If there is one thing Appalachian State is known for other than football it’s the tailgating and pure atmosphere of Boone on gameday at “The Rock.” The view (as you can see from the picture above) is great. You are nestled deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains at a whopping 3,333 feet above sea level.

When you come down River Street in Boone on a gameday Saturday you will see tailgaters everywhere! Parking lots for classrooms, dorms and other university buildings are full of people eating everything from Bojangles to Mexican food to homemade southern comfort food. The stadium lot is where the biggest majority of the tailgating happens as it is full nearly every Saturday throughout the season. Transportation to the game is simple. If you have to park a little ways away from the stadium Boone has a local bus system that will take you to the hill below the stadium.

Restaurants

Boone is filled with great places to eat, especially before and after the game. Here are a few of my local favorites.

• Makoto’s Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar
• The Rock Sports Bar and Grill (Tons of TVs here)
• Mellow Mushroom
• Macado’s (HUGE cinnamon rolls for desert)
• Puerto Nuevo Mexican & Seafood Restaurant

There’s plenty of good food to be had in Boone, so you are most definitely a very picky eater if you can’t find something you will like here.

Attractions

For Coastal fans that plan on making the trip come October and are going to make a weekend out of it here are some great attractions in and around the Boone & Blowing Rock area for families with kids.

• Tweetsie Railroad Wild West Theme Park
• Grandfather Mountain
• Blue Ridge Parkway
• Mystery Hill
• Appalachian Ski Mountain (Weather Depending)

Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

I think I can speak for the ASU faithful when I say we look forward to seeing Coastal Carolina on a regular basis now that the schools are conference mates and look forward to speaking with some of the CCU faithful who will travel up to Boone this October. Safe travels!