keep ya head up (austin –> new orleans)

Leaving Austin after four days was a chore. Being on the road with spurts of two-day stays has worked well for us, thus far. We were, however, thrilled to have the opportunity of being settled in one place for more than 36 hours (thanks again to Lacey and Tom – the best cousins two road trippers could have asked for).  The ability to take everything out of the car and have room for passengers – something we’ve taken for granted – was wonderful. Packing it all back in, not so much. This challenge was further exacerbated by the level of our exhaustion after three days of ACL and the intensity of the Texas sun. Nevertheless, we did it. It may have taken us 4 hours to actually vacate the house, but we did it.

Our first mission was a late breakfast/lunch. Our friend, Bryan, had recommended Wholly Bagel. We were so excited for bagel sandwiches that we could focus on nothing else. Unfortunately, Wholly Bagel does not keep Monday hours (hence the lack of hyperlink). We were frustrated and hungry and decided on Magnolia Café again. Easy, close, and quick. Oh, and good. We both started with their hibiscus tea (hibiscus is working its way into my mind and I can’t wait experiment with the leaves I bought Amy). We started with an appetizer of potatoes, cheese, and green chile sauce. We had this in Santa Fe too – I know, not very original. But, this creation was topped with their special lemon sour cream. This dish was more than delicious. I’m looking forward to making this at home in the future. For our entrees, Amy got the Flamingo Sandwich and I got the Flamingo Quesadilla. Amy’s sandwich looked amazing – bacon, turkey, hummus, Swiss cheese, sprouts, tomato, and tons of avocado on rye toast. My quesadilla had avocado, Monterey jack, pico de gallo, and mushrooms. We cleaned our plates and then headed to the gift shop next door where we learned a little about unbreakable gem eggs and Austinites.

After we accepted our fate of a bagel-less day, we set off for New Orleans. We got a late start to the day, which meant a late arrival into N.O. (it’s a nine hour hike). The drive was mostly uneventful, but I had the chance to educate Amy about several 80’s / 90’s pop culture events that were significant in my development. First off, she’s in training to learn the words for J.J. Fad’s classic (read: only) hit, “Supersonic”. I have vivid memories of my childhood soundtrack, and this is a big one (along with L’Trimm’s “The Cars That Go Boom”). I’m proud to say that’s she’s almost got it (except for the really fast part at the end that is almost impossible to recite). Next we moved on to Reba. Oh, Reba…where do I even start? I can’t remember if it was a life lesson, but I remember my dad playing “Fancy” for me when I was a young girl. I used to protest this (as I did Fleetwood Mac and solo Stevie Nicks), but now it conjures up such amazing childhood memories. When we listened to “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” I recalled the concert I attended in my, ahem, younger days. I thought that song was a little controversial at the time (even more so when released in 1973 by Vicki Lawrence), but now it seems so PG. Everything is relative and maybe it takes more to shock society now? It’s only natural that the lessons of female rap groups and a country superstar I would eventually lead to Tupac Shakur 101. I read the entire Wikipedia entry (it’s a long one) and we discussed the East Coast – West Coast feud in detail. I already knew most of the Tupac information, but I like to think that I revealed a less-than-known side of Pac (we’re close) to Amy. I won’t get into details, but his death was a great loss.

Driving through Louisiana had its ups and down. The bayou smells…probably like you would expect a bayou to smell. On the upside, boggy environments bring life. I saw so many deer roadside while we headed into N.O. They were unfazed by the passing cars (thank goodness since hitting an animal on the highway ranks extremely high on my greatest fears list). The lack of too much civilization also allowed me to witness my first falling star of the trip – I’m grateful for that, Louisiana.

We made it to our French Quarter destination (so excited about the Priceline iPhone app that made the last minute reservation seamless and a bargain). The Holiday Inn was nothing to write home about, but it was centrally located and safe. As we normally do, we put head to pillow around 2am and readied ourselves for a full New Orleans tomorrow. 🙂

Joellen

acl day 3: if it doesn’t rain soon, i’m going to die

I am going to be very honest and say that I do not deal well in the heat.  It was a major concern of mine when I learned that we would be attending the festival.  The heat just doesn’t work for me.  It makes me feel horrible and faint and ill and whiny, and I know I’m not alone in admitting all of this.  So when we read the weather reports for Sunday, we were thrilled to learn that there was a 40-50% chance of rain all day.  Score.  Rain at a music festival makes you feel infinitely cooler.  See: Woodstock.

We began the day with a later wake-up call and a trip to Juan in a Million.  This legendary restaurant is famous for their breakfast tacos.  I’d say that we have become pretty huge fans of the things, so we were excited to try it out.  We were meeting with Helen’s friends, who suggested the place, and we had also heard of it from TV, so I had high hopes for the quality of their breakfast.  I have to say, I was a little disappointed.  I got the Con Queso Breakfast: eggs covered in their house queso, carne guisada, refried beans, potatoes, and flour tortillas.  I was surprised that I liked the carne so much, but the eggs…oh, the eggs.  I don’t understand why anyone who can call themselves a breakfast place would cook eggs like they do.  It was just not ok.  While Joellen’s were overcooked, mine were overcooked on one side and slimy on another.  No bueno.  I wound up eating one and a half tacos, which was really one taco more than I wanted/should have and dipped the rest of my potatoes in the queso, but the damage to my appetite had already been done (I know, this upset me too).  They also charged $4.50 for quacamole, aka some unripe avocado mashed up with zero spice.  Bravo for using real avo, but boo to you for all of the other offenses of the morning.  If you’re in Austin, this place is definitely worth skipping–just go to Tacodeli.

We headed from Juan in a Million to our last day at ACL, just in time to see The Head and the Heart, a Joellen pick.  Even though the heat was so intense that I thought I’d pass out, I really liked them.  Check them out here.  I know that I sound really dramatic, but the heat was becoming unbearable, so Joellen and I decided that we would go to the big stage to stake our claim on a spot and enjoy whatever bands were playing ahead of the big show of the festival–Arcade Fire.  We first got in to the very long line for a delicious snow cone from Snowie.  Just what we needed.  Cold and sweet and wonderful.  We also walked through the “Art” section of the festival and got some ACL paraphernalia to round out the whole experience.

We went to the Bud Light stage and found  a nice spot to make our own for the rest of the day.  The first band that we happened upon in this venue was The Airborne Toxic Event, which we all liked.  I can’t really remember much about them, as I was focusing on shading myself, but they had a good sound and were fun to watch.  There was an hour break between them and the next band, so we got to hear some of the Chiddy Bang show, which I thought was fun, but Joellen disliked.  As a rap music lover/appreciator, I thought that they put on a good show, but Joellen made the valid point that rap is often much better when only listened to, and that rap shows are usually kind of stupid.  I don’t disagree, but enjoyed hearing it all the same.  We then watched the Broken Social Scene, which we both agreed were like every other alternative band right now, and definitely were not memorable.  Not horrible to watch, though our attention was focused on the rain clouds that seemed to be heading our way.

I am pleased to let you all know that not long after Broken Social Scene, the sky turned grey and it finally started to rain here and there.  It was so necessary, and the feeling that I was going to pass out soon faded in to a distant and horrible memory.  During the interim between Broken Social Scene and the next band on the stage, Fleet Foxes, Emily, Joellen and Helen decided to get some food and I stayed at our camp to hold our place.  While I waited, I listened to Elbow, a British group that was actually really awesome.  I had heard good things, and had I known how great they were, I definitely would have made more of an effort to actively see their show.  I loved listening to them, though, and Joellen arriving with dinner made the event all the more exciting.  She came back to me bearing a Love Burger from Tim Love’s Love Shack, accompanied with some of the truffle mac and cheese that I had on day one, and for herself bought a Thai style vegetarian pie from Boomerang’s Pies (to share with me, of course) and another avocado taco from Torchy’s.  For me, the burger was just ok.  I heard that Tim Love, the chef at Lonesome Dove and Love Shack, was famous for his burgers, and I was slightly disappointed that the only unique thing was the sauce, a mayo-based tangy aioli that I probably could have found at countless other places.  It wasn’t bad, but definitely did not exceed expectations.  The pie was pretty good, and I really enjoyed the flavor of the sauce (the crust was also awesome), but there was an overabundance of baby corn that made it slightly less enjoyable.  Overall though, it was a nice meal (especially since we finally regained our appetites that were stifled due to the heat).

While we ate our dinners, we watched Fleet Foxes, who we had been looking forward to.  They were pretty awesome.  I am glad that the Bud Light stage was showing some pretty great artists, because our 9 hour tenure could have been pretty horrible if that had not been the case.  After Fleet Foxes, we heard some of the Empire of the Sun show before the main event: Arcade Fire.  Now, as the recent recipients of the Grammy Award for Best Album, I had high hopes for this show and I was not disappointed.  They put on an amazing performance.  They were energetic and fun to watch.  I really enjoyed the last part of the day.  And, at the last minute I decided to participate in the Rock & Recycle program.  I was given a large trash bag and had to fill it with recyclables, at the completion of which I would receive a free t-shirt.  I decided to do this around 9:15 on the last day (shows end at 10), and by closing time, my bag was overflowing and I went to claim my free shirt.  It was pretty exciting.  We decided to wait a while before trying to catch the shuttle, which really paid off, because we were some of the last people to leave the show and wound up not having to wait in line at all before boarding an empty bus.  Score.  Exhausted and exhilarated, we headed home to rest before the continuation of our cross-country trek.

Over all, I am so pleased with our ACL experience.  With the exception of a few hot hours, we could not have asked for better weather, and our music-loving companions were wonderful.  We’re already talking about the next festival that we might go to.

❤ Amy

we get on (acl: day 2)

There is one huge reason to skip music festivals:

• The Porta-Potty.

There are, however, so many reasons to do it:

• Great bands you know
  • Iron & Wine was a good show. Not sure if it was our location or the sound or the distractions around, but it wasn’t what I expected. I was thinking more along the lines of slow and acoustic, but they jammed out! They played on one of the two large stages (AMD) and we were pretty far back – still awesome to see them live.
  • Gillian Welch went on stage about 20 minutes late (which is not festival-like timing – something really pleasing for a rule-follower like me). We stayed for about half of her set and it was really enjoyable. She played at the only covered venue, which was not exactly to her liking. I agree, though, it would have sounded better on at one of the outside venues.
  • We left GW and headed over to see Cee Lo on the other main stage (Bud Light). Amy wanted to hear “Forget You” and I was more than excited to see half a dozen middle age women singing “F#%@ You” at the top of their lungs and dancing around. I suppose we can’t really count him because we only saw one song and it takes three to make it count.
  • Stevie Wonder was challenging, but he is a legend. I was fortunate enough to see him last year at Bonnaroo, so this time it was for Amy. Unfortunately, the sound was set too low and it was difficult to hear. Also, we were quite far back. If you’re going to a music festival with so many stars, don’t expect to see everyone up close. It’s much better to relax and make the experience about the live music. Another Bonnaroo lesson learned.
  • We stayed for about three of Stevie’s songs (counts) and the headed over to My Morning Jacket. I had recently seen them as they passed through Cincinnati. Great performers and a very energetic show. We stayed for a few songs and then listened to the final songs walking to the shuttle pick up.

• Even better bands you don’t know
  • We arrived late morning and headed right for Telekinesis. I found this indie rock band out of Seattle quite entertaining. The lead singer’s voice was sweet and he played the drums (Phil Collins anyone?). I think this is an album that I will probably check out. If for no other reason than to support their endeavors – I felt they were genuinely honored to be a performer at ACL.
  • We caught a set from Alexander, at Emily’s suggestion/demand. I’m so glad we did. He was really amazing and I will definitely be a fan…already am.
  • The Antlers and Young the Giant were both new to me. They were really good shows and the crowds for both of these were expansive…made me feel cool and old at the same time.

• People watching
  • Man, it’s so good here at ACL…one because it’s a festival and two because it’s Austin. Some of today’s highlights were: A Where’s Waldo lookalike (on purpose), so.many.raybans., children running around and playing (a useful place for light up shoes), grown men passing time with potentially dangerous child-like acrobatic moves (superman), a young boy celebrating his 13^th birthday with his parents (awww), and so, so, so many kids ages 12-17. (I could keep going, but it would take all night.)
  • Speaking of people, I got the chance to reunite with a friend from high school today. Brian lives in Seattle and was making the trip to purchase a 1987 VW Westy and decided to hit ACL for a day. Had a great time catching up and hanging out with him (along with introducing him to some new music). Looking forward to visiting him in Seattle!

• The flags
  • As Amy identified yesterday, the regulars use flagpoles topped with unique flags/items to serve as a marker and sometimes show who’s cooler than the next person. Today we saw some interesting things like a blow-up doll, a flag that simply reads “Yogurt”, a plea to Legalize Armadillos, a lamp shade, and one with a highly debated rodent-like creature (Amy asked, it was a ferret…I still think otter). Let us know if you have any ideas for our future flag.

• The food
  • When heading to the shuttle bus this morning something caught my eye. It was iced coffee. In a dispensable Igloo cooler – you know the ones that you could get from McDonald’s filled with their Orange Drink? It was awesome. Then I look over and Amy is already standing by the Tacodeli tent. We shared one taco with Mexican mashed potatoes, black beans, and cheese and another one that was Migas style. Added a little spicy avocado sauce to both and that made our morning so much better – breakfast tacos are magical. At the festival we tried not to repeat too much of yesterday, but its just so good. We first shared a goat cheese and black bean tamale. I am growing more and more fond of tamales…which is good because if you know Amy, you know she loves those little masa packages. It was good, but I think we can do better. Next we divided and Amy got chicken biryani that got her stamp of approval (see the mint chutney validation from yesterday’s entry) and I got another fried avocado taco from Torchy’s (yum). For dinner we decided it would be fun to eat when everyone else did. This meant standing in line for 25 minutes for Amy to try the fried chicken from Lucy’s. I think she really liked it – all I know is that it was half gone before I got back with my veggie burger and fries from P. Terry’s. I enjoyed both items a lot.

• Personal challenges
  • Attending a music festival in the summer (in Texas, no less) means that you need to be ready to sweat. And pray a lot for rain. We had pretty good weather the first day and today was looking hopeless. The clear blue skies and burning sun were already having an effect on us. Well, me. I learned that heat makes me angry. I think Amy learned that as well. Thank goodness the rain rescued us from further anger – I’m a little scared to think of how the day could have gone. It rained for a good hour and we were all so glad to be cooled off and enjoying the good music and food.
  • We learned a lot from day 1. After waiting in line for so long Friday night to catch the shuttle bus back to downtown, we made a smart move and left the festival a little early tonight – what a great move on our part! We barely waited at all and were home by midnight.

Day two was a huge success! Can’t wait for day 3.

Joellen

acl: day one

Austin. City. Limits.

So, I’ve never been to a music festival before. Last year I toyed with the idea of going to Bonnaroo, but I couldn’t really afford to take the time off from work. So when Joellen told me that one of the main reasons for the road trip, the Mecca to our hajj, if you will, was Austin City Limits, I got pretty excited. And nervous. I don’t do so well in the heat, nor do I care for large crowds or excessive noise (I may be a 90-year-old masquerading as a 20-something).  One thing that always bonded Joellen and me, though, is our love of music, so I could think of no better destination for the road trip.

We got up early (around 8:30…) and headed over to Zilker Park for day 1 of ACL. When we arrived, we were relieved to find that the lines were short and the sky was full of clouds. As I’m sure most of you are aware, Austin is experiencing a major drought and to see rain clouds in the sky is kind of a miracle. With hope of a good-weather day, we headed over to see Cults, but not before dropping by another, smaller stage to see what Miniature Tigers had to offer. An all male band with a familiar sound, they sounded a little raw and were alright, but not my favorites. Now Cults: I was not aware of this band, but Emily and Helen–Joellen’s friend from Kentucky and Emily’s high school friend–really wanted to see them, so we were all game. I really liked the band. They had a female front man (front woman?) and a somewhat dreamy sound that reminded me of something I would hear on the Grey’s Anatomy soundtrack (that is a good thing). I would up knowing one song (you’ll notice that’s a trend with most of the bands we saw) and really enjoyed my first music festival act. After Cults, we stopped by another stage to see An Horse who I also enjoyed. A male-female duet from Australia, they had a cool sound as well. It was a Joellen pick and did not disappoint.

We then took a break for lunch #1 and were so excited when we saw all that there was in the Austin Eats section of the park. There was so much to choose from so we decided to take it slow. We started with a grilled corn salad with a soft boiled egg from Odd Duck Farm to Trailer. It was really good. I wasn’t expecting it to be cold, but that was a very pleasant surprise. Really nice flavors that didn’t totally bomb in the heat. Definitely a good way to start off. Then we decided to have something small, so we each ordered a taco from Torchy’s. I got the green chile pork (on flour tortilla) and Joellen got the fried avocado (also on flour) and wow. They were so delicious. I actually favored Joellen’s taco, as it had a wider array of flavors, and I was really digging the fried avocado. Mine had just a touch more cilantro than I can handle, but I will definitely be making more trips to Torchy’s soon.

After our first lunch, we went to check out The Secret Sisters, a band I’ve heard Joellen mention a few times before. Now, given her usual tastes, I assumed they would be indie-alternative singers who may or may not be related (see: Tegan and Sara). I was really surprised when she told me that they did old-school country music. And did they ever. These Alabama girls were both energetic and demure, and sung beautifully. I was absolutely thrilled at how much I liked them. Check them out. Now. We then went over to a bigger stage to set up camp to see Brandi Carlile, who I was really excited to see. I’m just going to take this time to come out and say that I knew of about 5 artists of 130 who are at ACL this year. And Brandi was one of them. I discovered her on a Grey’s Anatomy Soundtrack and fell in love with her sound. She was awesome. Just really great. Just as I hoped she’d be, and so much more.

It was then time for lunch #2. We walked farther down the food section and found a lot more that piqued our interests, so we again decided to try/share a few little dishes. We first got the Kick Ass Nachos from Tim Love’s Love Shack, which lived up to the name. Joellen and I both have a secret (now not so secret) love of cheese sauce. This dish had plenty. And it was homemade, too. Nice job, Love Shack. We also got some truffled mac and cheese from Lonesome Dove Western Bistro which I devoured. I’m really in to truffles right now (see here) and this dish was flavorful without being heavy. It was delicious. They used orzo instead of the traditional macaroni which I liked and Joellen wasn’t crazy about. I would order this dish over and over, but again, when you’re using two of my favorite ingredients, that is a given.

We then went to meet with Emily and Helen at the Smith Westerns show, which abruptly ended 20 minutes before it was supposed to. Odd. We heard that Ray LaMontagne was onstage and went to go see him. Joellen really likes him and the more I hear, the more I like. I would have liked to stay, but it was so swamped that we decided to go to the stage next to his to wait for Cold War Kids and listen to him from the sidelines. I really enjoyed CCK. They were an Emily pick and a good one at that. Again, I knew one song and got really excited. I also did not want to stand up so I got a good glimpse of feet and tattoos. It was pretty great.

We went to the next stage (where Ray had been) and set up camp for Bright Eyes. They are a favorite of Joellen’s and I’ve liked them for a while too. I was introduced to them back in high school and have dabbled ever since. I’m ashamed to say that I fell asleep during their show, but it was a light, short sleep and I could hear how awesome Conor and the gang were.

Joellen and I left a little early to get a spot for my favorite act of the weekend: Sara Bareilles. I just love her. She sings one song that got really big, and I have been pretty excited about her for a long time (thanks, Andrea for letting me burn her cd!). She was awesome. Energetic and so talented. I wish that she was given a bigger stage/that she had played longer. Oh well, we’ll just have to see her in concert some day.  After Sara, we had dinner: spinach pakoras with a delightfully spicy/refreshing mint chutney from Royal Indian Foods and an fried avocado “cone”: fried avo with spicy sauce and sweet coleslaw in a flour tortilla situated in a paper cone from The Mighty Cone. It was actually really good.  Oh, and we also got ice cream. Amy’s Ice Cream, which is something that Joellen has been talking about since we got here.  Apparently it’s very Austin. We got the mint chocolate chip which was awesome. We then found Helen and Emily and settled in for our final show: Kanye. And it was fine; just what you’d expect: flashy, loud and crowded. We all enjoyed sitting toward the back and taking it all in.

To close, some observations about ACL (if I still have an audience, thanks for hanging in):

– There are so many nice people. Everyone is pretty like-minded and I have neither heard nor seen anyacts of violence. It’s all peace and love here.

– I love the flags. People carry around flags or balloons, inflatable animals, what have you on long poles and I love them. We have seen so many fun, creative and random flags. They’re also excellent for identifying location when you’re trying to find a friend

– There are so many kids here. And not just little kids with their parents, but 11, 12 year olds (seemingly just with a group of friends) who should maybe be with a chaperone. It’s a little alarming to see that once the later shows start.

– “So many young people with so many regrettable tattoos” -Joellen

– Rain happened. It was awesome, even if brief.

– This is the greatest place to people watch-EVER.

 

Until next time, Peace and Love from the ACL-ers

❤ Amy

dryland

I love the days when we aren’t tied to anything specific and get to simply enjoy our destination point without any pressure. Today was one of those days. Austin played a perfect host. We started the day with a late lunch (meaning it was scheduled for 1pm and we were quite tardy). Amy, Emily, Helen and I met my college friend (Andi) and Amy’s cousin (Jenny) at Magnolia Café. I had been to this restaurant before, but fell in love with it. In fact, last time I was in town (the only time I was in Austin) I ate here twice. After some catching up and my prolonged indecisiveness, we place our orders and shortly thereafter received the goods. I ordered the LOVE Migas. It was a dish of eggs scrambled with butter, garlic, and serrano pepper, mixed with a chopped corn tortilla, red onion, and green peppers (I forgot to ask for no green peppers), then topped with cheese. Served with black beans and avocado on the side. Pretty much my dream meal. I ordered corn tortillas and potatoes on the side so I could assemble my favorite meal of breakfast tacos. There was no disappointment to be had on my end. I loved every single bite of it…except the last one. Why do good things always have to come to an end? Amy ordered the Chef Salad – she’s been craving something cold and green for a few days now and I think this hit the spot. Andi, Helen, and Emily all ordered the Black Bean entrée, which looks so good and was a close runner-up for me. Jenny had a chocolate chip pancake and a buttermilk pancake, which she seemed to enjoy. I love Magnolia Café and I plan to stop there every trip we make to Austin.

After late lunch we headed to Zilker Park to pick up our wristbands for Austin City Limits (“ACL”) – our primary reason for being in Austin. ACL is one of the larger annual musical festivals held and Emily and I, after attending Bonnaroo last summer, had decided this festival was next on the list. We are so excited for tomorrow! The concerts go on for just about 12 hours each day, with about 130 bands playing over three days.

I waited exactly 381 words to complain about the heat. It’s hot in Austin. I think our arrival has coincided with a cold front moving in, where we’ll see temperatures in the 90s instead of the 100s. Bonus for us. The heat is bad, but the drought conditions are far worse here. All I can say about tomorrow is please hope for our sake that we can find some reprieve in a shaded area throughout the day. Wish us luck!

Once we picked up our wristbands, we headed to Andi and Bryan’s home in South Austin to visit with them and their three kids: Bug, Pepper, and Star. Bug is so grown up at five and a half (she wasn’t even three last time I was here). She was playing the role of big sister so well…it was adorable. Pepper, the lone boy, had the cutest things to say. We learned that his hair is very soft, though blue-green, that he may have a career in mixology, and that he is prone to random acts of acrobatics. Star is the baby and I can just see in her eyes that she is so very involved in taking everything in. I do think (and I shared this) that one day her mouth will open and full paragraphs will come out spouting her words of wisdom to her family (and the world). All of them are so special. It was also good the see Bryan. I feel so connected because of a photo blog he maintains daily, but it’s wonderful to get to hug the real thing and hear his voice – it’s been too long! I’m glad I got to spend giggly time with Andi and the family…they are near and dear to my heart. Saying goodbye was sad, but I know we’ll be back. Austin has too much to offer!

As dinnertime was upon us, we headed back to Lacey and Tom’s for a little grillin’ and chillin’. Lacey made some delicious appetizers of cheese (yes) and crackers, spanikopita, and chips/guacamole that were waiting our arrival. We prepped and Tom grilled. We had chicken (well, some of us did), halloumi, asparagus with truffle salt, and pineapple off the grill. Also, a nice salad rounded out the meal. All items were wonderful. This led to the chillin’ part where much wine and beer was consumed…great time had by all, I’d say. What great hosts we have here in Austin!

Joellen

west texas, i’m not surprised

When several of my friends moved from Florida to California, the one comment I got was, “Texas just never ends.”  They weren’t kidding.  Really, it was the longest drive of nothing that we have had in forever.  We woke up in Carlsbad and left the hotel early (before check out, but after we were supposed to leave), yay us!  We settled in the car for the very, very long drive to Austin.  Sadly, there’s not much to report on West Texas.  It really never ends.  We drove and drove, and most of the sightings were of “oh, a carcass!”

We stopped in a small town–I can’t even tell you were–and had delicious subway lunch before getting back on the road to see more of nothing.  Eventually, we made it to Austin.

We arrived in Austin ready to see people we know and excited to be out of the nothingness that is West Texas.  Oh, I forgot to mention the pull-over that happened not long after we made it over the border.  Apparently, going 85 in an 80 is not ok…glad the police officer let us off with only a warning, although given his strong accent, I couldn’t have told you what we were being pulled over for.  Thanks, friendly Texas State Trooper.  Anyway, we got to Joellen’s cousin’s house and chatted for a bit before heading to sixth street to retrieve our fellow ACL companions, Emily and Helen.  We had a few drinks and chatted before going back to Pflugerville, where Lacey (Joellen’s cousin) and Tom (her husband) live.  We were in dire need of sleep.  And sleep we got.  Now we’re gearing up for ACL and we couldn’t be more excited.  I’m also excited that the cycle of me writing about driving through the desert will soon be over.  Stay tuned for more posts on Austin and ACL!!

❤ Amy

floorplan.

ACL 2011.