Thanks to The Austin Chronicle and my uncanny luck with online contests (I don't enter many, but I win a lot of the ones I enter), I won two 3-day passes to Austin City Limits Music Festival 2011! I never have cash during early-bird pre-sales and had given up on going this year. I didn't even recall entering the contest. So when I saw the email that I had won, it truly was a pleasant surprise. The fact that the weekend kicked off on my birthday made it extra special. My husband came with me the first two days, our three year old son joined us on day 2 and was my date on the last day of the festival. Lots of planning and patience helped make this weekend awesome. Lots of pictures and videos make the memories that much sweeter. Here's what happened...
Parking: My husband works about 2 miles away from the event opening, so parking for us was a no-brainer. We got to avoid the maze of free parking and shuttle lines downtown by taking the scenic route to the Barton Springs Road entrance. Bonus: A damn good workout. The hills around Mopac and Zilker are pretty good and pushing a 42 lb toddler in a loaded jogging stroller 4 miles roundtrip makes them feel even better. My husband and I tag-teamed on day 2, but on the day I had to make the trip all by myself, I found myself chanting "left right left right" just to will my legs and feet to keep moving until we made it to the top of that last hill on the way back. It was tough, but I'd do it again every time to avoid the traffic and lines at the shuttle lots.
Packing: Since we knew we had a a long walk to and from the event, we wanted to pack as light as possible. The first day, we went after 5, so we only brought a bag with empty water bottles (to fill at the free rainwater stations throughout the park) and cameras. The three year old, surprisingly didn't add that much more to our load. We brought a jogging stroller, a picnic blanket, one folding chair, an extra water bottle for the kiddo and his standard little backpack with extra clothes and snacks for him. He's allergic to everything and we usually don't have a problem bringing food into food-restricted places (even airport customs) because most people have hearts. Oh! And bubbles!
Food: The Best Wurst. Bratwurst. Bread. Onions. Sauerkraut. Awesomesause. There were tons of other food options there, but we wanted to keep waiting in lines to a minimum, so we only ventured into the food zone once, but we sure made it count.
Porta-Potties: I have yet to use a porta-potty, but my son had to go twice while we were there. It was an adventure for him. He was fascinated by all the garbage and the blue water in the toilets. He called them "garbage" potties. It was so gross, but this was one of those times where seeing life through the eyes of a child forces you to wear the rose-colored glasses too. I was grossed out, but his fascination made the experience an interesting adventure for me. He was actually excited when he had to pee a second time--couldn't wait to go in the "garbage potty" again.
Shows: We planned to see all the headliners but realized that was impossible. Kanye West and Coldplay played at the same time on opposite sides of the park. I had planned to watch the Nas & Damien "Jr. Gong" Marley show at the Bud Light stage and then head over to the AMD stage to see Coldplay during the hour before Kanye's show was to start. However, the minute Nas and co. left the stage, the whole crowd pressed forward. We were standing about 15-25 feet away from the stage and there was no way I was going to make it to the other side of the park to see Coldplay. But it was cool--I love Kanye. His production was beautiful. His ballerinas are moving works of art. Actually, they're pretty fine works of art even when they're not moving so... Anyway, here are videos I posted on the youtube page of my other blog, GirlDidYouSee, of performances form both their shows...
The next day, we got there in time to enjoy some the DJ at the Google+ stage before heading over to see Cee Lo followed by Stevie Wonder. It was great because we weren't concerned with getting as close as possible to the stage since we had our son with us. We found a spot towards the back of the crowd, spread our blanket, set up our chair and stayed there until about halfway through Stevie's show. To pass the time, we pointed out all the crazy flags people brought to the event as markers. A friend of mine made giant superhero chicken nuggets, and that is how I found her. I was standing at the Google+ stage and I looked around and saw them. I actually screamed, "Chicken Nuggets!" I'm sure I looked crazy to somebody. lol The flag markers are something I had never seen or heard of, but they were great. I found two other sets of friends based on where they were between crazy flag markers--a giant blue baseball bat, a frog balloon, a monkey, a rebel flag and of course the nuggets.
Austin Kiddie Limits: Day 3 was all about Austin Kiddie Limits and while I enjoyed Recess Monkey and The Q Brothers, my son was all about the sand pit, drum circle, School of Rock, H.E. Buddy and did I mention the drum circle? I was grateful that the stage and audience section were under a tent and was happy to post-up there for a shaded picnic while blowing bubbles, giving lunch to my boy and enjoying the music. I had plans to hand my son off to my hubby and stay to see some other bands until the end of the festival, but that didn't happen. So my ACL weekend ended when Austin Kiddie Limits did around 4pm on Sunday afternoon. Here's a video I posted on my son's youtube page of Recess Monkey singing "Grandma's House" and my son, not dancing to them...
Regrets: My only regret is that I didn't get to do any part of ACL solo. I prefer to explore alone. Without being concerned about whether the person I'm with is havign a good time, or questioning which move we should make next. I loved the family time with my guys, but in the future I'll plan some solo time at ACL for sure.
The past 3 days were restless, exhausting, and awesome. I have totally been bitten by the ACL bug and will try my best to go every year. More photos on my Homegirl Facebook Page.
Hey Raquel,
I'm a blogger (amongst other things) who just moved to Austin about 9 days ago. I googled "austin bloggers" to try to find a network to connect with and happily came across yours :). I'm so jealous that you got to hit up ACL (and for free!). I was so busy setting up here that I just couldn't.
Anyway, I'll be reading. Nice to "meet" you!
Melanie
Posted by: Mel @ She Runs Brooklyn | September 22, 2011 at 03:16 PM
I'm so mad I wasn't even mention! But it was a blast hanging out with you on your first ACL ever. We are no longer ACL virgins!
Posted by: Raissa | October 07, 2011 at 12:12 AM
mentioned. :)
Posted by: Raissa | October 07, 2011 at 12:13 AM
@Mel! It was nice connecting with you in e-land. I hope you're still enjoying Austin. Thanks for checking in here from time to time, of course, I'll be doing the same.
@Raissa-That just means that we have to do something else super fun and awesome together. I definitely won't forget to shout you out next time. lol Oh, and in your comment, I just thought your Caribbean roots were showing up! FOr real. lol
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