The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You

Tips for a Successful Road Trip to Austin and the Austin City Limits Music Festival.

1. Be Prepared. A guy and work was worried about 3 girls traveling south towards hurricane Rita. He told me to be careful and don't do anything stupid. Like I ever do anything stupid. He's a scout leader so he started the "be prepared" list. Keep your gas tank full. Check. Watch the weather. Check. Take food. Duh, we are women. Snacks were the first thing I bought. Check.

2. Dairy Queen-The TX Stop Sign. Any road trip to TX isn't complete without stopping at as many DQ's as possible. A smart traveler plots each one and plans their schedule accordingly. You never know when you might not get another Snicker's Blizzard again once you leave the state of Texas.

3. Honesty. Technically you are not supposed to bring outside food into the festival. This is a gray area. Are packets of crackers and peanut butter, granola bars and twizzlers "outside food." Security was always in a hurry and never did a very good check until day 3. We had a soft sided cooler (which is allowed) with 6 bottles of frozen water (which are allowed) but under the flap of the cooler we stuck those ready made chicken salad cans with crackers, granola bars, crackers, twizzlers. I had the cooler when it came to the security check time. The guy made me lift the cooler onto the table then he made me open it. Now normally they just glance in and move you along but this time he proceeded to lift of the bottom flap where all the contraband was located. I looked him straight in the eye and said. "Just a few snacks to keep us going." He laid the flap back down and moved me on. Yes. I didn't have to cry or anything. In Susan's line they confiscated food from the person in front of her. We are such rebels.

4. Pot. Here's a great double standard. Outside food is not allowed but let me look the other way while you sneak pot into the festival. Some people view this music festival as a modern day Woodstock. Ever want to see what it would look like to see your parents smoking pot. Come to Austin City Limits. Ever want to know what second hand pot smells like come to Austin City Limits.

5. Port-a-Potties. Avoiding the port-a-potties all together is your best bet, but should you find yourself in need of one never get in a port-a-potty line with me. It's inevitable that something will happen. This year I got to hold 2 guys hats while they switched T-shirts. Followed by an amusing conversation about how to save time and make the line go faster. Trust me, you don't want to know. Still not as bad as last year's experience. Ewwwwwwww.

6. People Watching. This is definitely the best place for people watching. You pretty much see everything. Our first evening we saw an all girl makeout session. A lady who filled her spray bottle fan with beer and spritzed everyone around her (including us). But best of all is Leslie. He is an Austin City Limits tradition. Be prepared. It's not a pretty sight.

7. Music. All of this is worth it to hear some really great bands. These are just some of the ones we heard. Spoon, Keane, Black Crows, Kacy Crowley, Casey McPherson, Aqualung, The Frames, Jet, Oasis, Tristan Prettyman, Eisley, M83, Rilo Kiley, Jason Mraz, Franz Ferdinand, and of course Coldplay.

It was hot but it was fun and all worth it to see Coldplay perform.