Keep Austin Weird

We finally got to accompany Tommy on a business trip! He had to go to Austin last week to go to South by Southwest, which is a famous music and film festival but it also apparently has a techie side to it, which is the part that Tommy was going to. When we found out that Tommy had to go, we decided it would be worth it to have Dane and I drive down with Tommy for a fun weekend trip and so that Dane and I weren't stuck at home by ourselves like we've been so much while Tommy's been gone lately. We drove down on Friday afternoon and came back Monday afternoon--and had a great time. It was really fun walking around and doing a little sightseeing. Tommy was going to the conference most of the time, so Dane and I would drop him off and then go do our own thing, usually stuff that two-year-olds are into.

Austin is a funny city--it was so different than Dallas, which seems so much more fancy and put-together. You could just tell the different crowd that goes around downtown Austin--and I loved it. Especially this week, with SxSW going on, there were tons and tons and TONS of live music events going on and a whole sort of artsy crowd wandering around. Austin's motto is "Keep Austin Weird"--so we definitely bought a few t-shirts saying that to send to Uncle Austin and one for Dane to wear to represent. 

Probably my favorite thing we did was the first night--we met up with Tommy's uncle Doug who lives in Austin and had dinner together. Doug brought us to Central Market, a Whole Foods-y type place that has a cafe attached to it--and outside, a patio with live music and a big park for kids to play at while you eat. It was the most beautiful weather and so fun to just sit and listen to the music and watch Dane running around on the playground. It was so simple and relaxed and fun. At least, until we tried to leave and Dane screamed "ONE MORE MINUTE! ONE MORE MINUTE!" the whole way out to the car. 

And of course, this was the only picture we got with Tommy in it from the whole weekend, since he was at meetings the whole rest of the time. 80% of the pictures are just of Dane at different places since it was just him and me wandering around. 

While Tommy was at the conference, Dane and I wandered around Austin. We visited the Texas State Capitol building, which several people mentioned to me is bigger than the US State Capitol (thank you Texas). They give free tours, but I didn't think that was a good idea with my little buddy. So we just walked around a little bit inside it and then played a little on the grass.

Oh yeah--I was 36 weeks pregnant this day too. So I probably shouldn't have walked 2+ miles that day--whoops! I was worn out by the end. Good thing Dane is still napping so we both got to lay down for a while in the middle of the day. 

We went to Zilker Park, the main central city park in Austin, and rode on the Zilker Zephyr, a little kids' train there. Dane was thrilled! (Notice him wearing his Thomas the Train shirt on the train.)

We went to the children's museum the next day, since I wanted to be mostly stationary all day and not walking around constantly like I had been the day before. 

We paid all this money to get in and spent half of our time at the train table. 

Just kidding--we spent most of our time at the water table. Dane could not get enough of it. So cute!

I loved him wearing the too-big crocs and apron they had to keep the kids from getting too wet. 

We also went to the Texas State History Museum with this giant LONE STAR in front of it. Oh, Texas. 

It was really just a quick weekend trip, but I was glad that we went. It was kind of our babymoon as a family--one last trip with just one kid in our hotel room and only one person's nap schedule to worry about. I honestly think it is so helpful to get out of town and out of your everyday normal life at least once every few months. I always come back rejuvenated and glad to be home, even if the trip itself is tiring and lots of work with little friend(s). And it was totally great because we ended up making money on this trip, the way that Tommy's expenses got paid for this "business" trip! Glad we all went--and also glad that we made it back without accidentally having the baby in Austin while we were there!