Ok this trip happened so long ago…. lol but I still want to share my experience with you guys. Also it’ll be fun for me to recall all the things my friends and I did on this trip!
The trip idea started because I love music festivals! I’ve gone to at least two a year for the past few years, but I didn’t have any planned back in September. I had my eye on ACL for a few years but plans always fell through, and I never made it out there. The company I work for was having their bi-annual conference in Austin the SAME weekend as ACL’s Weekend 2. It was fate. I literally had no choice but to go! I begged my friend Austin to make the trip with me, we invited his sister and another friend, and we went!!
So the plan was that the 4 of us were going to road trip to Austin from Houma, since it was only about a 7 hour drive. I’m not a road tripper at all haha! I’m much more of a “take a plane and get there quicker” type of girl, but the car ride ended up being really fun. Then I’d stay to meet up with my other friends, go to our conference, and then catch a flight back home! And it worked perfectly. The only down to the plan was that there was a day in between my festival friends leaving and my other friends coming… so I spent a whole day in the hotel doing absolutely nothing lol. I didn’t want to explore alone but also really ended up needing that chill day.
My friends and I checked into our hotel the Thursday before ACL, and after driving almost 8 hours, you’d think we’d be tired. But we threw our stuff down, mapped out a plan, and within an hour, we were out!! My eyes absolutely lit up on the drive to downtown. The skyline was beautiful, and I could not wait to explore a city I’d never traveled to. We found a place to park, walked up and down the streets, and eventually settled on eating at PF Changs. I wasn’t feeling Chinese food, but oh do I not regret listening to my friends. The food was so good, and we had a blast!
The next day was the first day of ACL! We packed for sunny and 75 but woke up to find the entire day was going to be in the 40s. Now we all did pack jeans and had sweatshirts to throw on, but it did not help. I had never done a cold festival before, and it was almost miserable lol. If the performers hadn’t been so good, I don’t think I would’ve lasted the whole day. My favorite artist from Day 1 was RL Grime — I have been wanting to hear him live for SO. LONG. And I’ve missed a show when he came to LA, so I knew I had to see him! Austin and his sister left before the headliner started, but they came back to pick us up. We grabbed some Whataburger, went back to the hotel, and called it a night. Day 2 was my personal favorite because I got to see Billie Eilish!! She is so talented, and her songs are some of my favorites of all-time. I stood for close to 3 hours at the stage waiting for her set because I knew I wanted to be as close as possible. Thankfully the weather was a little warmer than the day before, so it wasn’t too bad hanging out in one spot! Day 3 was an interesting day. I didn’t see too many performers, but I got to chill and enjoy the festival grounds, which was nice. I was dead from the day before, so I’m happy I didn’t have someone else I was dying to see; I don’t know if I would’ve made it!
Another cool part about this trip was that we planned the Monday after ACL to be our exploring day! So we stayed in the city for another whole day and got to see way more of the city, which was amazing. My feet were killing me by the end of the day, but it was worth it! We couldn’t decide on where to eat lunch, but we settled on Champions Bar and Grill, and it wasn’t the best. Austin and his friend had eaten there before and said it must’ve been a freak day because they liked it the last time. But it was ok because we pressed on and saw some really cool hidden coffee shops, boutiques, and art up and down the streets! One of the last places we hit was the Kendra Scott Flagship store, and if you know me, you know I love KS jewelry!! I ended up finding a necklace I liked and got it half off since it was my birthday month! We capped the night by watching the bridge bats on Congress (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s super cool!) and ate dinner at Cooper’s BBQ. You guys, that was DELICIOUS. I was anti bbq the whole trip but boy am I happy I caved!
The following morning we took one last trip to downtown and ate breakfast at Le Crepe. Super yummy! And then my friends got me on a scooter (because I was too scared to do it the night before lol). They brought me back to the hotel, and we headed our separate ways. For me, my separate way was my bed, and I didn’t move the rest of the day. Wednesday afternoon my friends Gabby and Alex came to pick me up, and we went to our team’s airbnb, and I had the time of my LIFE. The next 3 days I got to meet so many incredible people and bond with my team at conference! We had an absolute blast! I also got to eat In and Out twice, and I definitely wasn’t mad about it. On Sunday, I flew back to New Orleans and ended the longest vacation I’ve ever had — 10 days in Austin! I loved the city but know Texas isn’t the place for me lol. I might be back though for ACL 2020, but we’ll have to wait and see how good that lineup is!
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