Austin City Limits '09

Each year for our anniversary my wife and I go to a different location for a long weekend. Our first anniversary was Asheville, second was Napa for a bike tour of the valley, and this year was Austin for Austin City Limits music festival! We stayed with Jess' friend, and former roommate, Lisa. Such a gracious host, she had homemade scones waiting for us when we arrived! As soon as we got there Wednesday we headed for bed to rest up for our long weekend ahead.


Thursday, Day 1, saw us head downtown to the Visitors' Center for a tour of Austin. We'd booked a Duck Tour, and were, by far, the youngest on the tour. We are a little lame like that. However we love walking tours or this type of thing to get a quick idea of the feel and history of a city, and the Duck Tour didn't fail us. We got to see downtown, complete with historic buildings, monuments, UT, Lake Austin, etc. It was cool to hear about Texas and Austin history and to see some high end real estate! After the tour we headed to South Congress Cafe in the South Congress district, otherwise known as SoCo for it's shopping, eateries, and art. Fantastic meal! Afterwards it was on to Mellow Johnny's - Lance Armstrong's bike shop. This was on my list of places to see in Austin and it didn't disappoint. While I've been a luke-warm Armstrong fan over the years, I've really come to admire what he's done in the last few years and was really impressed by this place! Upstairs was a sweet bike shop, retail area, cafe, and pseudo-museum with Armstrong's yellow jerseys, pictures, and bikes. I even ran into Stephen Roche while getting a coffee! Downstairs Kevin Livingston has his training studio replete with Computrainers, as well as a pro shop with wheels and assorted $5000+ bikes. We rolled out of Mellow Johnny's and headed back to pick up Lisa for dinner at Chuy's - another Austin landmark. Chuy's serves authentic Tex-Mex in a laid-back environment and I started with a margarita before moving onto a dinner of a stuffed avocado (hell yeah) and a Shiner Bock. For dessert we head back to SoCo for ice cream at Amy's, browsing the tents at First Thursday, and checking out some of the freaks (I felt like I was back home in Asheville)!

Friday we slept in before getting in a nice workout before grabbing a quick lunch and then taking the bus downtown to ACL. We decided to only hit one day of the festival since the three day pass was expensive, the weather unpredictable, and there was more for us to do in Austin than just music. However Friday turned out to be the best combination of music and weather with a high of 80, partly sunny weather, and bands like Pheonix, John Legend, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Kings of Leon playing. We got to hear several bands, sample some more great Austin food (chicken Avocado cone anyone?), and see way too much pot being smoked . . . The bands were awesome, the crowds massive, and the porta-johns full. The worst part of the day was trying to get home on the re-routed bus after the show and we ended up phoning Lisa's sister for a lift home.

Saturday I was under the weather - literally and figuratively as we awoke to rain, and I woke to a sore throat and swollen glands. Probably a combination of the year's highest mold counts in "The Allergy Capital of the World" and all the dust I inhaled the day before! Jess and Lisa head to The Salt Lick for some of the best BBQ in Austin and I rested for a couple of hours. After they returned we resorted to plan B for the day (Plan A was to hit the lake with Lisa's parents) and headed back downtown. First up was the Texas State History Museum which was quite interesting. Seeing how Texas came to be over the years was pretty amazing - 6 countries laid claim to the state at one time or another! After information overload we headed to Whole Foods' flagship store for a smoothie, and to walk the acres of the store; it was unbelievable, and actually had a map to help you navigate! After a brief recharge, Lisa showed us Livestrong's new LEED-certified headquarters in the 'up and coming' East Austin. Jess was interested in the architecture and it was cool to see something that has come to mean a lot to me - Livestrong. Afterward we headed home to get ready for a dinner at Wink and drinks at Six Lounge. Wink is a phenomenal restaurant that serves food from local vendors and farmers and has a cool ambiance. I had venison, Jess the quail, and Lisa a lemon sole. All outstanding! It was the perfect end to a great trip to Austin.

We flew out first thing Sunday morning, but we will surely return. A big thanks to Lisa for her house, her car, and her company!