A to the C to the L

Jenna, the crowds, and the tree

One week ago, I was still wandering the streets of Austin, TX, with my wonderful partner. I had a wicked cold, but mostly didn't care. The festival (Austin City Limits Music Festival) had ended the night before (Sunday), and we were killing some delicious time before our flight back to DC, touristing. A perfect wind-down to a fantastic weekend. There's too much to say about the whole experience--and a lot that I just want to keep as memory, force myself to hold onto it inside my head--so I'll give some bullet points.

ACL2010 STATS:

• October 8th (Friday) - 10th (Sunday)
• Zilker Park, Austin, TX
• Jenna and I were in Austin from the 7th to the 11th
• We stayed in the cooler-than-cool Casulo Hotel
• I got a cold on Saturday which lasted the duration. It was gross but manageable.
• Our feet hurt, we got sunburned, and it was a-okay
• My 6th time attending the festival, Jenna's 1st.

FULL LIST OF BANDS SEEN/HEARD AT ACL2010 (in order seen/heard):

• The Black Keys (a little)
• Beach House
• Spoon
• Sonic Youth
• Bear In Heaven (a little)
• Lucero
• Pete Yorn (a little)
• Broken Bells
• the xx
• David Bazan
• Monsters of Folk (a little)
• Deadmau5 (a little)
• Muse
• Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
• Portugal. The Man
• The Constellations
• Yeasayer
• Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros (a little)
• The Flaming Lips
• The National

MY(/OUR[?]) TOP 3 FAVORITE ACTS AT ACL2010:

1. The National
2. Broken Bells
3. Beach House

OUR LEAST FAVORITE ACT AT ACL2010:

• The Constellations

THINGS I ATE/DRANK AT ACL2010:

• Hot'n'Crunchy Avocado Cone
• Thai Veggie Pie
• Pancake-covered Soysage onastick
• Samosas
• Roti Wrap
• Kettle Corn
• Bourbon Spiced Pecans
• New York Style Butter Salted Potatoes
• /
• Mucha agua
• Maine Root Ginger Brew
• Maine Root Prickley Pear Pink Lemonade
• Watermelon Agua Fresca
• Diet Coke

RESTAURANTS EATEN AT IN AUSTIN BUT NOT ACL2010:

• Shady Grove
• Güero's
• The Snack Bar
• The Casulo Hotel breakfast buffet

AWESOME SHOPS VISITED IN AUSTIN:

• Big Top Candy
• Uncommon Objects
• Allen's Boots
• Tesoros Trading Co.
• The Turquoise Door
• Various souvenir shops on South Congress Ave. and 6th St.

THINGS I DID NOT DO AT ACL2010:

• Smoke anything
• Drink any alcohol (until half a Mojito at Monday's lunch)
• Kill any of the multitudes of terrible hipster types ohmigoddoihatethembecauseiamthem?noofcoursenotofcoursenoteverything'sokay
• Get a bad sunburn
• Feel lonely
• Buy a souvenir t-shirt (shucks)
• Not make out with Jenna and disgust the crowds with our insufferable affection

WEIRDLY COMMON DEFORMITIES/PHYSICAL ODDITIES NOTICED DAILY ON/IN A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE:

• Friday - crossed eyes
• Saturday - coin-sized circular scars on the upper forearm
• Sunday - David Foster Wallace doppelgangerdom

MONEY SPENT:

• A helluva lot, every penny well-used.

There's lots more I could say, but I'm not going to try. Suffice it to say, it was an amazing long weekend. And I experienced it all with my partner, the only person who could make such an already-incredible time just that much better. Thank you, Jenna, for being the best companion I could ever ask for.