We went to Austin last Friday to go to SXSW. It was a nightmare to travel there. We had three proposals for new projects all hit us at the same time last week which ate up all of the time I had to plan the trip. We barely had time to pack. Since Mr. Cobra is still healing from his surgery, sick with a cold, and working on a tight deadline, he couldn't help me as much as he usually does. Packing with a toddler in the mix is twice the work since he's curious and unpacks everything that is put into a suitcase. Neatly packed shirts? Not after Dexter gets a hold of them. We finished packing about the time our plane was supposed to take off. Luckily, it was delayed a couple hours.
Here are some of the highlights of the trip out to Austin. We bought a contraption to wheel around Dexter's carseat, except it didn't fit correctly and the wheel fell off as we were rushing to catch the shuttle from the parking lot to the airport. What was listed as a direct flight to Austin turned out to have a stop in Las Vegas. Yes, that was a stop, not a layover, so we had to stay on the plane. Dexter took a 15-20 minute nap instead of the normal hour minimum, so he was cranky. Add in not one, but two landings with ear pressure pain, and he was literally saying "all done, airplane, all done" about halfway through the flight. The worst part was his inconsolable crying for half an hour as we were landing in Austin. I should've brought a pacifier, but I didn't and I feel terribly guilty about that. Our nerves were terribly frayed, but we survived.
With the 2 hour time difference, it really wreaked havoc on everyone's schedule. We didn't get to do much at SXSW because we couldn't get up before 9am. By the time we got out to the convention center, it was nearly lunchtime. We watched a couple speakers, but that's about it. Mostly, we just talked to people. We met some of the other nominees at a gathering that Adobe sponsored with free food and drinks. Then we had to rush off to another gathering for SoDa to meet some other industry folk. It was a whirlwind tour. We had to be back to the hotel at a specific time to relieve our nanny/assistant who we brought with us to Austin.
We got back to the hotel just in time for Dexter to see his first fireworks. He was so excited that he was jumping up and down saying "red, blue, purple, green, boom, flash, pop, AGAIN". He looked like a little maestro orchestrating the fireworks display. It was pretty close to the hotel and right over the bridge, so it was a fantastic view. I would've grabbed the camera, but sometimes it's better just to savor the moment. It was an awesome experience.
We did go to the SXSW awards ceremony, but we came home empty handed. The winner in our category was a great concept, so I don't feel bad about it. Our category was first and our project was the first listed, except it didn't get shown thanks to AV issues which was more of a bummer than losing. We spent most of the night with our client which was good fun. We ate afterward at the South Congress Cafe which was pretty tasty. So tasty, in fact, we went there the next day too.
We took off most of Monday to check out Austin. We took Dexter to the park to play. They have a nice playground, with food and a miniature train ride right next to a public pool. Dexter played a little bit at the playground, we ate lunch, and then rode the Zilker Zephyr. It was a 20 minute train ride. Dexter's nap time was coming up, so he was pretty chill for the train ride.
After his nap, we took him to the hotel pool. He's never been in a pool. Unfortunately the pool was too cold, but the jacuzzi was just right. He really liked it. We kept dunking him in the water and he just kept laughing and saying "again, again".
We finished the night by watching the bats come out from under the Congress bridge. There were a lot of bats, it was warm, we watched the sunset with a small crowd of people. That was the best part of the whole trip (next to the fireworks).
The trip home was much better than the trip out. We got to the airport in perfect time. The plane was on time. Dexter was very well behaved and took a 2.5 hour nap through most of the flight. He woke up just in time to land in San Francisco. I gave him a pacifier I had just bought for this specific use. It worked like a charm, so he didn't cry at all. We got home and immediately had to leave to deal with work.
Overall, the trip was a quick taste of Austin. We didn't get to fully experience SXSW. We had to work every night. Dexter probably shouldn't have gone with us. Mr. Cobra probably shouldn't have gone at all. I wish our work lives could separate from our family lives a little better. Being a husband and wife team means we never get away from work without working hard not to work.
