My Little Kingdom

A day in the life of me and my kingdom. Thoughts of a mother of four amazing little boys, a wife of an incredible husband and a woman trying not to forget about herself.

March 28, 2005

SXSW

An Outsider’s View

I was recently privileged to spend a week in Austin, TX with my husband. He was one of the panelists speaking at the SXSW conference.

The trip started out early, very early as we had to catch a 6:30am flight. Apparently we should’ve set the alarm for 2am rather than 3am. However we arrived at the airport with just enough time to take care of business. Except, we ended up at the wrong airline counter and to make matters worse it was in an entirely separate building. So, now we are hurdling over medians and barricades with luggage in tow(I’m 7 months pregnant let’s not forget), in order to make our flight, which starts boarding in 20 minutes. All hope of making it in time is quickly demolished as the security check comes into view. The line was incredibly long, it turned and twisted through ropes and down in and around into the baggage claim. Yes, we were just going to have to catch another flight. Miraculously though we actually made it to the boarding gate just as they opened the doors to board.

Things smoothed out after that in fact we received not one but two upgrades in our rental car and that night we received the royal treatment from Cameron’s Uncle and Aunt. We stayed the first night with them in San Antonio. They served up a mean BBQ Texas style and then took us sight seeing. The river walk down town is a must see, however we went by boat rather than walk. Then we strolled over to the Alamo. Much smaller than I imagined, but impressive none the less. There was a feeling of reverence and awe as we walked the perimeter. Word of advice though: Do not, I repeat DO NOT park in the parking garage at the river walk mall on a Friday night. Unless, you plan on spending the night. It took two hours to get out of the parking garage and they charged us for the wait.

The next morning we awoke to blue skies, birds chirping and green, lots of green! After a home cooked breakfast and a visit we hit the road to enjoy the SXSW conference. Making it just in time to catch the last half of the opening kickball tournament. Where I was introduced to many of my husband’s fellow designers and bloggers.

Cameron jumped right into the thick of things while I dove into a nice afternoon nap. That night I was able to meet up with Cameron and some of his friends while we enjoyed a healthy bite to eat. Afterwards we went for a stroll downtown to check out the nightlife. We had the pleasure of being joined by another accompanying spouse who was there just for the weekend. So the next morning she and I hooked up and went sight seeing through out downtown Austin. While our husbands were busy at the conference we were busy hopping transit busses. Honestly I didn’t do much sight seeing after that. I enjoyed the peace and tranquility of the hotel room and lobby. Boring, maybe? But, that’s what I had been looking forward to. I little quiet and me time. And in between my reading and napping I would join Cameron and other SXSW goers. Which more than filled my quota for entertainment and amusement. What a fun and impressive bunch of guys.

Monday I did have an all day pass and was able to catch a first hand view of what was taking place. The entire trip I had tried to stay low key and out of the way. That all changed though as I set foot in the convention center. It was obvious that I was an outsider. I was the only one there with out a laptop or any other electrical device for that matter. Nevertheless it was just exciting to be amongst all of the energy. And the Design Eye panel was way out of this world, if I do say so myself. Well worth the entire trip. Entertaining and informative even for a non web guru such as I.

I love watching my husband in action and it was thrilling to see him in his element. To witness the world recognize in him what I’ve already known and saw in him the first day I laid eyes on him.