It has been about two months since I visited Texas for the first time. It's been about two months, and I can't seem to get Texas out of my head. For years, I've been told how amazing Texas, specifically Austin, was and how I would be a perfect fit for the capital city. My three friends and I road tripped to Austin for the world-famous Austin City Limits Music Festival. Austin City Limits, commonly known as ACL, is a huge music festival, with eight stages, multiple food trucks and beer tents, all to share with 80,000 of your closest friends. With artists like Drake, Florence + the Machine, The Weeknd, A$AP Rocky, Hozier, and Of Monsters and Men, how could you not spend three full days dancing your socks off? It was an amazing weekend, easily my favorite fall break trip, as well as my longest road trip. Here's a recap of reasons why I fell in love with Texas.
First, the food. Wowza! Everything I ate while in Texas was amazing, but the absolute best was the tacos! In the four full days we were there, I think I ate tacos (or other Tex-Mex) for over half the meals.
Second, the heat. Now, that sounds weird at first, but let me rephrase. The dry heat. Memphis, Tennessee, where I live, is notorious for its humidity. From the months of April until October, I don't even consider wearing makeup. When it's hot, it's hot. In Austin, it was hot, but it was still very different than Memphis' heat, in my opinion. I didn't wear makeup to ACL, but I did wear it when we went out on the other days we were there, and it was warm, but definitely not as intense. I do understand that October is different than July/August heat, but for October Austin > Memphis.
Third, THE Magnolia Market. On the way back home, I begged my friends to stop halfway between Dallas and Austin in Waco, TX. If you watch HGTV, you probably know what I'm talking about. Chip and Joanna Gaines, renovation gods, live and work in Waco, where they have a storefront, Magnolia Market, where they sell design and home furnishings. I may or may not have shed a few tears when we arrived at the Silos that wondrous day. The shop was amazing and I bought a Texas Forever shirt, cue Friday Night Lights.
Lastly, the fourth reason I fell in love with Texas- Austin city limits itself. I mean, I got to see Drake, A$AP Rocky, The Weeknd, Of Monsters and Men, Foo Fighters, Hozier, Halsey, George Ezra, among many other performers who absolutely killed it. There was so much energy the entire weekend in Austin because of those artists. I haven't been to many music festivals, but it was by far the best. I highly recommend splurging on ACL tickets every year.
I didn't see much of Texas. Basically only Texarkana to Austin and back, but I saw enough toI fall in love. I fell in love with the people, the food, the atmosphere, and the music. Texas is a great state. A state of great stories and amazing people to tell them. To all of my friends who said I would love Austin, and Texas in general....You were right. THANKS. See you soon, Texas <3
