“It’s not yee-ha, it’s yee-haw”

slackerI told the girls I was heading off to Austin this weekend for a big conference called South by Southwest. Nate mentioned that he was wildly jealous…but then corrected himself, reminding us all how he would have gone oh, about 8 years ago when it was actually cool, but now, you know, it’s A Thing, and he hates when things become Things, kind of like Coachella, and besides, they even let mommy bloggers in now.

He was joking. About 88%.

84%.

(And by the way, if you’re heading to SXSW, or the Dad 2.0  Summit on Saturday, please find me or my compadres from Deutsch and say hi! I’m @Mom101 on Twitter. I’ll also be the New Yorker wearing mostly black, and not even black cowboy boots, which I am informed I may be mocked for, Nate-style.)

In any case,  guilt gifts are required for all parties when I’m gone for several nights.

“Austin is in Texas, Thalia. What do you know about Texas? What would you like from there?”

“A gun,” she said.

(Let me add here that Nate hates the Dallas Cowbows with the passion of a thousand fiery red solar storms, so he mayyyyy have been a wee bit disparaging about the entire state over the years.)

“Uh…yeah. That’s true. There are guns in Texas but probably not so much in Austin. In any case, no gun. What else would you like from Austin? That’s not a gun?” I asked, hoping she wouldn’t say a bottle of tequila.

“A pony.”

She does know her geography.

“How about a nice cowgirl hat?”

“That sounds good!”

trying on cowboy hatsStupid pictures happen when Mom is around Texas gift shop cowboy hats.

Edited to add: Sage just made her own gift request: “A baby tumbleweed that does not tumble.”

Sigh.

[Top Photo: Slacker. Of course. Also thanks to @ElaineA on twitter who corrected my original Yee-ha]

 

 

 

{33 Comments}

33 thoughts on ““It’s not yee-ha, it’s yee-haw””

  1. i lived in Texas for 10 years: skip the hokey cowboy hats. What you REALLY wanna get is a cool Austin City Limits T shirt that they (used to) sell at the airport. and some BBQ sauce (dont pack it in your carry on) finger lickin good!

    1. The Austin airport is the BEST. Live music! BBQ for breakfast! Good strong coffee! It’s the only airport I can think of (well, maybe xc Schihpol) where one would actually want to hang out.

      As far as the kids’ gifts go, I usually got my kids stuff from the Very Cool Austin Children’s Museum at 201 Colorado. They have a really great little toy store. No firearms, though.

  2. Austin is like West Berlin. It’s surrounded by Texas, its people are mostly Texan, but it doesn’t act Texan. It’s a lovely kinda weird there – and I live in New Orleans so I’m an expert on batpoopcrazy 😉

    Have fun! Wish I could go!

    1. So my blue toenail polish will make the right statement…heh.

      Thanks for all the tips everyone. Keep them coming!

    2. Yes, because the entire rest of the state of Texas acts completely the same. Austin is the only place that stands out. How does one “act Texan” anyway? Is there a stereotype I should adhere to?

  3. Oh, those are priceless requests. I lived in Austin for five years, miss that place. Agree with Pistolette – Austin really isn’t like the rest of Texas. Eat some good Tex-Mex and barbecue (Stubb’s and County Line were particular favorites).

  4. I’m from Austin and if you wear a cowboy hat or boots to SXSW, you are either a REAL cowboy who’s come to town or an out-of-towner trying a little too hard. Therefore, I second what PammyPam says and tell you to skip the hokey hats and boots. SXSW is when the hipsters from around the nation descend and mingle with the hipsters of Austin. You’d be better off in your all black…especially if you packed some skinny jeans. 😀 That being said, if you want to shop authentic (somewhat hipster) boots and hats, head to Allen Boots on South Congress. Have fun and enjoy one of my favorite cities!

  5. I’m a Texan. We live in San Antonio. But admittedly I’m a transplant so still figuring it out. I should have it all figured out by now since I’ve been here 6 years lol. I actually have only been to Austin twice since I’ve lived here which is shameful considering how I hear so much about it being awesome!!! I think I need to reconsider my weekend plans!

  6. Oh, you can TOTALLY find a non-tumbling tumbleweed in Austin!! It’s the “weed” part that is key, by the way…. ;-P

    You look great in that hat! And thanks for the semantics shout out! 🙂

  7. “A baby tumbleweed that does not tumble.” HAHAHAHA!! Sage-isms are the best! Hope you can meet that request…

  8. I know you’re a New Yorker, but I think only the bad guys wear black hats.

  9. Having only been to Dallas AND also having declared myself fairly un-cool in any sort of Austin/Portland/Boulder way years ago, I got nothin for ya.

    But it looks like you’re having fun! Enjoy!

  10. Well, I’d hate to be the one to disappoint Sage, but there aren’t any tumbleweeds in Austin. You might try West Texas but that’s a bit of a drive and to tell you the truth, not all that pretty! Have fun here! It’s a great city!

    1. Hey, now! As a native West Texan (south of San Angelo, but Dad was a HS football coach, so we moved all over WT), that’s not true! You just have to appreciate Wide Open Spaces and friendly people who keep to themselves, mostly. I remember being particularly claustrophobic when a college BF brought me home to meet his parents in East Texas–felt like I couldn’t breathe b/c of all the trees all weekend long.

      Jealous of the BBQ btw–my pet peeve is folks who refer to BBQ when they really mean “cooking outside.” Ugh!

  11. I love your posts! Your kids’ comments always make me laugh. A gun??? Of course that can only be followed by a pony.

  12. I’m a Texan…been here all my life…living in Houston…went to college near Austin. You’ll feel right at home in Austin, especially for SXSW. Austin is known for having an over-educated, under-employed workforce (think…people with Ph.D’s working at Subway). In Austin, more than any other Texas city, you will actually be hard-pressed to find folks in cowboy attire – I know you are disappointed. 🙂 You would probably have to go to a country dancing establishment…or go to a rural part of the state…to find “cowboys”. In Austin, you’re much more likely to find folks with multicolored hair, tattoos, and sporting a shirt that insists others should “Keep Austin Weird”.

    I’m sad now that I never braved SXSW when I was in college (15 yrs ago when it WAS cool…Nate’s right)…since I would never go now (I’m also a mom to 7 and 5 yr old girls).

    I would highly recommend Kebey Lane Cafe…especially their breakfast offerings…there are multiple locations, but the Central one is my favorite. It’s the original, funky location which is especially fun for people-watching late in the evening (like midnight). But my favorite late-night food is the Kerbey queso (melted cheese with a mound of guacamole in the middle) eaten with tortilla chips. It sounds strange, but it’s really delightful. 🙂

    Enjoy Austin and the music! Can’t wait to hear what you think….

    1. Thanks Heather! Wow, now that about 8 people have recommended Kebey Lane Cafe, looks like I’ll have to make my way there.

      (PS I still think it’s cool here. But eh, what do I know. I have no tattoos.)

  13. Sage’s request just about killed me! On the gun request it’s not actually so crazy if you live in the South. Case in point, I live in North Carolina (am a California transplant) and can I tell you that a co-worker of mine, who’s husband is an avid hunter, has a seven year old daughter who not only has her own pink .22 rifle, she shot her first six point buck last fall. I know, WTH? It’s one of the unsusal things that is commonplace in the South that I’ve had to get used to. Anyways, the tumbleweed that doesn’t tumble seems much more age-appropriate and not likely to put y0u on TSA’s do not fly list.

  14. I just got back from Dallas, where I was greeted by a sign outside the office doors reminding everyone to leave their concealed handguns outside. My Scandinavian colleague was quite taken aback – even the police officers in Norway don’t carry guns.

  15. um…shouldn’t you bring Sage (who is so very wise – did the name create her wisdom or would that have happened even if she were named, you know, Candy?) – some sagebrush?

  16. As a professional Texan *cough, cough, gag* I believe it is actually “yeehaw”. You know, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is going on right now. You want cultural experience, hop down yonder and spend an afternoon out at Reliant. I’m not sure I’ve recovered from the smell of hay, leather, cow poo and the blinding sparkle of serial Bedazzling.

  17. I can totally hear Nate’s voice in that opening “I would have gone 8 years ago” speech! Love it. Sounds like SXSW was appropriately wild, insane and hedonistic. And I’m sure there was good, smart stuff there, too. I hope you had a wonderful time.

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