Mama Camp & ACL Fest… Can you bring a 6-year-old and a 3-year-old to a three-day outdoor concert and come out sane?
Traditionally, the Austin City Limits Music Festival has fallen near the Camp Director’s birthday, which means we call in Grandma for extended duty with the campers while Camp Daddy and the Camp Director race from stage to stage enjoying favorite (and new) music.
This year, Grandma cannot travel, but could watch the campers at her house. But now the Big Camper is in kindergarten, so the first day of the festival is a school day. Plus, Camp Daddy is coaching the Big Camper’s Saturday morning flag football game, so we can’t miss that either. It all adds up to one thing: this is the year that Mama Camp is taking the campers to experience one more thing we love about Austin – the music!
First, Mama Camp asked FB friends for advice on taking kids to the festival. There were two suggestions:
1. Take them & hang out at the Austin Kiddie Limits Stage (http://www.aclfestival.com/inthepark/kiddie.html). But have someone pick them up at 4:00 so you can enjoy the rest of the festival
2. “Don’t ;)”
Without the necessary child-care available (see above re: Grandma), only half of the first suggestion is doable. And the second suggestion, while elegant in its simplicity, lacks a certain can-do attitude that Mama Camp takes pride in putting forward.
So, like all camps, we make a plan:
1. Pack the Little Camper in the car along with the big all-terrain stroller, a water-proof blanket, four one-liter bottles of water, three small umbrellas, four ponchos (there’s a hurricane in the forecast), extra clothes (in case there’s a potty accident), two camping chairs, kid’s snacks, and the diaper bag (diapers, wipes, hand sanitizer and changing pad).
2. Pick up the Big Camper from school early.
3. Drive-thru Chick-fil-a for an early dinner.
4. Beat the after-work rush hour traffic downtown to the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Lady Bird Lake. At the boat dock we’ll catch the 3.30pm Capital Cruises boat shuttle ($10/person) to Lou Neff Point.
5. Step into the Hyatt for the last clean bathroom break, and let the campers run around the lobby while the Camp Director and Camp Daddy gaze longingly at the bar.
6. Secure seats on the boat while Camp Daddy ensures the campers don’t:
a) Fall into the lake
b) Jump into the lake
c) Push each other into the lake
d) Find any other way to end up in the lake
7. Board the shuttle with two dry campers and all of the gear.
8. Enjoy the sights along Lady Bird Lake:
“Look Mama, a train…wooo-wooo!”
“Look Mama, a turtle!”
“Mama, how did someone write on the side of that bridge?”
“Look Mama, another turtle!”
9. Field tourists’ questions like “Where’s the best Mexican food in Austin?” Answer: “You’re a tourist…go to Guerro’s and experience SoCo at least once.” Explain the difference between 6th Street and 4th Street. Etc.
10. Debark at Lou Neff Point, and head up the hike & bike trail to the ACL Fest entrance on Barton Springs Road. Stop to say “Hello” to the swans along the way.
11. Arrive at the Austin City Limits Festival, get extra program booklets with iTunes sample cards for my nieces, and hope they don’t make us throw out the campers’ snacks from the diaper bag (thus avoiding a Little Camper hunger-fueled melt-down).
12. Go immediately to the souvenir tent to purchase 2009 t-shirts before the good ones sell out. And be grateful that the stroller still has room to stow the loot.
13. Find the “Tag-a-Kid” booth in case the campers decide to run for it.
14. Scope out the sponsor booths for freebies and group photo ops.
15. Head for the The Austin Kiddie Limits Stage. Note: they have a new schedule this year (Friday until 4.30 and Saturday & Sunday until 5:00). So we might see about 30 minutes of kid-friendly music here.
16. When the Kiddie Limits Stage closes, find a spot to camp where we can hear one or more of the big stages. Then hope and pray that the campers want to sit still. When they don’t, draw straws to see who chases after them. Note: don’t bring anything valuable in case it has to be left while chasing after the Little Camper.
17. When the campers are ready to go, let them know that the next boat shuttle is not until 10pm or later. Stay calm while campers whine about being exhausted, standing in line waiting to pee, and not being able to sleep because it’s too loud. Consider possibilities for leaving early:
a) Walk back to the Hyatt (about 1.5 miles)
b) Catch a cab back
c) Take a Pedi cab (make that two since the stroller will need its own seat)
Otherwise, just wait until the last show is almost over, and then head out ahead of the throng in order to maneuver the stroller out of the park
Hmm...sounds a little complicated.
OK, new plan:
1. Sell two Friday ACL Fest tickets.
2. Meet Grandma halfway on Saturday and deliver the most well-behaved campers for a fun-filled weekend of junk food, candy before noon, late-night TV watching, and llamas.
3. Use the money from the sale of the tickets for beer & food.
4. Enjoy two fun-filled days at ACL sans campers… if it doesn’t rain too much.
Traditionally, the Austin City Limits Music Festival has fallen near the Camp Director’s birthday, which means we call in Grandma for extended duty with the campers while Camp Daddy and the Camp Director race from stage to stage enjoying favorite (and new) music.
This year, Grandma cannot travel, but could watch the campers at her house. But now the Big Camper is in kindergarten, so the first day of the festival is a school day. Plus, Camp Daddy is coaching the Big Camper’s Saturday morning flag football game, so we can’t miss that either. It all adds up to one thing: this is the year that Mama Camp is taking the campers to experience one more thing we love about Austin – the music!
First, Mama Camp asked FB friends for advice on taking kids to the festival. There were two suggestions:
1. Take them & hang out at the Austin Kiddie Limits Stage (http://www.aclfestival.com/inthepark/kiddie.html). But have someone pick them up at 4:00 so you can enjoy the rest of the festival
2. “Don’t ;)”
Without the necessary child-care available (see above re: Grandma), only half of the first suggestion is doable. And the second suggestion, while elegant in its simplicity, lacks a certain can-do attitude that Mama Camp takes pride in putting forward.
So, like all camps, we make a plan:
1. Pack the Little Camper in the car along with the big all-terrain stroller, a water-proof blanket, four one-liter bottles of water, three small umbrellas, four ponchos (there’s a hurricane in the forecast), extra clothes (in case there’s a potty accident), two camping chairs, kid’s snacks, and the diaper bag (diapers, wipes, hand sanitizer and changing pad).
2. Pick up the Big Camper from school early.
3. Drive-thru Chick-fil-a for an early dinner.
4. Beat the after-work rush hour traffic downtown to the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Lady Bird Lake. At the boat dock we’ll catch the 3.30pm Capital Cruises boat shuttle ($10/person) to Lou Neff Point.
5. Step into the Hyatt for the last clean bathroom break, and let the campers run around the lobby while the Camp Director and Camp Daddy gaze longingly at the bar.
6. Secure seats on the boat while Camp Daddy ensures the campers don’t:
a) Fall into the lake
b) Jump into the lake
c) Push each other into the lake
d) Find any other way to end up in the lake
7. Board the shuttle with two dry campers and all of the gear.
8. Enjoy the sights along Lady Bird Lake:
“Look Mama, a train…wooo-wooo!”
“Look Mama, a turtle!”
“Mama, how did someone write on the side of that bridge?”
“Look Mama, another turtle!”
9. Field tourists’ questions like “Where’s the best Mexican food in Austin?” Answer: “You’re a tourist…go to Guerro’s and experience SoCo at least once.” Explain the difference between 6th Street and 4th Street. Etc.
10. Debark at Lou Neff Point, and head up the hike & bike trail to the ACL Fest entrance on Barton Springs Road. Stop to say “Hello” to the swans along the way.
11. Arrive at the Austin City Limits Festival, get extra program booklets with iTunes sample cards for my nieces, and hope they don’t make us throw out the campers’ snacks from the diaper bag (thus avoiding a Little Camper hunger-fueled melt-down).
12. Go immediately to the souvenir tent to purchase 2009 t-shirts before the good ones sell out. And be grateful that the stroller still has room to stow the loot.
13. Find the “Tag-a-Kid” booth in case the campers decide to run for it.
14. Scope out the sponsor booths for freebies and group photo ops.
15. Head for the The Austin Kiddie Limits Stage. Note: they have a new schedule this year (Friday until 4.30 and Saturday & Sunday until 5:00). So we might see about 30 minutes of kid-friendly music here.
16. When the Kiddie Limits Stage closes, find a spot to camp where we can hear one or more of the big stages. Then hope and pray that the campers want to sit still. When they don’t, draw straws to see who chases after them. Note: don’t bring anything valuable in case it has to be left while chasing after the Little Camper.
17. When the campers are ready to go, let them know that the next boat shuttle is not until 10pm or later. Stay calm while campers whine about being exhausted, standing in line waiting to pee, and not being able to sleep because it’s too loud. Consider possibilities for leaving early:
a) Walk back to the Hyatt (about 1.5 miles)
b) Catch a cab back
c) Take a Pedi cab (make that two since the stroller will need its own seat)
Otherwise, just wait until the last show is almost over, and then head out ahead of the throng in order to maneuver the stroller out of the park
Hmm...sounds a little complicated.
OK, new plan:
1. Sell two Friday ACL Fest tickets.
2. Meet Grandma halfway on Saturday and deliver the most well-behaved campers for a fun-filled weekend of junk food, candy before noon, late-night TV watching, and llamas.
3. Use the money from the sale of the tickets for beer & food.
4. Enjoy two fun-filled days at ACL sans campers… if it doesn’t rain too much.
This is a different perspective with the kiddos. I hope you and the family had a great time. I went and had a great time, even with the rain.
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