travel day

Well this FIVE DEGREES of "warmth" that Minnesota welcomed me home with today was a harsh wake-up call. Seriously, it's March. I can live with 30s and 40s, but single digits are no way to step off a plane when wearing sandals still from your morning in Texas (not the smartest move on my part, but hey, I was operating on less than 2 hours of sleep).Anyway, we rushed home and crawled back into bed where I slept until after 3 pm (remember, our flight was at 6:30 am, meaning we left for the airport at 4:15 am). And getting my sleep schedule back on track this week ought to be interesting.But oh my, it was all worth it. I dare say this was one of my favorite SXSW festivals yet (my fifth year), and we had an absolute blast. Not only did we see fantastic music and bask in 80 degrees and sunshine all week long, but seeing old friends is always a wonderful perk as well.The photos above are a) the worst photo I have ever posted on this blog and I deeply apologize but I knew you would want to see Justin Timberlake and b) The scene at the Austin airport when we arrived this morning. I wonder if they came straight to the airport or if they even made it to the hotel? Part of me loves laughing at this, but another part remembers just two years ago when we pulled an all-nighter and then our 6 am flight was delayed for four hours and without even knowing how it happened, I woke up on the same airport floor, myself. So I do feel their pain (but at least the flight was on time).This afternoon I also wrote up a piece for vita.mn on the highlights of the week (photos, too) which you can read over here, if you're so inclined.And as a final wrapup, here are links to all of my photos in case you missed any. Enjoy it because tomorrow it's back to the normal, everyday, non-vacaiton lifestyle.Day OneDay TwoDay ThreeDay FourDay Five