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Last week, from March 7th-9th, I took a mini vacation to Austin, Texas with my mom!

March 8th was the main day of our trip, which was loads of fun since it was the day of the SXSWedu Expo, National Pancake Day and International Women’s Day.

This trip marked a few firsts for me, as it was the first time traveling to a central time zone and the first time I used an Airbnb. I also ended up using Lyft for the first time on this trip as well.

I stayed about 30 minutes from Downtown Austin at this Airbnb. I totally recommend it for the price and comfort. My host was very nice.

We started the day on March 8th with a trip on the Capitol Metro Rail.

It was so crowded that morning because of the SXSWedu Expo, which was taking place at the Austin Convention Center less than 100 feet away from Downtown Station.

It was pouring rain by the time my mom and I arrived in Downtown Austin. Since it was National Pancake Day, it would have been unwise to skip a free short stack from iHop, so we ran through the rain to get there.

Before going through the door at iHop, an elderly man dressed in a suit draped in party favor necklaces offered us what he called “iHop Beads.” I gladly took a gold one.

By the time we’d finished eating, the rain had let up, so we went over to the Austin Convention Center for the SXSWedu Expo. I think my favorite part was watching all those talented kids perform on the Next Stage!

At the Raindrop Turkish House booth, my mom and I were presented with roses for International Women’s Day. That was just too kind of them! We had to leave the roses at the Airbnb, though

After we were done walking around at the expo, we went over to The Austin Contemporary to see Mark Mothersbaugh: Myopia. It was a fascinating exhibit. I loved all of Mothersbaugh’s prints and the interactive exhibit upstairs as well.

We could see the Texas Capitol from the street outside the museum, so we headed there in time for the 3pm tour.

We ended the day with a short trip to Lady Bird Boardwalk.

Before leaving Austin on March 9th, I tried the famous breakfast taco and my mom tried a breakfast burrito from Fuzzy’s.

I wasn’t really fond of it. I think it needed more flavor in the chorizos.

At the airport I bought this keychain to remember this short but fun adventure!

If you’re interested in using Airbnb, use my link for $20 off your first trip: www.airbnb.com/c/danag194?s=8.