You Had Me At Trailer Park Hotel.

It seemed like ages ago when I first learned of El Cosmico and sent emails upon emails bugging my friends about the trailer park hotel set-up. Maybe it's because I'm from Virginia, but there's something about hotel rooms being uniquely decorated double-wides that just turns me on so imagine how jazzed I was when someone contacted me about heading to Marfa for this amazing 4 day camping, music and baseball festival. (If you don't have an imagination, just take my word that I was beyond jazzed. Still am.)

Here's the lowdown on this event if you want to join me:
WHAT: 6TH ANNUAL TRANS-PECOS FESTIVAL OF MUSIC & LOVE

WHEN and WHERE: SEPTEMBER 22-25 MARFA, TEXAS

El Cosmico Family Band Starring Alejandro Escovedo, Erika Wennerstrom of the Heartless Bastards, Adam Bork, Amy Cook, Ben Kweller, Tiff Merritt to Perform
WHAT: 6th Annual Trans-Pecos Festival of Music and Love is a three day festival that celebrates music, art, community and camping under the stars at El Cosmico in Marfa, Texas.

LINE-UP:

Thursday, September 22: Tift Merritt, Patty Griffin with special guests, Barbara Lynn

Friday, September 23: El Cosmico Family Band with David Garza, Josh Block of White Denim, and Jesse Ebaugh of the Heartless Bastards, featuring performances by Adam Bork, Kat Edmonson, Tift Merritt, Amy Cook, Alejandro Escovedo, Erika Wennerstrom and Ben Kweller.

Saturday, September 24: Alejandro Escovedo, Black Angels.

Shop at the Trans-Pecos Festival vendor marketplace for art, clothing and other survival necessities from Nashville’s Imogene + Willie, Alabama Chanin, Squashblossom Vintage and many others. Enjoy land art installations by the UT School of Architecture and video projections by local and national artists. As always, the epic sandlot baseball rivalry continues on Saturday at 4 pm at Vizcaino Field as Austin's Texas Playboys take on Marfa's Los Yonke Gallos. The event will also include a Sunday charity breakfast benefiting KRTS, Marfa’s local radio station.

TICKETS:

Pre-event prices:
$30 per night for just music, no camping

$100 for two nights of music with camping

$125 for three nights of music with camping

To reserve your campsite and register for the Trans-Pecos Festival, please go to www.elcosmico.com. For RV inquiries, please email us at info@elcosmico.com about your machine and we will try to accommodate. Note: there is no RV hookup on site.

.jl.

Adventures Yet To Be Had.

If you follow any of my adventures (or more accurately my misadventures), you know I travel a lot. So much in fact, it’s probably more realistic to reclaim my hometown as “current airport, plane or hotel” rather than the current status of Houston.

Sitting on my flight from MKE back to IAH (I even speak in airport code which probably isn’t a good sign, but that's Milwaukee to Houston), I realized I don’t fly during the day very often. Mainly because I like to extend my trips on both sides as far as I can. I like to arrive at my destination first thing in the morning and drag out my final day as long as possible (unless I’m coming home from Vegas – that is always a mistake that I never seem to remember while booking my flights). This desire to extend my trips stems from my days back in corporate America when I was forced to take a vacation day I wanted to use it to the full advantage. Even though I’m pretty much on my own schedule now, that routine is kind of ingrained in me so most of my flights are still early morning (when it's still dark or I’m fast asleep on the freezing plane) or long after the sun as gone down. The shades are usually pulled tight because there’s not much to see out the window.

No matter how much I travel there are still a million places I want to go. Looking out my window, I notice all the land we’re quickly flying over. Though it’s the Midwest and not exactly the most glamorous region in all the world, it’s still beautiful land probably filled with hiking trails of every level, the Great lakes (including waterfalls, amazing photo-opps, chances to fish, ski and boat, and stories and memories destined to be had), ridiculously cute bed and breakfast joints I’d imagine going on with the man of my dreams (who is yet to be found, by the way), country dirt roads longing to be traveled on, and so much more.

I have no doubt there are highways for me to get lost on. Boutiques and antique shops with a pair of vintage cowboy boots waiting for me to stumble upon. Chefs waiting to whip up delicious French toast for me to douse syrup on. But this Continental jet is flying over it. Literally. All of it. At super fast speeds.

Too often I’m in a rush to get to my destination or return home to my 23lb teacup Chihuahua to cuddle on the couch and catch up on my DVR. But the stuff I pass over on the way to and fro could be the most exciting adventure yet to be had.

And blonde note – I suck at geography. I couldn’t even tell you where exactly this route is flying over, but I do know it’s probably fun waiting for one of my many misadventures.

.jl.