It’s spring break,  your family is staying home and you have nothing to do all week. Right? Wrong! Luckily for us, we live in Austin,  an especially lively city in the spring time.

In the middle of March most years we are blessed with beautiful weather. Fortunately, this year will be no different. With temperatures predicted to be in the 70’s most of the week, Austin is going to be a sunny playground for springtime activities. On a nice day, there are a variety of things to do.

One of my personal favorite things is to go on a picnic. I like to gather up a couple of friends and drive downtown. On the way to the park we stop at Whole Foods for a nice, organic picnic complete with fresh fruit, some sushi and chips and guacamole. My favorite picnic spot in Austin is Butler Park. It is attached to the Dougherty Arts Center off of Barton Creek Road. It is super scenic with a nice view of the city and some pretty water features.

Another fun outside activity is a day trip to Fredericksburg and Enchanted Rock. Fredericksburg is a cute small town just an hour outside of Austin. It is filled with boutiques and old German restaurants. On a nice day, it is the perfect place for window-shopping and enjoying a little adventure with friends or family. And the great thing about it is it is just outside of Enchanted Rock, one of the best hiking spots in Texas, and another beautiful springtime activity.

Also, we are very blessed to have our spring break on the exact week of SXSW, one of the country’s biggest art and film festivals. People come from all over the world to see this festival and we live in the city where it takes place. Even if you aren’t interested in spending tons of money on concerts, there are free options. Waterloo Records has free shows all day in their parking lot. Artists such as AWOLNATION, The Church, Clean Bandit and The Districts will be performing there over the course of the weekend. For more information on free concerts go to sxsw.com/free.

If you find yourself feeling jealous of friends that are expecting to travel this break, don’t be. Remember how amazing of a city you live in. Think about the fact that people are coming to Austin for spring break and you are already here!