For many people Texas, the second largest US state, conjures up images of cowboys, tumbleweeds and George Bush II. But Texas has a lot of just about everything- bustling cities, beaches, wide-open plains, and world-class art and music scenes.

In grandiose Texas style, Austin, the capital city, does not just have good live music- it is “The live music capital of the world.” Austin earned the name because it has more music venues per capita than any other city in the United States- more than 200 to date. The people of Austin include a mix of artists, politicians, techies who work in Silicon Hills, students and professors from the University of Texas-Austin and, of course, musicians. “Keep Austin Weird” is a slogan popular among residents. You can find a live show any day of the year in Austin but to get the most music for your money you might want to attend one of the four annual music festivals: South by Southwest, Austin City Limits (ACL), Pachanga or Urban.

South by Southwest
The oldest and most famous festival is the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music and Media conference. Held every spring the festival has grown to include film and interactive media in addition to music. Musicians from all over the world gather in Austin to perform at 80 venues throughout the city. During the day there are conferences and trade talks about the future of the industry. In 2009 the festival attracted groups ranging from Kanye West to Metallica to Silversun Pickups. There are also enough up and upcoming new bands to satisfy the choosiest music snob.

Austin City Limits
The Austin City Limits (ACL) music festival is a three-day festival held every October. Last year more than 65,000 people came to see more than 130 acts on eight stages. The ACL is not limited to one genre of music and brings together rock, country, folk, indie, hip-hop, and bluegrass groups.

Pachanga
Pachanga Latino Music Festival is the newest of the festivals. It is held every May in historic East Austin on Lady Bird Lake. It is billed as a celebration of Latino music, food and cultural arts. Pachanga means “lively party” in Spanish. In 2009 twenty bands performed in Spanish and English at the one-day festival.

Urban
The Urban Music Festival is held each spring and features R&B, neo-soul, and hip-hop music. In 2009 the festival attracted 12,000 people to Auditorium shores. The Urban Festival is a community-building event and relies on volunteers and other local participation.

Music Districts
If you can’t make it to Austin in time for the festivals you can still stroll through the music districts to find live performances. The best place to start is the Sixth Street District- with more than 50 clubs you are sure to find what you are looking for. But if you don’t you can continue on the Warehouse District for some classic blues at the world famous Antone’s. If you like to be on the cutting edge be sure to check out the alternative music in the Red River District.

Remember that many of these festivals are very popular. SXSW has become an iconic event that attracts tens of thousands of people. So does Austin City Limits. If you plan on traveling there, you will need to book your hotels early. Very early. Rooms fill up quick and many of the good deals are gone quickly. When I went to SXSW last year, I used Hotels Combined for my bookings. They had a lot of choices and were cheaper than Expedia.

While so many people think that traveling abroad is the only way to go as far as traveling is concerned, these same folks – people who so often extol the virtues of seeing new and different sights – discount just how much this great country of ours has to offer. From sandy beaches to even sandier deserts; from mountains to rivers to deep wavy fields and valleys filled with wild flowers and grasses, and from quite literally one ocean to another, the United States of America offers something for everyone and its landscape is as vast and varied as any country on the globe.

Even though I certainly pride myself on having visited several foreign countries, nations, and other locales abroad I firmly believe that someone should first explore their own country before moving on to visit the rest of the world. As someone who has been to 46 of 50 states as well as several territories (I’m missing just Alaska, Hawaii, Michigan, and Louisiana) I feel that I am in the proper position to give this sort of advice. In fact, before you set out to leave this nation ask yourself, what am I looking to find?

More often than not you will find that you can find what you are looking for, and then some, right here at home. If you are thinking of a visit to the deserts of Egypt look no further than our very own Death Valley in Nevada and California; the Painted Desert of New Mexico; or any other number of deserts throughout Texas, Arizona, Utah, Colorado and even Oregon! If you are more into beaches and ocean play than states such as Florida, Rhode Island, California, and most obviously Hawaii might be more your speed and the states of Alaska and Texas, almost small countries in their own right offer more to explore than many of the international destinations so many Americans are eager to visit.

While there is certainly nothing wrong with international travel and keeping in mind that I don’t want to come off as one of those ignorant Americans who ignores the world at large, I am just saying that, while travel abroad might have its place, we should not be so quick as to overlook the amazing people and beauty that our own country can offer us right here at home. All I’m saying is that before we go abroad, we should travel at home first.

About to take your very first backpacking trip? Doing one of the European circuits that every college graduate seems to take as a right of passage into the working world? Proper packing technique can save you quite a lot of pain and suffering on your trip, believe me. The first thing you should be considering is your pack, and the fit of it.

Brand is not as important as comfort. Your pack should be comfortable on your back, and you should make sure the store allows you to place some items in the pack to simulate what walking with a full one will be like. This process is essential, because you will be kicking yourself come travel time if your pack proves to rub your shoulders raw and hold weight unevenly.

When it comes to the actual packing, lay out all the things you think you will need, then take away half. Of the things that are left, you can probably take away another half. The key here is to pack basics and layers that go together easily and can be combined for multiple outfits and functions. Simple clothing is much better than fancy shoes or slacks that might see use 1 night out of 90.

Packing recently for my return to South America (trip time of 4 months) I packed my backpack with: 6 t-shirts, 4 long-sleeves, 1 fleece, 1 rain jacket, 4 pairs of pants, 3 pairs of shorts, 6 pairs of underwear, 6 pairs of socks, tennis shoes, sandals, and hiking boots, and my toiletries kit. I have all my bases covered clothing-wise, and still had space to spare for extras like my camera equipment and various camping supplies. Always bring less than you think you will need, because chances are you can find a really unique item while traveling anyways!

New Travelers make many mistakes. I wish I could go back to my young self to avoid so many mistakes. There are many tips for new travelers that they should know. Here are some tips all first time travelers should know:

Don’t over plan. One of the mistakes a lot of travelers make is that they plan, plan, and plan some more. They plan every day. But then they go and they go on the road and their whole plan goes awry and they don’t stick to it. Don’t worry about scheduling. You’ll find that plans change quickly when you are on the road.

Go with the flow. Lots of things can happen on the road and if you don’t have patience to deal with these things you will never be able to deal with life on the road. When you are traveling, just go with the flow of things and you will enjoy it much better.

Pack Light. Pack half as much stuff as you think you will need. When you start traveling, you’ll realize that you aren’t going to use half as much stuff as you thought you would. It will just sit in your bag or you will end up just throwing it away on the road. Pack light to save yourself the troubles.

Keep a budget. Most travelers end up on the road and just spend and spend. They know they have a finite budget but they just spend without keeping track or they do so without much detail. They have a rough estimate of how much they spend. This is how people run out of money soon. Make sure you keep a detailed budget so you always have money.

These are the mistakes most travelers make. If you follow my tips and advice, you can avoid these mistakes and have an even better time than everyone else.