A Mom's Guide to Surviving the X Games

The carful of kids heard that ESPN is pulling into town for X Games Austin 2015; we went for one day last year for the inaugural X Games Austin. This year we have three-day passes for triple the fun.

X Games, for those who don't know, is a festival and competition dedicated to extreme sports held twice a year for summer and winter sports hosted by ESPN. Austin is home to the summer X games for four years and 2015 is the second year in the multi-year contract.

Lots of games and activities for kids

First of all, let's talk about the basics--how much?

Tickets. The One-Day Experience Pass for 2015 is a reasonable $59 per person, this includes admission to the concerts after the day's events, for 2015 Nicky Minaj and Metallica headline. There is the opportunity to upgrade your seating for individual events starting at $25.

The boys on the Navy Special Operation Craft

The Three-Day Experience Pass for 2015 is $109 per person but like the One-Day Experience Pass, you have to buy an upgrade for the Street Events due to limited seating.

If this is too pedestrian for you, there is an VIP option. For the Three-Day VIP Pass that includes a lanyard with large gold pass with your name printed on it (think Press Pass) it will set you back $1,300. For the One Day VIP passes, it ranges from $400 for Friday and Sunday and $600 for Saturday, you will get a parking pass thrown in with the VIP packages.

Steve Caballero with my oldest son

I get the tickets or wristbands on the carful of kids, now I have to get to the event--X Games Austin 2015 is at the Circuit of the Americas, home to the F1 racetrack. It is located off the 130 tollway, about 14 miles east of downtown Austin, easy enough and the traffic doesn't seem to be a problem.

Parking. You can order parking online ahead of time but it doesn't save you any money when you add on the fees. The carful of kids arrive early in the day and park in parking lot A or B for $ 20 cash, they are closest to the main entrance and there is a bus.

As the day wears on, the traffic increases and you have to park farther from the entrance. At the end of the day's events and after the concerts, the traffic is a bit congested.

Bob Burnquist, winner of Big Air Final

The carful of kids is ready to go after a quick spray of the sunscreen. X Games allows one sealed container of water per person and they have added more free water refill stations so take advance of that.

My son, the reason we are at the X Games, is a skater--meaning he rides a skateboard. The carful of kids prioritize these events, take a look at the schedule ahead of time, there are lots of events to choose from.

Like a lot of moms I know very little about the athletes that are competing. I ask my oldest son lots of questions; he tries his best to answer them but he is 11.

Legends of Vert with Tony Hawk

The carful of kids, especially me, needed some background information on skateboarding so we watched the Bones Brigade: an Autobiography. This is a great movie to learn the history and the legends of the sport.

The Bones Brigade was the brainchild of the one of the founders of the skateboard giant Powell Peralta--Stacy Peralta. He discovered talented unknowns and groomed them into a team that dominated the sport in the 1980s.

Out of this group of talented teens, there are several skateboarders that still compete and perform. Several of them are at X Games Austin 2015.

Tony Hawk on the Vert Ramp

Athletes. First up is Tony Hawk, he is a big deal and you don't get any bigger than him. I recognize him from half the stuff in my son's room. He's a  birthday buddy with my oldest son--May 12, though he's close to my age.

Though Hawk doesn't compete any longer, you can see him skate at demos. His son, Riley Hawk, has recently turned pro and competes in X Games for the first time this year.

Next is Steve Cabellero, a legend and a marvel--he's 50 and routinely drops in on the vert ramp displaying great athleticism. He is a super nice guy and will patiently sign autographs for all the fans, which span two generations now.

Mitchie Brusco

Up next are some other legends but not part of the Bones Brigade--Bob Burnquist, he's also close to my age but must be a crazy loon. He launches himself off this UNBELIEVABLE ramp that is named the Big Air MegaRamp.

Chris Cole has won several X Games metals and will compete in the X Games Street.

There is a ton of young guys, most still in high school, Tom Schaar, Elliot Sloan, Jono Schwan, Mitchie Brusco, Curren Caples to name a few competing. Learn some names and faces to impress your carful of kids too.

Big Air MegaRamp

Events. There are several key events at X Games Austin 2015. My son is into skateboarding so that is what we see. I didn't see many of the BMX events but they seem similar except on a bike.

The showcased event is called the Big Air. It closes the day of competitions on Friday and Saturday for skate and BMX, so don't miss it. It's thrilling from the grassy knoll overlooking the massive ramp.

Nothing says Texas like a mechanical bull

Originally invented by Danny Way, the Big Air MegaRamp attracts big crowds. Danny Way even flew over the Great Wall of China with a MegaRamp in 2005.

Bob Burnquist didn't invent the event but he dominates it. He even has a MegaRamp built in his backyard in California that the contenders practice on year-round.

The Big Air MegaRamp is no joke, I wouldn't even scoot down it on my hiney. The athletes roll in at 45mph at 45 degrees to fly over a 70-foot gap and land in a 25-foot quarter pipe then to launch themselves over 20 feet in the air to perform a trick. INSANE

Crafts X Games-style

The Vert, vertical ramp, is another great event to see--lots of air and impressive tricks. The tricks have evolved over the years and I can't tell the difference. I learned the name of Tony Hawk's iconic trick, the 900, a two and half revolution aerial spin that is technically difficult to land, and use it sprinkled in my conversations with the carful of kids.

The street course is another big event but you have to have an upgrade to attend this event due to the limited seating.

Popsicles beat the heat 

If you are interested in Motor Cross, there are events as well as Rally Car races. The festival is family-friendly with gaming tents, activities and demonstrations--all geared towards school-aged kids and beyond.

The complex doesn't offer much shade and few real restrooms. I suggest taking an umbrella for a little relief from the sun, especially when waiting for events to start.

There is a ton of different food trailers, it's Austin--the food trailer capital of the world. The Circuit of the Americas is on the edge of town so you will have to eat at the festival--no other places close unless you like gas station hotdogs.

If you have a carful of kids, visit X Games Austin the next time they are in town. I encourage more moms to share extreme sports with their kids.

Know before you go: Texas is hot, the temperatures for the weekend are 95º F. Please stay hydrated.

Inner Space Caverns with the Carful of Kids

So it's been raining in Texas for months and everything I have planned to do with the carful of kids has been rained out. We love to spend time exploring our outdoor world and there is one place that never gets rained out--A Cave.

The carful of kids love caves and we stop at the caves that we pass on our road trips. But somehow we have never visited Inner Space Caverns in Georgetown, Texas, so we headed over there recently to check it out.

Wonder why Inner Space Caverns is conveniently located on Interstate 35? It was discovered in the Spring of 1963 by the Texas Highway Department while they were drilling core samples to see if the ground was staple enough to support an overpass.

While drilling one of the holes, the drill bit suddenly dropped 26 feet. Something must be down there.

Word traveled and the Texas Speleological Society was selected to do the survey. In November of 1963, the first explorers were lowered down the 6-inch wide hole through  solid limestone into the cavity below. Within a few weeks, 7,000 feet of the cave was discovered and surveyed.

Inner Space Caverns opened to the general public in the summer of 1966. Its been a popular destination for school-age kids ever since.

This is a great tour for the carful of kids because it is relatively short at a little over an hour. The temperature inside the cave is a moderate 72 degrees year-round.

The carful of kids get a great tour guide and have a hard time not running down the steep ramp to the cave below. Of course, we are told to walk, maybe next time.

We walk from room to room with ease and it is not at all claustrophobic. The cave is well lit and none of the kids on the tour have any issues with the dark.

Look good, It's a BAT.

The tour guide tells us about the formation of the geological features and how water is responsible for forming the stalactites and stalagmites. This cave is a living cave so the carful of kids can't touch the formations since it will kill their ability to grow. 

About half way through our tour, the tour guide stops short and shines his flash light a few inches above our heads. To his delight, the carful of kids spot a BAT, yes, a tiny, little bat. The kids on the tour go WILD trying to climb over each other  to see it. 

The tour guide moves the tour along and the bat remains unharmed. He gathers the group in another room and gets our attention.

FLICK, he turns off the lights in the cave. Wow. Black. The kids start to howl like kids, in the dark, underground. Before it gets too crazy, he turns the lights back on and I'll admit, I'm a little relieved.

At the end of the tour, we walk by the exhibit displaying all the prehistoric animals they have found in Inner Space Caverns. I won't spoil the surprise but if you have a dinosaur-loving kid, then this is a must visit.

Inner Space Caverns is a great half-day stop for the carful of kids. There is a gift shop and a small snack stand and it is an easy drive up I-35 from Austin, about 25 miles from the center of the city.

Inner Space Caverns, located at 4200 South I-35 Frontage Road, is open from 9 a. m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a. m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For the kids 4 to 12, admission is $ 11.95 and for the adults, it's $ 19.95. Inner Space Caverns is NOT wheel-chair accessible, so that means no strollers either.

Know before you go: The trails are wet in spots, wear tennis shoes for the best traction. The temperature is a mild 72 degrees year round.