Bill Beach teaches CARR at Right Online, originally uploaded by Rob Bluey.

Leaving the Beltway can do wonders for you. Being in Texas the past couple of days for Americans for Prosperity’s Right Online conference was a refreshing experience. Some random thoughts about the trip:

• Texas conservatives are awesome. I came away from the conference feeling a lot better about the state of conservatism after watching these grassroots activists in action. The nearly 500 attendees were positive, upbeat and excited to get engaged online. I can’t say they are enthusiastic about the state of the Republican Party and GOP politicians, but they are certainly engaged on our core issues. Kudos to Erik Telford of AFP, who got his share of positive press from the Washington Post, New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

• The conference established a great model for gatherings in other states. Across town, Netroots Nation seemed to be taking shape as a CPAC-like affair with big-name politicians, lots of political chatter and overblown media hype. Right Online was nothing like that. The agenda was heavy with training and teaching. Kudos to Meghann Parlett and Bryan Bernys of Leadership Institute.

‚Ä¢ Our Computer-Assisted Research and Reporting boot camp was a hit. We had 22 people — by far the largest one I‚Äôve done in my 18 months at Heritage — including a dozen from the Austin American-Statesman. Heritage‚Äôs Bill Beach (pictured above) taught most of the data-heavy class. Two of our other teachers did double duty in Austin. Sheila Krumholz of the Center for Responsive Politics and Conor Kenny of the Sunlight Foundation were on hand at Netroots Nation, but made the time to join us. This reinforced the non-partisan and non-ideological nature of the class.

‚Ä¢ Michelle Malkin gave a great speech Saturday that focused on the right‚Äôs strengths rather than our shortcomings. I won‚Äôt repeat the laundry list of accomplishments she cited (hopefully I can get the video), but it was refreshing to hear someone talk optimistically and not be afraid to criticize the left’s tactics. She chided the MSM for reinforcing the ‚Äúright is behind online‚Äù narrative. It‚Äôs too bad most MSM reporters were across town fawning over Al Gore and the nutroots. Go figure.

• The conference was the perfect place to plug the new RedState.com, and Erick Erickson made the most of it. With a heavy emphasis on state and local blogging, RedState is making a big push to get more people active in politics in their own backyard. On a personal note, it was the first time I saw Erick speak publicly before a large audience. It quickly became clear he should be doing more of it. He’s funny, intelligent and communicates in a way that people understand.

• The best part of the trip was catching up with old friends from outside D.C. and making some new ones. Friday’s dinner and night on the town was a highlight. Sometimes it’s just nice to hang out and have a beer (or tequila shots).

• I didn’t get to see much of Austin, but what I did was really cool. I’d definitely consider making a return trip. Special thanks to Spencer Whelan and his wife for showing all the out-of-towners a fun time on 6th Street.