So, I know that memorial day weekend is coming up soon. I suppose I should be planning a weekend by the lake with cold beer, suntan lotion, and a flyswatter–maybe planning a day on a bud light party cruise. However, what I really want to do…is go to the movies. I want to sit indoors in a dark cool theater and get lost in one fantastical story after another….no bug spray or bathing suit required.

Now, this is not a normal urge. I like movies…but, I much prefer the great outdoors, warm weather, and sunshine. I am not some strange pale person in an overcoat that has no social life and hisses at strangers. (well, the pale part is correct). But, it has been a long time since I watched a good movie…had the powerful ‘suspension of disbelief’ that a hushed theater and a giant screen can offer.

However, I don’t want just any movie experience. I am actually craving a very singular type of movie outing…

The Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas.

This small chain of Austin theaters has taken all that you love about watching a movie at home (comfortable seating, food, ability to drink a glass(or 3) of wine) and mixed it with all that you love about watching a movie in the theater (large screen, great sound, getting out of the house).

They show first-run, second-run, and off the wall movies and they let you drink beer and wine and order from an extensive and suprisingly tasty menu–before and during the film. It’s as good as the movie-going experience can get.

Now, if they would only pause the film every time you had to go to the bathroom, it would be sheer perfection!

The Drafthouse began in a small renovated parking garage in Austin’s trendy Wharehouse District (before it was very trendy). They showed second run films and quickly got a reputation for screening a wide variety of non traditional films—documentaries, indies, and reruns of old cult classics, like Rocky Horror Picture Show and Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.

As the theater became more popular, they also started hosting events and creating fun theme nights around different movies. I have ‘a friend’ that went to the Michael Jackson, Thriller Sing-Along, where costumes and dancing were strongly encouraged (and adhered too!). One of my favorite theme nights was watching the fourth Harry Potter movie and ordering off their special menu… items like butter beer and chocolate frogs. Another ‘special menu’ that was created was for a screening of “Like Water for Chocolate” and the kitchen served the same menu as was consumed during the wedding feast in the movie!

As time has gone on…the original theater has turned into 6 in Austin and about 15 in other cities across Texas. I have also read that the first out of state Alamo Drafthouse is slated to open its doors in Virginia, in 2009. They have added mainstream movie selections and big blockbusters to their line-up, but, have managed to keep the oddball and zany features alive as well.

What I don’t understand is why this concept has not been picked up all across the U.S. I live in the Bay Area and have had trouble finding any theaters that let you drink and order food off a menu. The Sundance Kabuki theater is the only one that comes close. But, it doesn’t have in-movie waiter service…much less the themed screenings and wacky cult classics that make the Alamo so special.

I have found more of these kinds of theaters overseas than in the U.S. of A. One of the best is the Cinema Paradiso in Wanaka, New Zealand. But, I won’t expound on it here as it is worthy of its very own post!

So, while there are certainly plenty of fantastic things to do in San Francisco and across the rest of California for Memorial Day Weekend. I am sitting here looking up cheap flights to Austin…..gotta get my Alamo movie fix!

What are your Memorial Day plans?

The 2008 Memorial Day weekend is almost here (May 23-26) and the AAA is projecting that more Americans will stay at home during this Memorial Day holiday, due to high fuel prices. That argument is not entirely without merit, so here’s a few ways you can enjoy the Memorial Day events in and around New York without having to fill up on the gas and book into an expensive hotel or getaway resort. In short, a traditional Memorial Day weekend in New York on the cheap.

Fleet Week: The Annual NYC Fleet Week (May 21-28) includes a plethora of events including public ship visitations, helicopter raid demonstrations (you know, where they throw these lines out of the copters and swoop down), a Times Square concert, Navy band performance, an F-18 Navy flight simulator display, and lots of Memorial Day parades all over New York. Here’s a full list of all events held for Fleet Week, with date, time and location.

Queens Memorial Day Parade: If you’re fond of parades, the biggest Memorial Day Parade in the U.S. is held at Little Neck and Douglaston, Queens. The parade starts at 2 pm at the corner of Jason Avenue and Northern Boulevard in Great Neck, moving west on Northern Boulevard to 244 Street into St. Anastasia Schoolyard. The theme for the 2008 parade is ‘Fort Totten From War To Peace’. Photo courtesy & copyrights Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade Org., Inc.

MET Special Events: The Metropolitan Museum of Art has two specials for Memorial Day. First is the family festival at the Cloisters – Two days (May 24-25) of programs for the entire family, with tours and gallery workshops in English and Spanish. More details here. Secondly, the MET is open on Memorial Day as part of its ‘Holiday Mondays’ program sponsored by Bloomberg. Here’s the list of exhibitions open on Monday.

Lower East Side Festival of the Arts: This is the 13th year of the LES festival, and this year the organizers have put together over 70 groups with 250+ performers, with street fairs, theater, dance, music, poetry, art and multimedia presentations, food vendors, cooking competitions and lots more. More details here.

If you’re interested in street fairs, you might want to make note of the Times Square Fair on May 25th, at Seventh Avenue 47th to 57th streets, from 11 am to 6 pm. Call 212-809-4900 for more information. There’s also the Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit from noon to 6 pm during the Memorial Day weekend, which attracts over 200 artists and more than 200,000 art lovers every year.

Brooklyn Bridge 125th Birthday Celebration: The Memorial Day weekend celebrations to honor the cultural significance of the Brooklyn Bridge in its 125th year include a Brooklyn Philharmonic concert followed by a Grucci Fireworks extravaganza, open air film screenings at the foot of the bridge, walking tours, and dance and music festivals. Photo by runnyc262 via Flickr.

All performances are free. Here’s the full list of events starting May 22nd. The bridge will be lit up with festive lighting until Memorial Day from 9 pm to 11 pm, so you might want to hang around from evening until at least 9 pm, just to see the lights come on.

There’s a lot of stuff going on all over New York, from Staten Island to Manhattan, and you have an extended weekend at your disposal. Why not make use of it to get to know the culture and the art and artists of New York, not to mention the additional significance of Memorial Day, in light of the Iraq war and the enormous sacrifices made by the men and women in the Armed Forces to help keep America safe.

From guest blogger Marsha Takeda-Morrison of Sweatpantsmom

When I was asked to write about ideas for a three-day weekend, I panicked since we are a notoriously last-minute kind of family; planning ahead means calling the hotel from the parking lot to see if they have any vacancies.

So I decided to check the paper to see what everyone else was doing, and judging by the endless ads and inserts it was obvious how 99% of America would be spending their holiday – shopping. This was a great idea that involved minimum forethought, and another excellent way to help our economy! My husband wouldn’t be too thrilled, but neither was I when he made me camp in the rain that time, either. Besides, I get just as much joy from bringing home a new purse as I would from lugging back a piece of driftwood.

We’ll start off our weekend by heading out to the mother of all shopping malls, the South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. Supposedly they have something like five million stores in there – I’ve heard that the owners don’t even know how many and when they’re done counting their bags of money at night they just go right back and build another store in the morning.

But first we’d have to eat, so we’ll stop at Coco Noche in Manhattan Beach, a wine and chocolate restaurant that serves excellent tapas dishes. We’d order the Korean beef served with lettuce leaves and their chicken sandwiches. My husband would still be fuming over the whole shopping thing, and would just down a couple of beers. Afterwards we would sample some chocolate – they have exotic ones like chili pepper and cinnamon.

When we got to the mall we’d first have to appease our two tween girls so our first stop would be Hot Topic. I would limit them to 30 minutes because to be perfectly honest that place scares the hell out of me – I’m always afraid I’ll come out of there and realize I’d gotten my tongue pierced and a skull tattooed on my stomach.

Next I would go to Bloomingdales and not come out for three hours.

After hours of spending my husband’s hard-earned cash we’d need to eat again and luckily food was nearby. I truly believe that next to stretch jeans, man’s greatest invention has got to be the Mall Food Court, where a family of four can eat tacos, baguettes and pizza all at the same meal. Next we’d head to our hotel, which I had just reserved three minutes earlier.

The next morning I’d be feeling sorry for my husband, so we’d head across the street to one of our favorite places in the city, Isamu Noguchi’s California Scenario. You wouldn’t expect to find a sculpture garden created by a world-class artist wedged between a Chili’s and FedEx office, but there it is. We’d wander around the cactuses and rocks and listen to the amazing silence in the middle of the city. I’d try to enjoy it and not think too much about that fajita pan I put on hold at Crate and Barrel.

On our way home we’d stop by Huntington Beach and sit out on the sand for awhile to count our receipts enjoy the sound of the waves. We’d all agree that it had been a great weekend – and while we were coming home poorer, we could all rest in easy in the thought that we looked stunning in our new clothes.

What are some ways you spend a three-day weekend? Are you a plan-ahead or a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of person?