If you aren't already high-tailing it out of town or in a TSA line as we speak, be prepared for a few things that are for certain this Memorial Day Weekend. First off, a ton of people are hitting the road starting Friday, with AAA estimating that some 38 million Americans will be traveling this weekend spurred by lower gas prices the highest number estimated since 2005, as the Business Times reports. That includes 3.9 million hitting the road in California alone, and some 160,000 people coming into and going out of SFO this weekend a five percent increase over last year.
And, as travelers only increase in number and the TSA is facing a shortage of agents right now, you can expect some terrible, terrible lines if you don't have pre-check. So, sorry.
As the Examiner reminds us, because of some recent traffic woes involving tourists at both ends of the Golden Gate Bridge angling to squeeze into the parking lots there, both parking lots at the welcome center on the SF side and the vista point on the Marin side will be closed from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. all four days of the holiday weekend, Friday through Monday.
But there's fun stuff happening right here in the city if you're not planning on leaving, including the big 38th annual Mission festival and parade, Carnaval. The main event, with over 50 singing and dancing groups parading through the neighborhood starting at 24th Street and Bryant at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday. They will hit a long stretch of Mission Street as well, so expect a ton of congestion and don't expect to get anywhere around the Mission by car on Sunday.
And because this is San Francisco, our Carnaval is a crazy mashup of many cultures, with Brazilian-style samba schools with up to 300 dancing members, Mexican Aztec performers, Caribbean contingents from all over, plus "African drummers, Polynesian dancers, Japanese drummers, giant puppets and folkloric groups representing Guatemala, Honduras and Bolivia."
In other news, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis will be at Bill Graham on Saturday night, if you're wondering what that crowd is about. Some tickets appear to be available here.
Whatever you do, have fun out there, don't drive drunk, and bring a book if you're headed for the TSA line.