Caffeine: This 20-year-old's drug of choice

Want to beat the heat with an ice cold drink plus get your caffeine fix? Luckily there are plenty of coffee places around to catch up with friends or finish that last-minute paper.
On Mill Avenue, Coffee Plantation is a great place to hang out after dinner and grab some dessert. There are always plenty of college students around in the evenings, and there's lots of comfortable indoor seating with a good view of Mill Avenue for people-watching. Want some food with that coffee? Ejoy on Seventh Street offers breakfast sandwiches and bagels, and Mill's End Espresso off Third Street boasts a creperie.

So you need to study, but you can't handle another night in the library. Look no further than Three Roots on Mill. It has a unique atmosphere with separate rooms and cozy armchairs or dining-room style tables; it is always pretty quiet, making it a great alternative to the library.

If you love the outdoors and are willing to take a drive, Coffee Rush in Chandler is situated on the lake and has great outdoor seating — complete with misters and festive lights. It's the perfect place to enjoy a chat with friends, and the atmosphere is hip and laid-back, so feel free to order, and then stay all day.

If you'll be out all night, try Extreme Bean in Tempe and grab something to keep you up. This coffee spot is open 24 hours on the weekends and offers live music, making it much livelier than its competitors. It's not ideal for studying or quiet conversation, but it's a great place to go to get pumped up before a long night.

As always, there's Starbucks, the closest location not on campus is on Mill Avenue, but I always find the atmosphere isn't conducive to sitting with friends, and the loud elevator music makes me a little antsy. It's a great place to grab something and go, but it doesn't have the atmosphere or interesting people that you can find at a different coffee shop. So this weekend branch out, then grab your Starbucks venti caramel frappuccino on Monday morning.

— Megan Hunt

Checking out Phoenix's one cultural claim to fame

The idea of wandering around downtown Phoenix in the summer may not sound like a good time, but First Fridays is a great experience that every ASU student should check out at least once. On the first Friday of every month, as the name implies, galleries in downtown Phoenix open up from 6 to 10 p.m. for self-guided tours using free Shuttle Link buses. Visitors can choose from different sets of galleries using color-coded bus routes, all of which start at the Phoenix Public Library.

I've been to First Fridays several times now, and I love the atmosphere and the art, which is different each time. The crowds who enjoy First Fridays are pretty diverse, from college students to families to the artists selling their work. No uptight gallery owners give you evil stares if you're not looking to buy; they tend to be friendly and mingle with browsers.

Thinking of dressing up? Well don't, because these aren't cocktails-and-glitz kinds of galleries. They're all about urban art and culture, and the 90 or so galleries that are open these nights attract different crowds then you're likely to see at Scottsdale galleries. Some galleries have live music performances as well as art, and others include original comic books and postcards. Wear something comfortable, because First Fridays involves a lot of walking, and bring some cash if you're an art fan. Despite all the hype and the crowds who are just looking, this is still a place for artists to sell original pieces.

— Megan Hunt

Park it!

You're sick of parking, thanks to the horrors of Lot 59 on the first week of school, when everyone at ASU actually decides to show up. So this might sound like the last thing that you want to do, but this weekend give parking another chance — only instead of waiting for the Flash, wait for your movie.

The West Wind Scottsdale 6 Drive-In is one of only a few drive-in theaters in Arizona, and it was my first time visiting. My friends and I decide to see Superbad on Thursday night, and since all six screens at the theater play a double feature nightly, it was paired with I Know Who Killed Me. All children under 11 get in for free, but since I thankfully passed puberty long ago, I fork over $6 for a double feature. The audio is only available on FM stereo, and since none of us want to leave our cars running the whole time we brought a stereo.

The crowd here is pretty much like it is at a traditional theater: families with small kids, teens and plenty of couples on dates. Since anyone younger than 11 is free, you can bet there are lots of little kids, though thankfully not around our R-rated showing. Since we ended up leaving half-way through the second film, we still had a lot of the night left to go out and do something else — preferably something where kids don't get in free, or at all.

The drive-in is definitely a different feeling than the traditional theatres. A big selling point was that this was cheaper than most theaters, assuming that you'll want to see the double feature — in this case we watched a movie and a half for $6 before deciding that the rest of I Know Who Killed Me was best left unseen. If you want to see a movie but are looking for something a little different, the drive-in is definitely a unique option. The nights are pleasant enough and the price is a bargain — just try to plan out a better double feature.

You're sick of parking, thanks to the horrors of Lot 59 on the first week of school, when everyone at ASU actually decides to show up. So this might sound like the last thing that you want to do, but this weekend give parking another chance — only instead of waiting for the Flash, wait for your movie.

The West Wind Scottsdale 6 Drive-In is one of only a few drive-in theaters in Arizona, and it was my first time visiting. My friends and I decide to see Superbad on Thursday night, and since all six screens at the theater play a double feature nightly, it was paired with I Know Who Killed Me. All children under 11 get in for free, but since I thankfully passed puberty long ago, I fork over $6 for a double feature. The audio is only available on FM stereo, and since none of us want to leave our cars running the whole time we brought a stereo.

The crowd here is pretty much like it is at a traditional theater: families with small kids, teens and plenty of couples on dates. Since anyone younger than 11 is free, you can bet there are lots of little kids, though thankfully not around our R-rated showing. Since we ended up leaving half-way through the second film, we still had a lot of the night left to go out and do something else — preferably something where kids don't get in free, or at all.

The drive-in is definitely a different feeling than the traditional theatres. A big selling point was that this was cheaper than most theaters, assuming that you'll want to see the double feature — in this case we watched a movie and a half for $6 before deciding that the rest of I Know Who Killed Me was best left unseen. If you want to see a movie but are looking for something a little different, the drive-in is definitely a unique option. The nights are pleasant enough and the price is a bargain — just try to plan out a better double feature.

You're sick of parking, thanks to the horrors of Lot 59 on the first week of school, when everyone at ASU actually decides to show up. So this might sound like the last thing that you want to do, but this weekend give parking another chance — only instead of waiting for the Flash, wait for your movie.

The West Wind Scottsdale 6 Drive-In is one of only a few drive-in theaters in Arizona, and it was my first time visiting. My friends and I decide to see Superbad on Thursday night, and since all six screens at the theater play a double feature nightly, it was paired with I Know Who Killed Me. All children under 11 get in for free, but since I thankfully passed puberty long ago, I fork over $6 for a double feature. The audio is only available on FM stereo, and since none of us want to leave our cars running the whole time we brought a stereo.

The crowd here is pretty much like it is at a traditional theater: families with small kids, teens and plenty of couples on dates. Since anyone younger than 11 is free, you can bet there are lots of little kids, though thankfully not around our R-rated showing. Since we ended up leaving half-way through the second film, we still had a lot of the night left to go out and do something else — preferably something where kids don't get in free, or at all.

The drive-in is definitely a different feeling than the traditional theatres. A big selling point was that this was cheaper than most theaters, assuming that you'll want to see the double feature — in this case we watched a movie and a half for $6 before deciding that the rest of I Know Who Killed Me was best left unseen. If you want to see a movie but are looking for something a little different, the drive-in is definitely a unique option. The nights are pleasant enough and the price is a bargain — just try to plan out a better double feature.

— Megan Hunt

ArtWalking? Bring a cane

I dragged my roommates to Scottsdale with me hoping that the Scottsdale ArtWalk, which happens weekly on Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m., would make a decent alternative to the hipper First Fridays in Phoenix, which only happens once a month. Unfortunately, the ArtWalk is about as close to First Fridays as the Heard Museum is to the Paper Heart.

The Southwestern-themed galleries in Old Town Scottsdale stay open later on Thursdays, but most of them are so tacky it is almost nauseating. A few of the galleries were interesting, but honestly my roommates and I had a better time making fun of the people and art then seriously looking at any of it. There weren't many people out walking around considering it was hot and humid, but the people who were around were either older couples or groups of middle-age folk. We literally did not see another person younger than 30 the whole time we were taking the ArtWalk.

The highlight of the trip was the Scottsdale Civic Center mall, an open green area near the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts with the famously cliché LOVE sculpture, and several fountains and other sculptures. After working up a healthy appetite people watching on the ArtWalk, we stopped for dinner at Jewel of the Crown Indian cuisine, which was not only tasty and reasonably priced, but reassuring, as it was filled mostly with young couples. After dinner we headed for a walk down Scottsdale Road, where the people watching was definitely improved by the presence of many people not yet eligible for AARP. We stopped for dessert at the Gelato Spot, which was crowded with more of the typical Scottsdale crowd and made for a good end to the evening.

If you are ever planning a trip to Scottsdale, I would recommend skipping the art and heading straight for the food — which is definitely what I will be doing next time.

— Megan Hunt