Drive-ins Ride Again
My wife and I saw a segment on the CBS Sunday Morning show recently where Bill Geist went to a drive-in theater. Lo and behold, it was in Texas. Even more lo-ing and behold-ing, it was within 60 miles of our house, just north of Ennis on I-45.
My wife just had to go.
She'd gone to drive-ins as a kid and loved the experience. I'd never been and, to be totally honest, felt skeptical about the arrangement. But, I support and trust my wife, so off to the drive-in we went.
We had a blast. We saw Ice Age: the Meltdown, the kids had a great time propping themselves up in the back of the van and Yvette and I took the middle chairs out of the van and set them on the ground, side by side, in a sort of automotive love seat style. We needed blankets for the chilly part of the evening, but a good time was had by all.
We did have to get there early in order to get a good spot - the place was packed! But for the time in between getting there and seeing the show, we had some burgers at the drive-in (food purchases are actually their primary support, so if you go to a drive-in, go hungry), did some people watching, Malia colored, Calvin had his GameBoy... not bad at all on a Texas Spring evening.
And when the lights went down, we saw the stars. Where else can you find ambient lighting from bulbs set in the ceiling millions of light-years away?
If you have a chance to go to a drive-in, next time it's showing a movie you want to see, go there. If you bring stuff to do, blankets and pillows, and people you like to be with, you'll have a great time.
by Dean Webb