The American dream is alive and well in Texas' Hill Country
Saturday night I fulfilled a long-thwarted dream: I went to a drive-in movie. Take that, mom and dad! They never would take us kids to a drive-in when we were little, which drove us kids crazy. Especially since one of the neighboring families seemed to do it regularly and would taunt us with stories of being up past bedtime and sleeping in your PJs in your car while you ate popcorn your mom made at home. Oh, the glamour! Oh, the hedonism!
This weekend, we rectified years of hurt. Actually, I'd thought I'd never get to go, since I'd figured that most drive-ins had gone out of business. Turns out there's one in the south side of San Antonio. It must be used as a business loss because it is, well, a little worse for wear. Grass pokes up among the broken bottles and cracked pavement of the drive-in's parking lot as you navigate in-between other cars. Still, $7 buys you entry to a double-feature (in this case, the new Pirates movie and Cars)(verdict? meh, and I fell asleep), so you can't argue with that.
On the way, we stopped at Bill Millers for some chicken strips and fries to eat with the beer we'd brought in our cooler. All about the class, you know. We got to the drive-in about 15 minutes early so to snag a good spot. It was one big tailgate party: all around us were people in their lawn chairs, or, this being Texas, sitting in the back of their pickup trucks. You listen to the movie by tuning in a station in your car, so everyone had their stereos blasting.
Having been warned, we stocked up on the bug spray. Good call - normally, my nectar-like blood usually ensures that I'm constantly swatting at mosquitoes, but I wasn't bothered at all. It was quite nice, sitting in my comfy lawn chair and swilling back a nice cold beer while watching a movie outside. Every so often, we'd get a small breeze which would relieve some of the heat (even late at night, it's still in the mid-80s here).
What did bother me was the constant wailing of babies and cranky children who were up far too late. The people in the truck next to us didn't even make it halfway through Pirates before they had to give up and take their kids home. Having seen that, I now understand my parents' decision-making process a lot better.
Still, it was a fun way to see a movie. I don't know that I'd go every weekend, especially since the double feature got out around 1:30AM, but I'm still glad I went and I'd even go again. I'd just make sure to park the car away from the young-uns.
This weekend, we rectified years of hurt. Actually, I'd thought I'd never get to go, since I'd figured that most drive-ins had gone out of business. Turns out there's one in the south side of San Antonio. It must be used as a business loss because it is, well, a little worse for wear. Grass pokes up among the broken bottles and cracked pavement of the drive-in's parking lot as you navigate in-between other cars. Still, $7 buys you entry to a double-feature (in this case, the new Pirates movie and Cars)(verdict? meh, and I fell asleep), so you can't argue with that.
On the way, we stopped at Bill Millers for some chicken strips and fries to eat with the beer we'd brought in our cooler. All about the class, you know. We got to the drive-in about 15 minutes early so to snag a good spot. It was one big tailgate party: all around us were people in their lawn chairs, or, this being Texas, sitting in the back of their pickup trucks. You listen to the movie by tuning in a station in your car, so everyone had their stereos blasting.
Having been warned, we stocked up on the bug spray. Good call - normally, my nectar-like blood usually ensures that I'm constantly swatting at mosquitoes, but I wasn't bothered at all. It was quite nice, sitting in my comfy lawn chair and swilling back a nice cold beer while watching a movie outside. Every so often, we'd get a small breeze which would relieve some of the heat (even late at night, it's still in the mid-80s here).
What did bother me was the constant wailing of babies and cranky children who were up far too late. The people in the truck next to us didn't even make it halfway through Pirates before they had to give up and take their kids home. Having seen that, I now understand my parents' decision-making process a lot better.
Still, it was a fun way to see a movie. I don't know that I'd go every weekend, especially since the double feature got out around 1:30AM, but I'm still glad I went and I'd even go again. I'd just make sure to park the car away from the young-uns.
posted by Her Ladyship @ 5:00 PM
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