The Drive-in

Last Saturday night Scott and I were trying to decide what to do for the evening and what movie we wanted to watch, as a last minute decision, we decided jump in the car and go to the Van Buren Drive In. Did you know that there are only about 400 Drive-ins left in the United States? We are lucky enough to have an affordable place to see movies so close to us! We packed the car with blankets, pillows, soda and snacks, bought a pizza to share and headed down to get a good spot to see the movies.

This outing reminded me so much of my childhood. When we were little and living in a small town, my parents would often take all five of us in our Dodge Caravan to the drive-in. With not much to do in Lompoc, and being a little tight on money, the drive-in was a great, cheap place to go as a family, I think it was like $5.00 a car load! (Valley Drive In Theatre, Lompoc CA, now considered a "Dead Drive-In"). My dad would take the middle bench seat out so we kids could lie on the floor during the movie. Usually, we would watch the first movie and then fall asleep by the second and my parents would enjoy a quiet movie together. The drive-in is where I saw Disney’s The Lion King for the first time.

Not being a big Movie Theater-goer myself; the drive in is a perfect place to go and just enjoy the movies in the comfort of my own...Car. Scott and I discussed our future as we waited for the movie to start. We discussed what kind of movies we would let our kids watch and at what age. I realized that I am going to be pretty strict about the movies my kids see and Scott agreed! We hope the Drive-in will still be around when our baby gets a little older so we can take him to see some movies; although rumor has it that they will be closing the Drive-in and replace it with a Costco.

For this trip, Scott and I saw What Happens in Vegas and Baby Mama. We enjoyed the films, I liked the first one better than the second but both were cute, and of course pretty predictable! I love those kinds of movies! The price is very reasonable (although it has gone up since college). $7.00 for adults, and only $1.00 for kids 2-9.

I encourage all of you, if there is a Drive-in near you, to take advantage of such a great deal while they are still around! Two movies for less than the price of one! Who can beat that?