August 30, 2009
With the summer days winding down, and with one last Summer Cruise blast left [and after last nights glorious cruise down to C-Bus with the United Ford Owners along with a double feature at the Melody Cruise-In over at Springfield], I did my daily routine check of all of the drive-in theatres now playing websites and decided at the last minute to get back into the saddle once again and head back over to Norwalk and had to stop for some go-go juice since it was getting a tad low from the previous evenings “Fun Run” over at Springfield [though running the highway gets a heck of better gas mileage than having to stop and start all of the time in Small Town USA], but still, having to stop when time keeps on running sometimes makes me wish that there were portable tankers like the US Air Force has where they can refuel in mid-flight without having to stop – oh well.
Got back on the back roads and made it my usual 45 minute flat run out Rt. 303 to US 20 out past Norwalk and bypassed Summit Raceway Park, opting to do an end run since the box office had already opened at Norwalk’s Star View Drive-In just west of Norwalk Ohio there on US 20 to see two of my favorite movies of the year, Transformers 2: Rise of the Fallen and G I Joe, Rise of the Cobra. When I first entered the theatre after paying the $7.00 [which was not listed on their website, but I have always come to expect to pay between $5 - $8 dollars for single admittance when the price is not listed on the website, which for two movies is still a great bargain for the way the economy is going nowadays] I first went to my usual second row parking place, but after sitting there for a while, and how the screen was angled, started up the car again and went to the eastern side of the small cinderblock concession stand [right next to the concession’s exhaust fan which was belching out all of that sweet smelling and ever tempting freshly made butter popcorn] and for this theatre, I would highly recommend for this screen parking on the concession stand side furthest from the entrance give the best enjoyment of the films being shown at this single screen theatre, and even though there were some mini vans in front of me, the screen was high enough where I was four rows back that there was plenty of room [and the screen was high enough to see two great films, and I would recommend to the club that if anyone would want to see a movie after a long day over at Fords at Summit would want to stop by for a fun filled evening, but will reserve final judgment until I visit Tiffin’s Drive-In Theatre, probably it looks like next year since this will be my final visit to Drive-ins for this 2009 Cruisin’ Season.
Well, with the final credits rolling and the camera fading to black, it was time to get back on the road and head back to home for one last trip down Rt. 18, back rollin’ “quietly” thru my hometown of Wellington and on back in the early morning hours and looking forward to the summer of 2010 to complete the remaining 15 Ohio Drive-Ins yet to be visited. Overall, I have had a great time both cruising and visiting all of the Drive-Ins this year, and each of them have their own unique flavor and atmosphere that also uniquely defines what it is was to be American when they first started up and coinciding with the rise of the love of the American Automobile.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
UFO Cruise-in & Melody Cruise-In Theatre Weekend FUN!
August 29
End of another month, and I am glad that August is almost over! Had to take the ’06 Fusion in for the first warranty service of a Ford vehicle in the family’s history of owning Fords last week [the driver’s front window got stuck in the down position, and couldn’t drive it anyways since a wide open window is just a wide open invitation to unscrupulous folks, plus it was going to rain, then with that car at the Liberty Dealership here in Brunswick, the “Hillbilly Deluxe minus the Deluxe” battery died [jump starting too many chevy’s, I reckon it got the H1N1 (Help this 1 but Not this 1) virus] but after 5 years [and no wonder the terminals were corroding], it was time, so pushed it out of the garage and called AAA got it started and picked up the Fusion at Liberty and got that home, then 2 hours later went to go to a car show and again it wouldn’t start so pushed it out of the garage once again and there was something wrong so called the experts and Yorktown and after getting it started for a second time drove it up to Parma Hts. and yep, it was the battery and picked it up the next day, and should have gotten an oil change since it was pushing 169,000 but don’t like to ask too much of them since they have always been very generous with getting our cars fixed for the past 37 years now.
Keeping an eye on the weather channel, which showed that the rain should skirt by Columbus by the time it was starting, and not having been down to UFO events all of August since Party Picnics and party business is starting to encroach on more and more of my time, and will probably have to put Car Club events on hiatus since it looks like there may be an out of state opportunity coming down the pike, but for now, headed out south on I-71 to CBus for the August Cruise at Quaker Steak and Lube, as well as heading west to Springfield’s Melody Cruise-In Theatre. As soon as I got to Mansfield, the rains came, and kept on raining all the way to the Polaris Exit [I kept looking west and it looked like it would clear up, but as weather goes, sometimes it just doesn’t but again, as long as the farmers get what they need when they need it, I don’t complain too much about a little rain now and then.
Maybe spent a little too long cruisin’ with the club, but as the song goes, “I’ve got no particular place to go”, but it was time well spent as always! Got back on the highway and headed around I-270 to I-70 to get to the US 40 exit to the Melody Cruise-In Theatre and with dusk quickly approaching [and figuring in the 10 minute movie trailers, would hit it just about right, but I missed the median crossover and not being too fond of U Turns [the old joke being: A guy made a U-Turn and found out he was going the wrong way and immediately did another U-Turn all in front of a police office, and when he got pulled over the officer asked him “What did you just do?” The man replied “A Circle”] at the next intersection, kinda did an end around down a secondary road and headed back east and by that time the movie had started and just as I pulled in, sheriff deputy was at the box office [Great] so shut off all of the illegal interior lights etc and as I was paying, I looked in my side view mirror and sure enough, he was eyeballing the car, then took out his cell phone and held it up while I’m trying to pay attention to the attendant telling me what screen the movies were on [Inglorious B**tards and G.I. Joe – for the third time] as well as what radio station to tune to [although the lights on my radio face kinda died a while back (although it kinda can be seen during the day) so I have to go through each individual station until finding the right station that goes to the right screen, not to mention losing all of my presets I had to re find all of the country stations I listen to in all of the major cities around Ohio] while the officer was taking pictures of it with his cell phone, then asked “Sir, could you pull this over” and I motioned to the side if that was ok since there was someone else behind me, so while the movie has already started, I’m pulled over INSIDE the movie theatre chatting about the car while he’s snapping pictures of it and I’m trying to watch the movie without seeming to be disinterested in his conversation, which I wasn’t since he asked me about the “Patriot’s” Theme and family members who are currently in Service, along with one of the statewide candidates name on one of the fenders etc., and after both saying “God Bless” and “Safe Journeys”, I actually found a pretty good spot middle of the field next to the concession stand on the far side of the entrance side, and missed most of the entire first “Chapter” of Quentin Tarentino’s movie [and fumbling through the stations to find the right channel] got there in time for Chapter Two, Inglorious B**tards. I saw on Reelz Channel movie previews that it took 10 years for him to write the script, and even heard that there is a prequel in the works.
As far as the movie goes, it is Quintessential Quentin Gore [which is why I only watch one of his movies a year – Reservoir Dogs is still my favorite, but his is a movie where one automatically throws disbelief out of the window, and this was kind of in a Pulp Fiction mold, but working on something for that long, can kind of see elements of all of his movies in the interim] and going back through it I can see the basic dumb down formula of Nazis bad, Brad Pitt good in the Twisted World History According to Tarentino, which is why they are making the prequel to feature more of the B**tards
and rake in another huge payday. It had been a “while” since I had seen G I Joe, Rise of the Cobra [the weather kinda last time made it disappointing and with all of the humidity and all] someone somewhere must had said something, since the night fight scene in the beginning of the movie was a lot brighter than I had seen in previously showings, and could see more of the action and wasn’t “in the dark” as much and trying to guess what was going and who was fighting whom and all, so I don’t know if it was in the projection or what, but it made that part of the movie a whole lot enjoyable to watch!
Got out during the break for a stretch, and although I couldn’t see what amenities that were offered up in front of the screen, I did enter a very different type of concession stand, which resembled a cafeteria style where one could go all around an outer circle and the food workers were on the inside to service more patrons at a time. After the second movie, and time to get back on the road home, but then and again, had another car that had its hood up [although most drive-ins have one of those automatic chargers now a days, still keep jumpers in the back “just in case”] so waited 5 minutes after the credits have ended, since a lot of movies now have something at the very end related to the movie that often gets missed and pulled up and once again [and just having battery trouble myself I sympathize, especially having a great time at the movies then the car has to die and not start and who knows if they have a car service or not, but as Great Granddad used to say: “The main goal in life is to make other people happy; and if you make other people happy, then you are happy yourself”, and not to get all preachy here or do that Kevin Spacey “Pass It On” sort of deal, but if asked for a reward, I just ask that they remember this and do a good deed towards another some day. So in the words of Chiune “Sempo” Sugihara:
Someone says to do a favor,
or if you have the opportunity
to help someone in your lifetime,
Do it.
In life do what is right because
it is right and leave it alone.
No ulterior motive.
Do what is right because it is right.
Don't make money from it.
Don't write about it or publicize it.
Do what is right because it is right."
End of another month, and I am glad that August is almost over! Had to take the ’06 Fusion in for the first warranty service of a Ford vehicle in the family’s history of owning Fords last week [the driver’s front window got stuck in the down position, and couldn’t drive it anyways since a wide open window is just a wide open invitation to unscrupulous folks, plus it was going to rain, then with that car at the Liberty Dealership here in Brunswick, the “Hillbilly Deluxe minus the Deluxe” battery died [jump starting too many chevy’s, I reckon it got the H1N1 (Help this 1 but Not this 1) virus] but after 5 years [and no wonder the terminals were corroding], it was time, so pushed it out of the garage and called AAA got it started and picked up the Fusion at Liberty and got that home, then 2 hours later went to go to a car show and again it wouldn’t start so pushed it out of the garage once again and there was something wrong so called the experts and Yorktown and after getting it started for a second time drove it up to Parma Hts. and yep, it was the battery and picked it up the next day, and should have gotten an oil change since it was pushing 169,000 but don’t like to ask too much of them since they have always been very generous with getting our cars fixed for the past 37 years now.
Keeping an eye on the weather channel, which showed that the rain should skirt by Columbus by the time it was starting, and not having been down to UFO events all of August since Party Picnics and party business is starting to encroach on more and more of my time, and will probably have to put Car Club events on hiatus since it looks like there may be an out of state opportunity coming down the pike, but for now, headed out south on I-71 to CBus for the August Cruise at Quaker Steak and Lube, as well as heading west to Springfield’s Melody Cruise-In Theatre. As soon as I got to Mansfield, the rains came, and kept on raining all the way to the Polaris Exit [I kept looking west and it looked like it would clear up, but as weather goes, sometimes it just doesn’t but again, as long as the farmers get what they need when they need it, I don’t complain too much about a little rain now and then.
Maybe spent a little too long cruisin’ with the club, but as the song goes, “I’ve got no particular place to go”, but it was time well spent as always! Got back on the highway and headed around I-270 to I-70 to get to the US 40 exit to the Melody Cruise-In Theatre and with dusk quickly approaching [and figuring in the 10 minute movie trailers, would hit it just about right, but I missed the median crossover and not being too fond of U Turns [the old joke being: A guy made a U-Turn and found out he was going the wrong way and immediately did another U-Turn all in front of a police office, and when he got pulled over the officer asked him “What did you just do?” The man replied “A Circle”] at the next intersection, kinda did an end around down a secondary road and headed back east and by that time the movie had started and just as I pulled in, sheriff deputy was at the box office [Great] so shut off all of the illegal interior lights etc and as I was paying, I looked in my side view mirror and sure enough, he was eyeballing the car, then took out his cell phone and held it up while I’m trying to pay attention to the attendant telling me what screen the movies were on [Inglorious B**tards and G.I. Joe – for the third time] as well as what radio station to tune to [although the lights on my radio face kinda died a while back (although it kinda can be seen during the day) so I have to go through each individual station until finding the right station that goes to the right screen, not to mention losing all of my presets I had to re find all of the country stations I listen to in all of the major cities around Ohio] while the officer was taking pictures of it with his cell phone, then asked “Sir, could you pull this over” and I motioned to the side if that was ok since there was someone else behind me, so while the movie has already started, I’m pulled over INSIDE the movie theatre chatting about the car while he’s snapping pictures of it and I’m trying to watch the movie without seeming to be disinterested in his conversation, which I wasn’t since he asked me about the “Patriot’s” Theme and family members who are currently in Service, along with one of the statewide candidates name on one of the fenders etc., and after both saying “God Bless” and “Safe Journeys”, I actually found a pretty good spot middle of the field next to the concession stand on the far side of the entrance side, and missed most of the entire first “Chapter” of Quentin Tarentino’s movie [and fumbling through the stations to find the right channel] got there in time for Chapter Two, Inglorious B**tards. I saw on Reelz Channel movie previews that it took 10 years for him to write the script, and even heard that there is a prequel in the works.
As far as the movie goes, it is Quintessential Quentin Gore [which is why I only watch one of his movies a year – Reservoir Dogs is still my favorite, but his is a movie where one automatically throws disbelief out of the window, and this was kind of in a Pulp Fiction mold, but working on something for that long, can kind of see elements of all of his movies in the interim] and going back through it I can see the basic dumb down formula of Nazis bad, Brad Pitt good in the Twisted World History According to Tarentino, which is why they are making the prequel to feature more of the B**tards
and rake in another huge payday. It had been a “while” since I had seen G I Joe, Rise of the Cobra [the weather kinda last time made it disappointing and with all of the humidity and all] someone somewhere must had said something, since the night fight scene in the beginning of the movie was a lot brighter than I had seen in previously showings, and could see more of the action and wasn’t “in the dark” as much and trying to guess what was going and who was fighting whom and all, so I don’t know if it was in the projection or what, but it made that part of the movie a whole lot enjoyable to watch!
Got out during the break for a stretch, and although I couldn’t see what amenities that were offered up in front of the screen, I did enter a very different type of concession stand, which resembled a cafeteria style where one could go all around an outer circle and the food workers were on the inside to service more patrons at a time. After the second movie, and time to get back on the road home, but then and again, had another car that had its hood up [although most drive-ins have one of those automatic chargers now a days, still keep jumpers in the back “just in case”] so waited 5 minutes after the credits have ended, since a lot of movies now have something at the very end related to the movie that often gets missed and pulled up and once again [and just having battery trouble myself I sympathize, especially having a great time at the movies then the car has to die and not start and who knows if they have a car service or not, but as Great Granddad used to say: “The main goal in life is to make other people happy; and if you make other people happy, then you are happy yourself”, and not to get all preachy here or do that Kevin Spacey “Pass It On” sort of deal, but if asked for a reward, I just ask that they remember this and do a good deed towards another some day. So in the words of Chiune “Sempo” Sugihara:
Someone says to do a favor,
or if you have the opportunity
to help someone in your lifetime,
Do it.
In life do what is right because
it is right and leave it alone.
No ulterior motive.
Do what is right because it is right.
Don't make money from it.
Don't write about it or publicize it.
Do what is right because it is right."
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Back to the Lynn Drive-In Theatre
August 13, 2009
Halfway through the Summer Season, and with 14 Drive-ins visited, it was time to go back to an early favorite, the Lynn Drive-in in Strassburg, Ohio. I have begun breaking down into categories [since it is almost impossible with each passing Drive-In I visit to pick a favorite, although I am about to declare both the Lynn and the North Ridgeville Aut-O-Rama as my top choices for Best Drive-In movie theatres with two screens! The breakdowns are as follows:
Best Single Screen Drive-In Theatre visited:
1) Holiday Drive-In
Field of Dreams Movie Theatre
3) Blue Sky Drive-In
4) Mayfield Road
5) Sunset Drive-In
6)Skyline Drive-in
Best Double Screen Drive-In Theatre visited:
1) Lynn Drive-In Theatre
Aut-O-Rama Drive-In Theatre
3) Van-Del Drive-In
4) Twin Drive-In Ravenna
5) Springmill Drive-In
6) Sundance Kid Drive-In
7) South Drive-In
Best Multiple Screen Drive-In Theatre visited:
1) Memphis Drive-In [closed]
2) Winter Drive-In
So on Thursday, went back down south on US 250 via Route 3 and through Wooster to and with extra time, went up through Massillon and Canton for some 16th Congressional District “timing runs” to see [once again, drum roll, please] G-Force and G.I Joe [movies previously discussed, but good enough to spend an ginormous $5 [not figuring in the cost of gas for all of these journeys, but hey, I work in state government and when has the government ever worried about the accurate cost of anything since all numbers are made up to begin with, but with 2010 elections just around the corner, it’s getting just about time to rake in another 6 month load]. Got there early this time, and instead of parking off to the side at the same Screen One where I saw Witch Mountain and Monsters vs. Aliens back in April, I found a middle third row space in front of the concession stand, and while the movie was going, I could see into the projection booth the movie reel spinning, which is another reason I enjoy going to the Lynn. Small but very efficient concession stand [got an ice cream sandwich bar for a buck] and overall another great experience here at the Lynn. Weather kinda got the better of the second movie of GI Joe [fog was rolling in and the rapid temperature change also played havoc with the humidity], and look forward to returning many more times to a new favorite Double Screen Drive-In theatre!
Halfway through the Summer Season, and with 14 Drive-ins visited, it was time to go back to an early favorite, the Lynn Drive-in in Strassburg, Ohio. I have begun breaking down into categories [since it is almost impossible with each passing Drive-In I visit to pick a favorite, although I am about to declare both the Lynn and the North Ridgeville Aut-O-Rama as my top choices for Best Drive-In movie theatres with two screens! The breakdowns are as follows:
Best Single Screen Drive-In Theatre visited:
1) Holiday Drive-In
Field of Dreams Movie Theatre
3) Blue Sky Drive-In
4) Mayfield Road
5) Sunset Drive-In
6)Skyline Drive-in
Best Double Screen Drive-In Theatre visited:
1) Lynn Drive-In Theatre
Aut-O-Rama Drive-In Theatre
3) Van-Del Drive-In
4) Twin Drive-In Ravenna
5) Springmill Drive-In
6) Sundance Kid Drive-In
7) South Drive-In
Best Multiple Screen Drive-In Theatre visited:
1) Memphis Drive-In [closed]
2) Winter Drive-In
So on Thursday, went back down south on US 250 via Route 3 and through Wooster to and with extra time, went up through Massillon and Canton for some 16th Congressional District “timing runs” to see [once again, drum roll, please] G-Force and G.I Joe [movies previously discussed, but good enough to spend an ginormous $5 [not figuring in the cost of gas for all of these journeys, but hey, I work in state government and when has the government ever worried about the accurate cost of anything since all numbers are made up to begin with, but with 2010 elections just around the corner, it’s getting just about time to rake in another 6 month load]. Got there early this time, and instead of parking off to the side at the same Screen One where I saw Witch Mountain and Monsters vs. Aliens back in April, I found a middle third row space in front of the concession stand, and while the movie was going, I could see into the projection booth the movie reel spinning, which is another reason I enjoy going to the Lynn. Small but very efficient concession stand [got an ice cream sandwich bar for a buck] and overall another great experience here at the Lynn. Weather kinda got the better of the second movie of GI Joe [fog was rolling in and the rapid temperature change also played havoc with the humidity], and look forward to returning many more times to a new favorite Double Screen Drive-In theatre!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
A Fair-ly Good Day Medina County Fair & Van-Del Drive-in
August 9, 2009
Headed out Sunday down to the Medina County Fair at the fairgrounds to put in some booth time, and while 2010 elections are fast approaching, its time to gear up for another run and make some money! Won’t talk politics here, since car club time is my escape from my daily drag, and even though the car also functions as my office, anything car club and now drive-in theatre related is my “Vacation” time and even though work is now making my blog blobs postings fall further and further behind, will do my best to detail all that is Cruisin, though it may be a tad bit later than usual.
The plan for the day was to put in a couple of hours at the booth, tank up the car with some Go-Go juice and head out heading south on US 42 on over to Jeromesville on 89 and cruise the Western portion of the Lincoln Highway over to Van Wert County to the Van Wert Drive-in in Middle Point, Ohio. Well… put in more time that I wanted to at the fair booth and with points on the map [along with using an outdated map to boot] seeming a lot closer than they are in real life, had to make some adjustments along the way. Got to Jeromesville in good time and headed west at the town light, across US 30 and up past Hillsdale High School. Made Mansfield in pretty good time, and instead of following the Lincoln Highway signs at the town square, kept heading west and turned North at the Sunset Drive-In on Route 314, which was a mistake since it lead directly into a traffic jam lasting 25 minutes, but no worry, can pick up time elsewhere. Cruised through Creston, and then things got a bit tricky, since the Lincoln Highway split with an original route through Leesville and a later route to get to Bucyrus. So I zigged when I should have zagged, and ended up going in a circle back through Creston, and by that time I was totally turned around, so went South on Route 61 to hook up with US 30 west since time was kinda running out.
Passed a lot of 18 wheelers that had come from Indy Car racing at Mid Ohio, back to their base in Indiana since they left at the US 33 exit at Upper Sandusky, and again, the outdated map said that US 30 had not been completed yet [and even verified it with the satellite map that the road had not been built, but could see the roadbed being prepared, but all the same, had to hammer it a little bit and along with it being a scorching hot day and along with the heater on and the windows up [would rather conserve fuel aerodynamically than become a well done roast] and factoring in rest stops for water, it was a good thing they completed US 30 into an expressway [along with looking for a gas stop for after the movie], but was determined to cruise at least one portion of the Lincoln Highway. So I got off the interstate at Delphos [one exit before Middle Point], knowing that the Van-Del Drive-In was right adjacent to the road, and since there was no markings, again, I now zagged when I should have zigged, and with the sunset in sight, doubled back after a brief “square” of the city the way I came and got back on US 30 west and gunned it for the next exit.
With all of the Drive-ins now a dinosaur and thing of the past, I am glad that I got back on the expressway, and even though there was construction going on at the exit, the neon tubing lights lit up the Drive-In like an oasis in the Desert night, and thankful that those who planned the US 30 Expressway planned it in a way to highlight this magnificent dinosaur’s Giant screen marquee for all who pass through this way! The old Lincoln Way literally passes feet from the entrance, and like many of the original Drive-ins, it is a single screen [one of the tallest I have seen yet] that has expanded into another separate screen that the ownership has placed out in the field near the Old Lincoln Way [that still has the occasional 18 wheeler grind through], along with a separate projection booth. So got there late and couldn’t be picky about the parking, but got a good spot in the third row. Concession stand was small, but convenient, and had outside seating as well!
The movies for the evening were G-Force, and the opening of G.I. Joe. Having seen G-Force in movie trailers previews, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that this was going to be a suspension of disbelief movie, but who knows, after taking a couple of select “herbs” guinea pigs could actually talk, NOT! The only objections I had with it was the depiction of animal cruelty, and I know that the animals were all digital, but some impressionable kids might think it was OK to do some of the things that were done [lipstick and tossing them, though the film did acknowledge through the characters that it is animal cruelty, and me being no environmentalist and thinking PETA stands for “People Eating Tasty Animals” and know of one guy who put an WWII anti-aircraft gunners sight as a hood ornament here in the Township and another who uses his side view mirror as a gun steadier since those deer whistles aren’t as effective, it was just a downer since this wasn’t done for sport and necessity, but for meanness, and hopefully parents explained it to them later, and although we “Bruns-tuckians” joke about road kill as a delicacy here in the township, I do my best to brake and avoid animals (which always amazed me about how birds can avoid cars as fast as both are going, and if you see one deer, there are always two or more that are not too far behind, and as great granddad used to say, he always had a ditch picked out just in case)].
I used to watch the GI Joe cartoon back after school way back when, and to see the characters on the screen I was really at a loss [after getting back home in another long drive back, went to the Internet and looked up all of the characters on Wikipedia and their background] but it was pretty easy to figure out with my limited memory of the main characters which got jogged pretty quickly as to who [without giving away too much of the plot to those who haven’t seen the movie yet] who Cobra Leader was going to be, as well as who he was originally as movie now a days have so many lighted billboards as to where the story was heading. Joseph Gordon Levitt was a nice change of pace for him in a villain role, and along with the cameo by Brendan Frasier as Sgt. Stone [had a nice back story on his appearance from Wikipedia, and although I usually take that website with the tiniest grain of salt as possible], although it is another one of those fantasy action movies that always begs the question: when there is about to be great destruction, both the antagonist and protagonist both stop dead in their tracks and BOTH STOP AND WATCH the impending disaster, then resume the chase. My favorite site is the IMBD websites, where all of the goofs are revealed for continuity, historical facts, just plain goofs, etc. Oh well. My favorite movie on “goofs” was with Alan Alda in Sweet Liberty, who wrote a historically accurate Revolutionary War book until Hollywood took over and literally rewrote the screenplay because “modern Hollywood movies demanded only three things: 1) Big Explosions 2) Gratuitous Violence and 3) People getting naked” and at the end with his book totally shredded historically, Alda decided to turn the tables on the director and make all three things happen, just so I won’t spoil the whole “ending”.
Another late night back on the road, and getting low on gas so trekked back east on US 30 to the Beaverdam / I-75 gas plazas [there’s no direct access from I-75 to US 30] for some Go-Go Juice and headed up I-75 north to reach US 224 and take that through the University of Findley straight back east to I-71. Had only gone on US 224 as far west as Tiffen, and at 4 am was pretty much an open throttle run, with a 5 minute wait on a CSX coal train at Attica [Attica! Attica! Attica!].
Movies: A
Cruise: C [Couldn’t find anything]
Overall: A
Headed out Sunday down to the Medina County Fair at the fairgrounds to put in some booth time, and while 2010 elections are fast approaching, its time to gear up for another run and make some money! Won’t talk politics here, since car club time is my escape from my daily drag, and even though the car also functions as my office, anything car club and now drive-in theatre related is my “Vacation” time and even though work is now making my blog blobs postings fall further and further behind, will do my best to detail all that is Cruisin, though it may be a tad bit later than usual.
The plan for the day was to put in a couple of hours at the booth, tank up the car with some Go-Go juice and head out heading south on US 42 on over to Jeromesville on 89 and cruise the Western portion of the Lincoln Highway over to Van Wert County to the Van Wert Drive-in in Middle Point, Ohio. Well… put in more time that I wanted to at the fair booth and with points on the map [along with using an outdated map to boot] seeming a lot closer than they are in real life, had to make some adjustments along the way. Got to Jeromesville in good time and headed west at the town light, across US 30 and up past Hillsdale High School. Made Mansfield in pretty good time, and instead of following the Lincoln Highway signs at the town square, kept heading west and turned North at the Sunset Drive-In on Route 314, which was a mistake since it lead directly into a traffic jam lasting 25 minutes, but no worry, can pick up time elsewhere. Cruised through Creston, and then things got a bit tricky, since the Lincoln Highway split with an original route through Leesville and a later route to get to Bucyrus. So I zigged when I should have zagged, and ended up going in a circle back through Creston, and by that time I was totally turned around, so went South on Route 61 to hook up with US 30 west since time was kinda running out.
Passed a lot of 18 wheelers that had come from Indy Car racing at Mid Ohio, back to their base in Indiana since they left at the US 33 exit at Upper Sandusky, and again, the outdated map said that US 30 had not been completed yet [and even verified it with the satellite map that the road had not been built, but could see the roadbed being prepared, but all the same, had to hammer it a little bit and along with it being a scorching hot day and along with the heater on and the windows up [would rather conserve fuel aerodynamically than become a well done roast] and factoring in rest stops for water, it was a good thing they completed US 30 into an expressway [along with looking for a gas stop for after the movie], but was determined to cruise at least one portion of the Lincoln Highway. So I got off the interstate at Delphos [one exit before Middle Point], knowing that the Van-Del Drive-In was right adjacent to the road, and since there was no markings, again, I now zagged when I should have zigged, and with the sunset in sight, doubled back after a brief “square” of the city the way I came and got back on US 30 west and gunned it for the next exit.
With all of the Drive-ins now a dinosaur and thing of the past, I am glad that I got back on the expressway, and even though there was construction going on at the exit, the neon tubing lights lit up the Drive-In like an oasis in the Desert night, and thankful that those who planned the US 30 Expressway planned it in a way to highlight this magnificent dinosaur’s Giant screen marquee for all who pass through this way! The old Lincoln Way literally passes feet from the entrance, and like many of the original Drive-ins, it is a single screen [one of the tallest I have seen yet] that has expanded into another separate screen that the ownership has placed out in the field near the Old Lincoln Way [that still has the occasional 18 wheeler grind through], along with a separate projection booth. So got there late and couldn’t be picky about the parking, but got a good spot in the third row. Concession stand was small, but convenient, and had outside seating as well!
The movies for the evening were G-Force, and the opening of G.I. Joe. Having seen G-Force in movie trailers previews, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that this was going to be a suspension of disbelief movie, but who knows, after taking a couple of select “herbs” guinea pigs could actually talk, NOT! The only objections I had with it was the depiction of animal cruelty, and I know that the animals were all digital, but some impressionable kids might think it was OK to do some of the things that were done [lipstick and tossing them, though the film did acknowledge through the characters that it is animal cruelty, and me being no environmentalist and thinking PETA stands for “People Eating Tasty Animals” and know of one guy who put an WWII anti-aircraft gunners sight as a hood ornament here in the Township and another who uses his side view mirror as a gun steadier since those deer whistles aren’t as effective, it was just a downer since this wasn’t done for sport and necessity, but for meanness, and hopefully parents explained it to them later, and although we “Bruns-tuckians” joke about road kill as a delicacy here in the township, I do my best to brake and avoid animals (which always amazed me about how birds can avoid cars as fast as both are going, and if you see one deer, there are always two or more that are not too far behind, and as great granddad used to say, he always had a ditch picked out just in case)].
I used to watch the GI Joe cartoon back after school way back when, and to see the characters on the screen I was really at a loss [after getting back home in another long drive back, went to the Internet and looked up all of the characters on Wikipedia and their background] but it was pretty easy to figure out with my limited memory of the main characters which got jogged pretty quickly as to who [without giving away too much of the plot to those who haven’t seen the movie yet] who Cobra Leader was going to be, as well as who he was originally as movie now a days have so many lighted billboards as to where the story was heading. Joseph Gordon Levitt was a nice change of pace for him in a villain role, and along with the cameo by Brendan Frasier as Sgt. Stone [had a nice back story on his appearance from Wikipedia, and although I usually take that website with the tiniest grain of salt as possible], although it is another one of those fantasy action movies that always begs the question: when there is about to be great destruction, both the antagonist and protagonist both stop dead in their tracks and BOTH STOP AND WATCH the impending disaster, then resume the chase. My favorite site is the IMBD websites, where all of the goofs are revealed for continuity, historical facts, just plain goofs, etc. Oh well. My favorite movie on “goofs” was with Alan Alda in Sweet Liberty, who wrote a historically accurate Revolutionary War book until Hollywood took over and literally rewrote the screenplay because “modern Hollywood movies demanded only three things: 1) Big Explosions 2) Gratuitous Violence and 3) People getting naked” and at the end with his book totally shredded historically, Alda decided to turn the tables on the director and make all three things happen, just so I won’t spoil the whole “ending”.
Another late night back on the road, and getting low on gas so trekked back east on US 30 to the Beaverdam / I-75 gas plazas [there’s no direct access from I-75 to US 30] for some Go-Go Juice and headed up I-75 north to reach US 224 and take that through the University of Findley straight back east to I-71. Had only gone on US 224 as far west as Tiffen, and at 4 am was pretty much an open throttle run, with a 5 minute wait on a CSX coal train at Attica [Attica! Attica! Attica!].
Movies: A
Cruise: C [Couldn’t find anything]
Overall: A
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