Welcome!
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Come And See what
everyone has been talking about!
We are going to see
‘Cars’ in a car — cool!” said my 7-year-old son Benjamin after I told him we
were going to a drive-in movie. I just found such a place still exists and
is only a short drive away. Skyline Drive-in in Summersville has everything
I remember from going to the drive-in as a kid: The movie was only part of
the experience. I remember tagging along with a couple of my aunts who were
the “cool” teenagers at the time to see more than one Elvis movie at the
Knox Drive-in. I cannot say I remember what the fascination with movies was
at the time, but I do remember the fun experience it was.
I wanted to repeat the experience for my son and “Cars” seemed like a good
movie to see. From Elizabethtown, the theater was about a 40-minute drive on
a two-lane road that passed through one small town after another until
traffic slowed to a stop and a movie screen in the middle of a field
appeared out my driver’s-side window. Cars, trucks and vans already were
lined up, some facing the screen, some facing the road, letting their back
hatch or truck bed serve as a theater seat. Small children in pajamas ran
between parked vehicles, and lawn chairs filled open grassy areas. Some
children sat on top of cars, but not my son — even if it did make his first
drive-in experience not as fun (according to him). He and his friend Morgan
took turns sitting in the back of van and in the lawn chairs we brought.
It did not take long for the two of them to spot the concession stand fully
stocked with pizza, hot dogs and nachos in addition to the usual popcorn and
candy. Given the long lines, I think the place must serve as an outdoor
dinner theater to most patrons. But I have to agree, a movie is not a movie
without popcorn.
Finally, the sun went down and the screen came to life. I had forgotten the
experience of watching a movie minus theater surround sound. Our van
speakers and the radios of the other movie-goers’ cars created a new form of
surround sound. It took a few minutes for the distractions of the outdoor
environment to fade into the darkness, making only the brightly lit screen
visible between the trees and skyline.
Benjamin and his friend Morgan liked the novelty of the outdoor screen and
the freedom of sitting outside the van or inside the van and took the
liberty to change positions often, trying to find the ideal viewing point.
(I still was not going to let them sit on top of the van — even if it was a
better vantage point). About halfway through the movie, someone found the
projector and made shadow puppets on the screen just to remind us of the
casualness we were experiencing as we watched the movie outside. “Cars” came
to a close as my two now very sleepy first time drive-in movie goers finally
settled into optimal seating, inside the van.
Of course the experience would not have been complete without turning the
ignition key at the end of the movie and realizing I had left the radio on
for too long without starting the van and recharging the battery. So as the
intermission between movies began I had the opportunity to meet other movie
goers and to find at least one who brought jumper cables.
Anyone who never has been to a drive-in should go for the experience, and
anyone who has been in years past should relive some of the fun this summer.
Benjamin was right. “Cars” was fun to see in a car. |
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