Drive In Movies

Why am I remembering this right now? I have no idea...

I was just remembering when we would go to the drive in movies as kids. My parents would have everyone eat dinner, take baths, then get into our pj's. We still had to wear shoes in case we had to get out of the car.

We would pile blankets, pillows, popcorn, and kids into the back of the car. When we got our first station wagon we thought it would be especially fun because there was so much room! Did you know you can't really see anything from the very back of a station wagon when you are at a drive in? Heck, you can hardly see anything from the back seat either! Especially when there are 6 kids in the car!

I don't remember a single movie from when I was real little. I just remember that Marcia and I were the only ones still awake at intermission. Dad or Mom would take us to the concession stand so we could go to the bathroom. It was weird walking around outside in our pj's, especially with shoes on!

Then came the teenage years. Hey, I behaved! (Remember, I'm the boring one!) Occasionally Marcia and I would go to a movie. She loved the scary ones! She'd try to sneak back from the concession stand and scare me, but most of the time we would go there together to see who else was there. No pj's then! She actually got a job at a drive in so she didn't get to watch movies that often then. She sure let a lot of us in for free though... hehehe...

When Dan and I took the girls to their first drive in, they were 3 and 1. It was challenging as an adult because you had them in car seats until they got tired and fell asleep. Then you'd get out, cover the dome light, and lay them down on the seats. There seemed to be more mosquitoes as adults too? By the time we went to a drive in there were no more bucket seats which really killed any romantic stuff. They didn't have drive ins in England, Spain or the California desert. The kids first experience was when we were on leave back in Wisconsin.

The sad part is, there are hardly any more drive ins left in the country. Although they are gone, their memories will always stay with me. What were your drive in memories?