To many, the Drive-In theater conjures up images of the 50’s.  They see greasers and preps wheeling in for a night of movies and hanging out with friends (amongst other things).  It is a throwback to a simpler time.  In their hay-day, there were about 3,800 drive-in’s nationwide. Today, those numbers have dipped to about 500.  In recent years, there has been a revival of drive-ins and for those lucky people that live within driving distance of one, it makes for a great get-away.

Recently, my family went to our local Drive-in, "The Cascade Drive-In", in West Chicago, Illinois to watch the double feature of ‘Terminator Salvation’ and ‘Star Trek’.  I packed up our vehicle with lawn chairs, a hammock, coolers and boxes full of food and snacks, pillows and blankets and headed out.  The price was $8.50 a head for two movies.  The owners do a really good job of managing and making an enjoyable experience.  They make sure all the ‘tall’ vehicles park in the back and that noisy yahoos are quieted down.  It is really a family friendly place.  As far as the movie’s audio goes, you can either listen to the movie audio on the vintage drive-in speakers, or through your FM radio (in Stereo).  You can bring your own food or shop their really cool snack bar (cool in that it is so retro).

My recommendation, take an evening this summer and find the closest drive-in.  If you happen to find yourself in the Chicagoland area, hit the Cascade!  Go to driveintheater.com for a list of Drive-In theaters. (I’m not sure how often this is updated).