photo from the Continental Drive-In Facebook page

It’s Day Nine of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey, my first day outside of Florida. I spent most of my five hours driving up the panhandle from Ocala to the Continental Drive-In in Newton AL.

The Continental concession stand is heavy on the pizza. Hawaiian pizza. Veggie pizza. Pizza logs. Supreme pizza. Even good old pepperoni pizza. I would have liked to have tried a pizza log, just for the experience, but it wasn’t to be.

The Continental has four screens, but they weren’t open on this winter Monday. I knew this would happen now and then along the trek, but I didn’t want to add a lot of miles just to catch weekend-only theaters on the right days. So I watched the college football national championship game (very big around here for some reason) and got to bed early.

Miles Today / Total: 297 / 704 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 7

Nearby Restaurant: There are a few towns near the drive-in, but nothing all that close. I went over to Daleville near Fort Rucker to try McLin’s Restaurant‘s famous hush puppies. It was just about 10 minutes away.

Where I Virtually Stayed: When I saw what was available in Daleville, I kept driving till I got to Enterprise. The Hampton Inn is always a safe bet. Normally I wouldn’t like driving 17 miles after a movie at night, but since the Continental was quiet tonight, I’m glad I did.

Only in Newton: About 65 percent of peanuts produced in the US are grown within a short radius of nearby Dothan, according to the book Alabama Curiosities. Dothan is the home of the National Peanut Festival, which draws over 160,000 for the 10-day event in November.

Next Stop: Coyote Drive In Theater, Leeds AL.