photo courtesy of Blue Starlite Mini Urban Drive-In

On Day One of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey, I chose the US’s southernmost drive-in, the Blue Starlite Mini Urban Drive-In, which recently declared that its Florida “full time location” is in Miami.

Since I want to catch as many drive-ins on nights when they’re showing movies, that means that I’ll start 2017 with a drive across the southern states. Since I don’t want a lot of wasted miles, I’m starting in south Florida and working my way north before I turn west.

Although the Blue Starlite was dark tonight (its next film is Jurassic Park on Jan. 14), I love its location – by the beach at David T. Kennedy Park in the Coconut Grove neighborhood.

Miles Today / Total: 0 / 0 (I just got here.)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 0

Nearby Restaurant: Berries, less than a mile away. The perfect place for a healthy, relaxing Sunday brunch.

Where I Virtually Stayed: Hampton Inn Coconut Grove. Rated one of the best hotels in Miami, yet one of the least expensive within two miles of the drive-in.

Only in Miami: In 2011, NPR ran a story about the invasion of house-eating giant African land snails. Four years later, the Miami Herald wrote that detector dog teams were making a dent in the problem, resulting in 156,253 snail casualties.

Next Stop: Thunderbird Drive-in Theatres, Fort Lauderdale FL