Feb. 10: Electric Dusk Drive-In, Los Angeles CA

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It’s Day 41 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. I finished the Los Angeles area with the only drive-in within the city limits, the Electric Dusk Drive-In.

I drove almost an hour to the heart of LA, or at least to the LA Community College District’s Van De Kamp College Campus. That’s where the Electric Dusk folks have been holding eccentrically scheduled drive-in nights since last summer, after moving from a downtown building.

There’s a retro-themed “Snack Shack” for decent food, and fake grass in front for pedestrians to sit on. The part I liked the least was the prospect of getting wedged in with other cars; every guy in the middle has to wait for his neighbors to go before he can leave. And portable toilets, though sometimes cleaner than the worst permanent drive-ins I’ve visited, just aren’t as good as the real thing.

I was so disappointed to have come all this way only to just miss one of the relatively rare active nights at the Electric Dusk. It’s going to show The Notebook on Feb. 11 as a Valentine’s weekend theme, but nothing on this Friday night. Just as well, they probably would have canceled it because of the rain.

Miles Today / Total:  36 / 4913 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 30

Nearby Restaurant: Well, the Electric Dusk is behind a Denny’s; it even cautions drive-in patrons not to park there. But just a block or two away is the Eagle Rock Brewery, a well-hidden source of beer and food trucks. Probably anything tastes good while drinking an
Ümläüt.

Where I Virtually Stayed: Staying on theme, I got a room at (take a breath first) the Comfort Inn Near Old Town Pasadena – Eagle Rock. So it had that Eagle Rock, but it was, dare I say it, near Old Town Pasadena. Much quieter than downtown Los Angeles, and the breakfast was actually pretty good.

Only in Los Angeles: Less than three miles from the Electric Dusk is the Museum of Neon Art in Glendale. The MONA includes the original neon sign from The Brown Derby at Hollywood and Vine, an animated Hofbrau beer pourer, and Route 66 Winchell’s Donuts neon sign. Needs more drive-in signs.

Next Stop: Santa Barbara Drive-In, Goleta CA.