photo from the Wilderness Outdoor Movie Theater Facebook page
It’s Day 76 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. Snce it was St. Patrick’s Day, I got on the road before anyone needed to come home after drinking green beer. It took just about 40 minutes to drive up I-59 from Henagar to the Wilderness Outdoor Movie Theater in Trenton GA.
According to Cinema Treasures, the Wilderness was built in 2005 as a single-screen theater, then added a second screen a few years later. It converted to digital projection by 2014. Reviews for this modern facility often mention how clean the rest rooms are, and last year its concession stand got a perfect score from restaurant inspectors.
If it had been the Fourth of July, I could have enjoyed the drive-in’s fireworks display. (Even when a drive-in doesn’t have its own fireworks, I like to make a point to go that night because I can watch displays in the distance. And the movie.) But it’s just St. Patrick’s Day and the Wilderness won’t be opening until April 7. At least I didn’t have to worry about driving back to my hotel room; I was able to settle in for some basketball and green stuff within walking distance.
Miles Today / Total: 38 / 9275 (rounded to the nearest mile)
Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 41
Nearby Restaurant: Not only did I get a chance to eat at Larry’s Buffet, I happened to time my visit for during the special Friday dinner buffet. Not only were all the typically filling buffet items available, there was also catfish and chicken wings and stuffed crab and so much more. They call it “The Best Buffet in the South,” and right now I can’t argue with that.
Where I Virtually Stayed: I got a great price at the only hotel in Trenton, the Days Inn. The sheets were clean, the wifi worked, and the continental breakfast in the morning got me moving forward.
Only in Trenton: The city of the Trenton is the only incorporated municipality in Dade County, so it’s the county seat. A 2015 article in the Chattanooga (TN) Times Free Press included a popular local fable about Dade County’s secession from the Union before Georgia left. The story goes that in 1860, the county’s representative told the state Senate, “If Georgia does not vote to secede immediately from the Union, Dade County will secede from the state and become the independent state of Dade.” He then stormed out, and the county later sent a notice to Washington that it had seceded on its own. It’s a fun story to tell, but the Times Free Press article documents that it never really happened.
Next Stop: Swan Drive In Theatre, Blue Ridge GA.