Author Archives: mrdrivein

Apr. 4: Drive N Theatre, Newton IL

Posted on by

It’s Day 94 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. It took about two and a half hours to drive the shortest route between the the Holiday Drive-In in Rockport IN and the Drive N Theatre in Newton IL.

According to the theater web site, the Drive N opened as the Fairview Drive-in Theatre in 1953. In the early 1990’s, the Fairview briefly closed after the screen was damaged by a storm. It soon reopened under new management and was eventually remodeled in 2002 boasting a new concession area and screen.

The Fairview closed after the 2014 season and was sold. In June 2015, its new owners reopened it as the Drive N.

Although it’s been open for a full month this season, the Drive N is only open on Fridays and Saturdays this time of year, so I missed out by arriving on a Tuesday. I won’t even be able to stick around for this Saturday’s Easter egg hunt. Oh well.

Miles Today / Total:  121 / 10513 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 46

Nearby Restaurant: There aren’t many drive-ins as remote as the Drive N. Back in Newton, I picked the Filler Up Buffet because, you know, it says buffet right in the name. All you can eat home cooked meals and made from scratch desserts including pecan pie. Yum!

Where I Virtually Stayed: If you’re going to stay in Newton, you’re definitely going to want to stay at the Cobblestone Hotel and Suites. Cobblestone is a smaller hotel chain in the Midwest, but if they’re all like the one in Newton, I’ll keep searching them out. There was wine and beer in the evening, a refrigerator in my room, and a great breakfast buffet. In between, a little casino! First time I’ve run into that at a small-town hotel.

Only in Newton: The grave of beloved actor, Rudolph narrator and folk singer Burl Ives is in the Mound Church Cemetery between the towns of Oblong and Newton.

Next Stop: Skyview Drive-In, Belleville IL.

Apr. 3: Holiday Drive-In, Rockport IN

Posted on by

It’s Day 93 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. It took about an hour and a half to drive the fastest route between the Georgetown Drive-In and the Holiday Drive-In in Rockport IN.

The Holiday opened its first screen in 1955 and added a second screen in 1980. Screens 3 and 4 arrived in 1992, screen 5 in 1995, and screen 6 just last year.

The Tristate HomePage had a September 2014 article about the Holiday’s conversion to digital projection. “We gotta move with the times to stay alive, so we gotta change,” said Georgia Decker. “You gotta change. Which I hate, but it’s all part of life.”

The Holiday is only open on weekends this time of year, so I missed out by arriving on a Monday. They just had their season-opening weekend, too. Oh well.

Miles Today / Total:  87 / 10392 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 46

Nearby Restaurant: I chose McKenzie’s, which is connected to the Rockport Inn, which was built in the 1850s as a private home, and is rumored to have been part of the Underground Railroad. I didn’t see any ghosts, just nice service and hometown food like steaks and green beans. Loved the decor, though.

Where I Virtually Stayed: It was clean. The wifi worked. Everything was just fine with the Comfort Inn in Rockport, especially the breakfast with sausage, biscuits and gravy, and the ubiquitous waffle maker. All at a good price for a chain hotel.

Only in Rockport: Abraham Lincoln grew up in Rockport. It has a Lincoln Landing monument that commemorates where he launched a flatboat in 1828 to visit New Orleans. That’s where he first encountered the horrors of slavery; the plaque carries the quote, “If I ever get a chance to hit that thing, I’ll hit it hard.” There’s also a WPA-built Lincoln Pioneer Village in a city park.

Next Stop: Drive N Theatre, Newton IL.

Apr. 2: Georgetown Drive-In, Georgetown IN

Posted on by

It’s Day 92 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. It took almost two hours to drive from Paris KY through Lexington and Louisville to the Georgetown Drive-In in Georgetown IN.

The Georgetown opened in 1951 with a single screen. It added a second screen around the turn of the millennium.

According to an article in the Louisville Courier-Journal, a storm blew down the screen in 1996, but owner Bill Powell, Jr. called some friends and repaired it. His father had purchased the Georgetown in 1965.

“If there isn’t a drive-in going with a 50-mile radius of your community, I just feel like the community would be missing out on something,” said the younger Powell. “I’m just trying to keep something from the past alive.”

The Georgetown’s Facebook page says that it will be opening in May. Too bad it wasn’t open this Sunday evening; with the weather in the 60s, it would have been a nice night for a movie.

Miles Today / Total:  106 / 10305 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 46

Nearby Restaurant: I try to avoid most chains, so this was my first visit to an El Nopal location. (It’s just a regional chain, but I’d been seeing them in Kentucky.) The lunch combo starring a spinach and mushroom quesadilla provided a lot of tasty food for not a lot of money.

Where I Virtually Stayed: There was only one choice within Georgetown itself, so this was the first Red Roof Inn visit during my odyssey. That worked out well; my room was clean, the free wifi was solid, coffee was waiting for me when I arrived, and the continental breakfast got me going the next morning.

Only in Georgetown: This Georgetown IN is the town that was founded by and named for George Waltz in 1833. It’s important to make that distinction, because Georgetown IN is an uncommonly common name. So don’t confuse it with the Georgetown IN that’s an unincorporated area in adjacent Washington County, or the Georgetown IN that’s another unincorporated area named for George Cicott, or the Georgetown IN that was yet another unincorporated area that died out by 1882, or the more populous Georgetown IN that’s a “census-designated place” at the northern edge of the state.

Next Stop: Holiday Drive-In, Rockport IN.