Author Archives: mrdrivein

Feb. 14: Madera Drive In Theatre, Madera CA

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It’s Day 45 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. It took almost three hours to drive from San Luis Obispo to the Madera Drive In Theatre in Madera CA.

There aren’t too many drive-ins that have had three names. The Madera opened as the El Rio Drive-In in 1948. According to the drive-in’s page at CinemaTreasures, it was purchased by the Gran brothers in 1972. From there, all I know is what I read in my reference books. Some time between 1964 and 1984, possibly at the time of the sale, the name changed to the Park Vu Drive-In. It became the Madera after 1995 but when? This 2003 photo shows a Madera Drive-In sign at the ticket booth, but this 2005 photo still shows a faded Park Vu sign.

When was the second screen added? That 2003 photo shows the smaller second screen in the background, just as it looks today. The Park Vu was listed as a single-screen theater in 1984, so either the second was added within the following two decades or that listing was inaccurate.

What’s worse than seeing the same movie four nights in a row? If it’s good, like The Lego Batman Movie, it’s worse when there are no movies at all. The Madera will reopen in “Spring 2017,” but instead of meeting new friends at the concession stand, I had to spend this Valentine’s night alone.

Miles Today / Total:  155 / 5281 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 33

Nearby Restaurant: It had been too long since I’d had some decent hummus. (Yes, I like hummus.) I was really happy to find a hidden gem of a restaurant in Madera, the Kebab Grill. Sure, my chicken kebab was warm and spicy and yummy, but what I remember most was my side dish of hummus and pita slices for dipping. There’s nothing quite like it.

Where I Virtually Stayed: It was just three miles up the road, in daylight since the Madera Drive-In was still closed for the season, so the Hampton Inn was a nice, safe choice. Clean room, fridge and microwave, and a nice breakfast in the morning.

Only in Madera: The North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians would like to build a “Las Vegas-style” casino on a 305-acre site just north of Madera. That plan hit a roadblock last December when an appeals court invalidated Gov. Jerry Brown’s authorization to use the land for gaming. Some Madera residents objected to the approval process for this parcel of land that’s 36 miles from the tribe’s home, According to the Fresno Bee, “The North Fork tribe and the federal government wanted to use the Madera-area land for gaming because the tribe has no land other than an area designated for housing.”

Next Stop: Capitol 6 Drive-In, San Jose CA.

Feb. 13: Sunset Drive-In Theater, San Luis Obispo CA

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It’s Day 44 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. The cities in this part of California almost merge together, yet Highway 101 is still a pretty speedy way to get between them. It took less than 45 minutes to zoom from Santa Maria to San Luis Obispo, home of the Sunset Drive-In Theater.

This place is a classic. It opened in 1951, and it still shows a lot of old-school touches. The concession stand it a small wood-paneled source of soda, popcorn, and the usual suspects. The marquee has well-maintained neon tubes that probably look as good as its first days. And that single huge screen has the drive-in’s name on it, as was so typical during the golden age.

Way back in 1998, I scheduled a Memorial Day weekend trip to visit several drive-in theaters in western Colorado. Someone asked if I’d get tired of seeing the same movie night after night, but I assured him that they always pick different movies from each other. I was wrong of course; that weekend every theater had the re-release of Titanic. I was reminded of that anecdote as I saw the The Lego Batman Movie again on the Sunset marquee. Three nights in a row isn’t so bad.

Miles Today / Total:  35 / 5126 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: The Lego Batman Movie / 33

Nearby Restaurant: Just a mile away from the Sunset is Madonna Inn’s Copper Cafe. They tell me it’s an icon, a tradition in San Luis Obispo. It’s a quirky coffee shop, the kind of place that has “Let’s eat and be forever happy” carved into a wooden arch. The Copper Cafe is open early and late, and its best feature is its selection of pies and cakes. I had a slice of pink champagne cake because where else am I going to get that chance?

Where I Virtually Stayed: You can’t get closer than across the highway, and that’s where the Embassy Suites sits. I could even see the back of the Sunset screen from my room window (since I asked for a high room facing east). I always love the evening reception of snacks and drinks, followed in the morning by a cooked-to-order breakfast.

Only in San Luis Obispo: There is a tourist attraction in downtown SLO that’s a little hard to describe or explain. It’s a narrow, 70-foot-long alley that’s known for its accumulation of used chewing gum on its walls, hence the name Bubblegum Alley. According to Wikipedia, some historians believe it started after WWII as a San Luis Obispo High School graduating class event. Others believe it started in the late 1950s, as rivalry between SLOHS and California Polytechnic State University students. By the 1970s, Bubblegum Alley was well established. Since then the gum graffiti has survived several temporary cleanings by the Downtown Business Improvement Association.

Next Stop: Madera Drive In Theatre, Madera CA.

Feb. 12: Hi-Way Drive-In, Santa Maria CA

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It’s Day 43 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. I left suburban Santa Barbara and got back on Highway 101 for a one-hour drive to the Hi-Way Drive-In in Santa Maria CA.

An article in the Santa Maria Times said that the Hi-Way was opened in 1959 and bought by current owner Bob Gran in 1979. My 1972 Motion Picture Almanac show only one drive-in in Santa Maria, the Park Aire which opened in 1949 and closed in the 1990s. I guess no directory is perfect.

I got here early enough for the Sunday-only flea market. None of those special protective roofs like they had in Florida and Arizona, but the temperature here never even grazed 70 degrees. Glad I had something warm to wear to watch the movie while drinking hot chocolate and eating popcorn.

The Lego Batman Movie was so good that I really didn’t mind watching it for the second night in a row, since that’s what the Hi-Way had for its early movie.

Miles Today / Total:  64 / 5091 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: The Lego Batman Movie / 32

Nearby Restaurant: I don’t get many chances to sample Hawaiian food, so I drove up Santa Maria Way to Zoe’s Hawaiian BBQ. I had a mixed plate with teriyaki beef, chicken katsu, and mahi mahi, plus rice and a scoop of macaroni salad. Zoe’s also had Spam on the menu, but I had to draw the line somewhere.

Where I Virtually Stayed: The closest hotel to the Hi-Way may be the best in Santa Maria. The Radisson Hotel is three miles from the drive-in, and it sits between a park and an airstrip. I felt pampered with a robe and slippers in my room; I never get that at the Hampton Inn.

Mother with three children at a migrant campOnly in Santa Maria: One of the most famous photos of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl in the 1930s was taken by Dorothea Lange at a former migrant labor camp along US 101 just north of Santa Maria. Lange was concluding a month’s trip photographing migratory farm labor around the state for what was then the Resettlement Administration. The photo’s subject, then unnamed, was Florence Thompson. Her identity was discovered in 1978 when Modesto Bee reporter Emmett Corrigan located Thompson at her mobile home and recognized her from the 40-year-old photograph. According to Roadside America, a California professor tracked down the site of that photo in 2013. “The professor hopes to erect a marker at the spot, but for now it’s just a weedy field.”

Next Stop: Sunset Drive-In Theater, San Luis Obispo CA.