Category Archives: Georgia

Mar. 18: Swan Drive In Theatre, Blue Ridge GA

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It’s Day 77 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. After a two-hour drive through Chattanooga TN, I made it from Trenton GA back down to the Swan Drive In Theatre in Blue Ridge GA.

According to the Swan’s history page, the drive-in was built in 1955 on land leased from the city of Blue Ridge. The story of the surprising effort it took to grade the land and find a crane to raise the screen tower is more than I can summarize here, so you really ought to go read it.

On the other hand, I can tell you how it was named the Swan. There were two partners in the drive-in. One was stationed in England during World War II and admired the beautiful, peaceful swans swimming on the lakes and ponds there. His partner liked the name because it was short.

Not only was the Swan open for me in mid-March, it was showing a movie I hadn’t seen yet. The latest King Kong reboot makes a great drive-in movie! It went great with my popcorn and deep-fried Oreos.

Miles Today / Total:  96 / 9371 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Kong: Skull Island / 42

Nearby Restaurant: The Blue Ridge Brewery had me at “brewery.” I didn’t know it had live music on Saturdays too. I expected burgers and bar food, but it also had steaks, including my perfectly prepared rib eye. And plenty of varieties of fresh beer, which is why it had me at “brewery.”

Where I Virtually Stayed: The Douglas Inn looks like one of those 1950s style motels with a couple dozen rooms facing an outdoor pool. But they tell me it was built in 2000 and renovated a couple of years ago, and its modernity shows when you look closely. Everything was clean, the staff was great, I had a nice little continental breakfast, and the price was better than the chain hotels.

Only in Blue Ridge: Free Time Hobbies, a “hobby super store” in Blue Ridge, has a particularly interesting muffler man out front holding a model airplane. According to Roadside America, “Mr. Hobby” began his life as “Mr. Bendo” atop Ced’s Muffler Shop in Chicago, which he guarded for about 50 years. After a harsh storm in 2010, Mr. Bendo’s top half broke off. Free Time purchased the pieces in 2014 and restored him. Sounds like it was a great hobby project!

Next Stop: Tiger Drive In Theatre, Tiger GA.

Mar. 17: Wilderness Outdoor Movie Theater, Trenton GA

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Double rainbow over drive-in screen

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.

Drive Invaders hit Atlanta

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There’s a fun, long blog entry in the Saporta Report about a group of drive-in enthusiasts in Atlanta. Last week, a group calling themselves Drive Invaders “gathered to watch ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ at the Starlight Six Drive-In, the last outdoor movie theater in metro Atlanta. Instead of a playground, (ringleader Suellen) Germani and her grown-up movie companions each paid $7 to tailgate in the rain and watch the movie through wet windshields.”

The article explains in lengthy detail the beginnings of the group, including early missteps. “For the first two years we met year round and that was really stupid because it’s really cold in February,” Germani said.

For over a decade, this little band has made it a point to patronize the Starlight Six, partly with the goal of keeping it alive. The article is a lot more fun than I’ve made it sound, so I’ll stop typing so you can just go read it.