It’s Day 186 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. For the second straight day, it took 101 miles to drive from place to place. This time, the lack of interstates meant I was on the road a little more than two hours to get from Gibson City IL to the Lake Shore Drive In in Monticello IN.

The Lake Shore opened as the single-screen Monticello Drive-In in 1949, according to Cinema Treasures. At that point, or very soon after, it was owned by Al Taylor and Clifford Rickey, who were listed with it in the 1952 Theatre Catalog. In 1961, they sold the Monticello to Marc Brazee of Greenwood, and my references show Brazee running the place deep into the 1980s and possibly beyond.

From there, we pick up some Herald Journal accounts; all agree that Earle and Phyllis McLachlan bought the place in 2000 and added a second screen in 2003. An article from 2004 said that when McLachlan bought it, “the entire facility was in fading condition and bordering on the out-of-date. A major restructuring, which added a new sound system and just last year a second film screen, was necessary in order to bring the operation up to par.” I’m guess that’s when the name changed.

In a 2006 article, McLachlan said the Lake View was doing well despite Indiana joining Daylight Saving Time. In a 2014 article that misspelled his name, McLachlan was happy about his digital projection system and “the new screen,” suggesting that the main screen was replaced during the previous off-season. It looks newer now, and less nostalgic, than in the 2009 YouTube video embedded above.

Not only did I get the treat of a new, different movie, but a darned good one for drive-ins. Baby Driver has the action and car chases to keep anyone awake on any drowsy late evening in July.

Miles Today / Total:  101 / 23766 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Baby Driver / 102

Nearby Restaurant: The best dam catfish in town has the be at the Oakdale Dam Inn. In the converted mess hall of Oakdale Dam workers, filled with quirky decorations, I had to have the catfish dinner, since bottom feeders and dams just go together. Add in a full bar and lots of dessert options, and it was just a great place to visit and have a bite.

Where I Virtually Stayed: Since I gravitate to chains, I stayed at the Best Western Plus Brandywine Inn. I snagged a kitchenette suite with a hot tub and a king bed, a great combination to melt away stress from the road. Instead of a fitness room, there was a full fitness club with a racquetball court and steam room. Good wifi, good breakfast, it all make me glad I spent a little more on a greay place to stay.

Only in Monticello: The Indiana Beach Amusement and Water Park opened as a beach in 1926 and expanded to include roller coasters and other amusement park rides. Its ownership changed hands a couple of times over the past 10 years, but recent TripAdvisor reviews suggest that it’s a nice place to visit again.

Next stop: 13-24 Drive-In, Wabash IN.

It’s Day 183 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. The halfway point! For every drive-in around here that’s open on weeknights, there’s another that only does weekends, so I set out from Litchfield IL towards the closest one that would be open on Sundays but not Mondays. That’s why I drove three hours east to the Cinema 67 Drive-in a few miles north of Spencer IN.

Before I start, I want to mention that the YouTube video I embedded above is a fun little tour of the Cinema 67, but it was posted at the end of the 2011 season. The grounds look a lot better these days, as you can see on the Cinema 67’s Facebook page.

According to Cinema Treasures, the Cinema 67 opened as the Records Drive-In in 1957. An article in the Indianapolis Monthly picks up the drive-in’s tale in the 1970s. It wrote that “an aging businessman and his pretty young wife had purchased the drive-in … and hoped Owen County would accept their breed of (X-rated) entertainment.” Since the screen was visible from Highway 67, that didn’t work out.

In came Jon Walker, who bought a drive-in with broken speakers, back-row fights between rival high schoolers, and weak attendance. He changed its name to the Cinema 67 to signal a fresh start. He switched to FM radio, first removing most of the in-car speakers then all of them. He hired security to stop the fights, and the warring teenagers went away. Which did not immediately help the attendance problem. “We stopped all that monkey business,” Walker said. “Well, that stopped our business, too.”

Over time, the improvements lured the family crowd that would sustain the Cinema 67. It made the transition to digital projection and continues to promise “Lots of great food and great entertainment on the screen and under the screen”.

I settled in to watch my new best friend, Despicable Me 3, for the third time in four nights. As I munched on my burrito in a box and sipped my hot coffee, I wondered, where did the Minions come from? A Despicable Me wiki claims they’re “invincible and immortal,” and that they came into existence “3.8 billion years ago”. Hmm.

Miles Today / Total:  184 / 23377 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Despicable Me 3 / 99

Nearby Restaurant: After a fairly long drive, my eyes lit up when I saw the sign for Chambers Smorgasboard. That meant a buffet, and you know how I love buffets. The fried chicken was good enough for a chicken restaurant, and that was just the beginning of the meats and veggies available. Top it off with hot fresh bread and apple butter, and I hardly needed dessert, but there was some pecan pie. Ahh!

Where I Virtually Stayed: There aren’t any of those fancy modern chain hotels around here, but I had a great night at the Canyon Inn inside McCormick’s Creek State Park right next to Spencer. This place has been around for 100 years, but they maintain it nicely. My small room in the historic east wing just had a shower, but that’s all I use anyway. The peace and quiet were a nice break, and the breakfast in the hotel restaurant was worth paying for.

Only in Spencer: There’s a giant rooster statue on a pedestal at the corner of East and Cooper Streets. According to Roadside Architecture, that’s the Owen County Fairgrounds. It was originally located at a restaurant in town which closed.

Next stop: Route 66 Twin Drive-In, Springfield IL.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvNSldBDtMo&t=86s

It’s Day 180 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. This was an easy drive down straight highways, less than an hour from the 49er Drive-in Theatre north of Valparaiso IN to the Melody Drive In Theater south of Knox.

In the YouTube video I embedded above, owner Fred Heise says he has owned the Melody since 1970, “bought it from my father that year.” That video was uploaded in 2010, but Heise’s comments indicate that it was shot in 2006. A short note from WKVI FM about Opening Day this year confirms that Heise is still around.

The South Bend Tribune wrote in a 2013 article that the Melody opened in 1949. Heise and his son, Fred Heise II, told the Tribune about the switch to digital projection. “They’d have run for another 50 years, if you took care of them,” the elder Heise said of the old projectors. “Hopefully this (new) stuff will last 10 to 20 years without a problem, but we don’t know.” His son agreed: “That’s our major concern here. This isn’t a $1,100 computer, it’s a $60,000 one. … We don’t know how long they’re gonna last.”

A different problem hit earlier in 2013, when a storm blew down one of its two screens. As WNDU noted later, the Melody ran on one screen for just a short time before they could fix the second.

I was so glad that the Melody managed to get Despicable Me 3 on the Thursday night before it opens across the country. It gave me a break from all those viewings of Cars 3, but now I’m wondering how many times I’ll watch DM3 over the next coupld of weeks.

Miles Today / Total:  43 / 22837 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Despicable Me 3 / 96

Nearby Restaurant: In between towns, on South Toto Road, is an unusual place called Richard’s of Toto. It’s got a giant fiberglass Indian, a discount store, and most relevant to us, The Toto Cafe. I enjoyed the Thursday meatloaf special with mashed potatoes and gravy. It felt just a little odd to find such a large restaurant in the middle of miles of farmland.

Where I Virtually Stayed: There is a hotel in town, but 71% of TripAdvisor reviewers rated it Terrible, so I looked elsewhere. I knew the next leg of my odyssey would be due west, so I took the safest choice – a place I already knew. I caught the Comfort Suites in Rensselaer during its first month of operations in July 2016, and it was still just as fresh and good a year later. My room had a fridge and good wifi, breakfast was a little better than standard Comfort fare, and the price was great.

Only in Knox: The first episode of the PBS children’s series Postcards from Buster was filmed at a farm near Knox. Buster learns about the farm kids’ chores including feeding the cows, taking out the garbage, cleaning the house. He also learns that some of the chores include riding horses, driving forklift tractors and showing their pigs off when the County Fair is in town.

Next stop: Route 34 Drive In Theatre, Earlville IL.