photo by robert e weston jr, from the Carload Flickr pool

It’s Day 29 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey, and it started with another two hour drive, this time from Lubbock TX to the Big Sky Theater in Midland. I never actually complained about all those half-hour hops out east, and I’m looking forward to more of them when I reach California this Thursday. But in between, it’s going to be a week of long hauls.

I know you read this yesterday, but the Big Sky is another pioneer of 21st century drive-in operation. It opened in 2005 with two screens and radio sound. A third screen came soon afterward.

Not only are their histories similar, the concession stand menu for the Big Sky was also a pretty close match to the Stars & Stripes the night before. That specialty tortilla sandwich was there, called simply the Chihuahua, and the corn fritters, burgers and pizza all looked good. I especially liked the idea of ordering 50 spicy chicken wings, which would have been great if I’d had someone around to split them with. I might need to do something about that.

Yesterday, I said that I expected to watch A Dog’s Purpose pretty soon. I was right. Of the three early movies available, that was the only one I hadn’t seen.

Miles Today / Total:  131 / 3461 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: A Dog’s Purpose / 21

Nearby Restaurant: As I continue my quest for authentic German-style experiences here in the states, I was happy to find the Midland Beer Garden just a mile down the road. The large glass steins full of cold beer and the haphazard-looking food trucks reminded me a lot of the serve-yourself style I saw in Berlin. (Although I wonder whether typical German beer gardens include a jalapeno cheddar corn dog.)

Where I Virtually Stayed: There are a lot of hotels in Midland, and there are quite a few near the Big Sky. I tried something different with the Hawthorn Suites just up the road. A full-sized refrigerator and good guest laundry facilities made me almost wish I had more time to stay here.

Only in Midland: The first airplane built and flown in Texas was built in Midland in 1911 by John V. Pliska, a blacksmith, and Gray Coggin, a chauffeur and auto mechanic. It had a wingspan of 33 feet and was made of wood, piano wire, and canvas. When Pliska’s blacksmith shop was torn down in 1962, his kids donated the plane to the city, and it now hangs suspended above the baggage claim area in the Midland International Airport Terminal Building.

Next Stop: Fiesta Drive In Theater, Carlsbad NM.

photo by Jerry Cotten from the Carload Flickr pool

It’s Day 28 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey, starting with a two and a half hour drive from Abilene TX to Lubbock, home of the Stars & Stripes Drive-In Theatre.

This place is a pioneer of 21st century drive-in operation, opening in 2003 with two screens and radio sound. A third screen came soon afterward.

The Stars & Stripes concession stand is set up like a 50s themed cafe, and that’s not the only unusual part. The specialty of the house is a sandwich they call the Ay Chihuahua, with chili, cheese and other stuff between two crispy corn tortillas. The soda and popcorn prices are reasonable, and I have a weakness for corn fritters.

For the first time in weeks, I had a choice between two early-show movies I hadn’t seen yet. A Dog’s Purpose just came out this weekend, so I went with Monster Trucks, which has been around longer. That dog will probably show up again in the next week or two.

Miles Today / Total:  172 / 3330 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Monster Trucks / 20

Nearby Restaurant: Isn’t it nifty when the only really close choice happens to be really great? The Shack dishes up the kind of barbecue that overcomes a humble, out-of-the-way setting and gets patrons lined up to get a table before they run out of food. Definitely recommended!

Where I Virtually Stayed: Most of the hotels in Lubbock are along the highways on the southwest and east sides of town. The closest hotel to the Stars & Stripes, northwest of town, is the Best Western Plus Tech Medical Center Inn. It’s a pretty new place, and I always like having a mini-fridge in the room.

Only in Lubbock: There are prairie dog towns around plenty of cities in the western US (I know of several within a 30-minute drive from Carload World Headquarters in Denver), but only Lubbock has the Prairie Dog Town. The official Lubbock web site gushes, “Of all Nature’s wild creatures, none is more appealing and entertaining to watch than the Prairie Dog.” PDT was established in the 1930s and has grown and relocated a couple of times since. It even has its own Goodwill Ambassador, Prairie Dog Pete.

Next Stop: Big Sky Theater, Midland TX.

photo by Jerry Cotten from the Carload Flickr pool

It’s Day 27 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey, starting with another hour and a half or so to drive from Graham to the Town and Country Drive-In Theatre in Abilene TX. Here in Texas, I’ve seen brand-new drive-ins, and over the last two days, I’ve seen ancient, pioneering drive-ins. The Town and Country is somewhere in between.

The Town and Country wasn’t really a pioneer. When it opened in 1956, there were already six other drive-ins in Abilene: the Chief, Crescent, Elmwood, Key City (two screens), Park, and Tower. What the T&C offered was size; its 1500-car capacity was more than half of what the other seven screens in town could handle together. The T&C had two screens of its own, plus a playground with an electric Ferris wheel. It closed in 1981, but was resurrected in 2000 and has been rolling along since.

The T&C sure isn’t like the Coyotes I visited earlier this week. There were no alcoholic beverages to be found at the concession stand. On the other hand, the prices felt reasonable again; a bacon cheeseburger and the largest fountain drink they offered were only $3.50 each. This place felt a lot more like the drive-ins I visited when I was growing up.

After two dark nights, I was happy to return to a drive-in that’s showing movies in January. Of the four early movies, the only one I hadn’t seen was Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, so that was my Friday night show.

Miles Today / Total:  94 / 3158 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Resident Evil: The Final Chapter / 19

Nearby Restaurant: I found another chicken dinner house a lot like the one I visited two nights ago in Granbury, but this one is called Belle’s Chicken Dinner House. Same deal though, great chicken (or chicken-fried steak) and unlimited green beans, mashed potatoes, and other fixin’s. Yum!

Where I Virtually Stayed: There were several close hotels along I-20 of the inexpensive, expedient type that didn’t match what I was looking for. It was only another mile or so to a cluster of my type of lodgings at Lake Road. I picked the newest, the Hampton Inn, because the only thing more reliable than a Hampton Inn is a brand-new Hampton Inn.

Only in Abilene: There are several sculpted items of interest clustered near Business I-20 as it runs through central Abilene. There’s the world’s largest (really) paper airplane, a flat buffalo for photo-op rides, the second-largest faux animal skull in town, a park full of Dr. Seuss character statues, and the world’s largest faux buffalo skull.

Next Stop: Stars & Stripes Drive-In Theatre, Lubbock TX.