Category Archives: Texas

Jan. 17: Showboat, Hockley TX

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It’s Day 17 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey, in the middle of a stretch of fairly long drives. It took about three and a half hours to drive down from Tyler till I made it to Texas Highway 99, looped northwest of Houston to the Showboat Drive-In in unincorporated Hockley.

I’ll admit that I’m a little envious of Showboat patrons. When I lived in Houston, the last nearby drive-in had died just a couple of years before I arrived, and the Showboat didn’t open until 2006, well after I’d relocated Carload World Headquarters to Denver CO. Then again, maybe it all worked out for the best. The lack of nearby drive-ins led to the creation of Carload, which led indirectly to what you’re reading now.

I was also a little envious of the Showboat patrons who had turned out last weekend to watch one of two double features, both with early movies I hadn’t seen. But since this was a Tuesday night in the offseason, the Showboat was closed.

Miles Today / Total:  202 / 1935 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 11

Nearby Restaurant: For a Houston suburb, Hockley is really out there. The Showboat is closer to a nature center than any restaurant not starting with “Mc”. Eight miles south in Cypress is a great little Mexican restaurant called Las Mananitas. Great soup, great frozen margaritas, and very good food.

Where I Virtually Stayed: If I thought decent restaurants were a long drive from the Showboat, decent hotels are even farther away. I ended up swinging 10 miles east to the Hampton Inn in Tomball. The Hamptons are starting to blur together, but in a good way, with good wifi in the room and good hot breakfast in the morning, but with that Hampton Inn symbol everywhere I look.

Only in Hockley: A KHOU investigative team learned in May 2016 that the French teacher at the nearby Houston Independent School District’s Energy Institute High School did not speak French. He was hired to replace a long-time French-speaking teacher who was reassigned after a dispute with the school’s principal.

Next Stop: WesMer Drive-In Theater, Mercedes TX.

Jan. 16: Apache / Sky Vue, Tyler TX

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Apache Drive-In sign

photo by Don Lewis from the Carload Flickr pool

It’s Day 16 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey, and this one was strange for several reasons. I visited Tyler TX, one of the few towns with two drive-ins, the Apache Drive-In and the Sky Vue Drive-In. The drive from Memphis to the Apache took over 400 miles and six hours, by far my longest trip so far. And the Apache, actually a few miles east of Tyler, is one of two in Texas that specializes in adult films.

My 2013 Apache story, which is really just a summary of two other sites’ stories, has been the most popular page on Carload for a few weeks this offseason. Why? No idea! Anyway, at the drive-in, one eyewitness claimed that the screen was lit by a projection TV. I’m not telling whether I watched anything there, tucked into the woods near the cell-phone tower, but if I did, I lost interest quickly and moved on.

The Sky Vue, 14 miles from the Apache and northwest of Tyler, was much more welcoming, tucked behind a field of storage units instead of trees. The small concession stand had reasonable prices and pizza. It just felt much cleaner.

The Sky Vue has only one screen, so I was stuck watching Assassin’s Creed again as the early movie in the double feature. At least it was better than what the Apache had.

Miles Today / Total:  406 + 14 / 1733 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Assassin’s Creed / 11

Nearby Restaurant: Since I was heading south the next day, I went back to Tyler where a cluster of hotels and restaurants sit at US 69 and Loop 323. The best-sounding name was Jumbo Seafood, and I’m glad I ordered the steak. And shrimp, just to stay on theme.

Where I Virtually Stayed: The low-price, decent accommodations leader in the 323-69 cluster was the Super 8. Really great price, decent little room, and just enough breakfast to get started.

Only in Tyler: According to Roadside America, the citizens of Tyler were particularly fond of a squirrel named Shorty, who lived outside the Smith County courthouse for 15 years. Despite a special pedestrian crossing and lower nearby speed limit, Shorty passed away in 1963. He was buried in a park across the street from the courthouse, marked by a headstone engraved with his likeness.

Next Stop: Showboat Drive-In, Hockley TX.

Blue Starlite needs help to move Austin drive-in

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Cars at a drive-in at twilight

The Blue Starlite Mini Urban Drive In at its old location in Austin. Photo courtesy Blue Starlite.

It’s a commonly sad story. Development expands near a drive-in theater, and its landlord cuts off its lease. What gives that script a happy ending in Austin TX is that the Blue Starlite Mini Urban Drive In already knows how to relocate, and it plans to reopen just south of town in February.

Blue Starlite owner Josh Frank has a fundraiser going on Kickstarter to improve the new location with a larger screen, “fancy” bathrooms, a 35mm projector, and much more. With 19 days to go, the drive still needed almost $10,000 more in pledges.

When the Austin American-Statesman wrote about the move, it mentioned a specific location on the outskirts of Buda with “a 10-year lease”. Frank told me that’s not so certain. “The exact address has NOT been officially announced,” he wrote, “we are still considering a lot of variables.”

What is certain is that the new location will be significantly south of Austin, albeit within 15 minutes or so. Frank told the Austin Eater, “our small business can not afford the incredible rent rates for 3 acres of land in Central Austin.”

The history of the Blue Starlite is a testament to flexibility in overcoming obstacles. It started seven years ago in an alley that fit only about a dozen cars. That was successful enough for a move to a larger lot, then again to an even larger lot next to the Austin Film Society. But the landlord now wants that spot to build condos, so the Blue Starlite will have to set up elsewhere after the first week of January. Fortunately, Frank has had enough warning to scout out alternative locations.

I asked Frank if a permanent location would change the Blue Starlite’s quirky culture. He said that the chance to offer more services would only improve it. “The Blue will always be a bootstrapped business, no matter what. That IS its charm and what I think people find endearing, But it is time to think about the future, to think about sustainability. Because in the end what people want most out of a business they love is that it will stick around forever, and that is what we are trying to do.”

There are some nice incentives on the Kickstarter page. If you want to support this unique drive-in vision, you ought to go check it out!