Mar. 25: Pink Cadillac Drive In, Centerville TN

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It’s Day 84 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. I had postponed my visit to the Pink Cadillac Drive In, just northeast of Centerville TN, to grab a live movie viewing elsewhere on a weekend night. Now for a Saturday night, I drove less than two hours from Watertown past Nashville to get here.

The Pink Cadillac used to have its own web site, and here’s what it said in 2009, before it was abandoned: Ed Worley built the drive-in in the late 1950s and named it the Bel Air. Clement and Mary Warren operated it until the mid-80s. Lisa and Donald Forrester purchased the Bel Air in 1992. The Forresters built a new screen, replaced the projection equipment, and installed FM radio sound. Finally, they made it all pink and gave the drive-in its new name. In 2000, the Forresters sold the Pink Cadillac to Leslie and Melissa Curtis.

Having said all that, the Bel Air is in the 1952 Theatre Catalog (with Charles Fussell as the movie booking agent in Nashville), so it probably opened closer to Cinema Treasures‘ date of 1950. The old Pink Cadillac site also claimed that there were only 19 active Tennessee drive-ins by 1987, but my Motion Picture Almanac for that year lists about 60, so it’s best to read all histories with a grain of salt.

The Pink Cadillac doesn’t typically open until April, and this weekend was no exception.

Miles Today / Total:  94 / 9852 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 44

Nearby Restaurant: Everyone said I needed to make sure to try the fresh Tennessee River catfish at Fish Camp Restaurant, and I’m glad I did. I picked the all you can eat fillet meal with hush puppies and slaw and was absolutely stuffed when I left.

Where I Virtually Stayed: The only hotel in Centerville is necessarily the best, and the Quality Inn there lives up to that title. The lobby and breakfast area were newly renovated, my room was large enough, and everything worked out great.

Only in Centerville: In April 2016, a Centerville man ran a Kickstarter campaign to fund a chicken-wire statue of Minnie Pearl, arguably the best-known Centerville native. (She often referred to her upbringing in Grinder’s Switch, a railroad spur near Centerville.) Unfortunately, of the $10,000 goal, the campaign raised just $231.

Next Stop: Franklin Drive-In, Franklin KY.

Mar. 24: Stardust Drive In Theatre, Watertown TN

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It’s Day 83 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. It only needed a short trip north to get from Woodbury TN to the Stardust Drive In Theatre in Watertown TN. It was so great to be back at a drive-in fired up for a Friday night.

The Stardust is another of those new drive-ins. According to a great article in Wilson Living Magazine, Stardust owners Barry and Dawn Floyd came up with the idea while watching the final weekend of the Gallatin’s Sumner Drive-In, which closed in 1999. They learned the technical aspects of the business, then ran into Not-In-My-Backyard resistance at a couple of sites. The TV reports reached the mayor of Watertown, who realized what an asset a new drive-in would be for the town. The Stardust opened in 2003 and added a second screen the following year.

The Stardust holds an annual Retro Classics Weekend when one of the screens gets a double feature typically from the 80s. That must be a really fun time!

It sounds like a small thing, but I really appreciate the popcorn prices at the Stardust. A small box is $2, and the sizes go up to the unreasonably huge tub at just $5. As I continued by sampling of all unusual concession stand fare, I also had a grilled ham and swiss Big Jim sandwich and some fried pickles.

Miles Today / Total:  25 / 9758 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Beauty and the Beast / 44

Nearby Restaurant: I had read an article about the place, so I made sure to stop for lunch at the Nona Lisa Pizzeria. The pizza is great, but there are plenty of places to find great pizza. I don’t know anywhere else that serves Nona Bread, an appetizer of a folded crust with garlic, butter and cheese. That description doesn’t do it justice.

Where I Virtually Stayed: There’s a bed and breakfast but not any hotels in Watertown. The closest ones to the Stardust are about 10 miles away in Lebanon. I picked the Comfort Suites for a comfortable stay in a large room, followed by a breakfast with real eggs and hot multigrain waffles.

Only in Watertown: The Tennessee Central Railway Museum in Nashville runs several excursion trains annually to Watertown. The next two are the Easter Bunny Trip on April 15, followed by the town’s Spring Mile Long Yard Sale on April 22. Maybe that’s how Justin Bieber found the place; he shot his 2009 music video for One Less Lonely Girl at the Watertown square.

Next Stop: Pink Cadillac Drive In, Centerville TN.

Mar. 23: Moonlite Drive-In, Woodbury TN

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It’s Day 82 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. It took just about an hour for me to drive from the Sparta Drive-In in Sparta to the Moonlite Drive-In in Woodbury TN.

The Moonlite is one of the newest drive-ins in Tennessee, built from scratch in 2005. The Murfreesboro Post had an excellent long article in 2013 that was all about how the Moonlite came to be.

According to the Post, Jimmy Higgins, then 62 years old, was inspired to open the drive-in after going to the Sparta with his wife. “We came home, and I started looking around at other drive-ins,” he said. “We drew our blueprint on a napkin and that’s how we built it, with no specs or nothing.” He erected the two screens (70- and 60-feet wide) with just the help of his sons to save expenses, and hired a couple of local carpenters to build the concession stand.

The Moonlite’s web page says it’ll be ready to open for the season next Friday. So this was another Thuirsday night of looking for something interesting on the hotel TV.

Miles Today / Total:  43 / 9733 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 43

Nearby Restaurant: It’s not a fancy place, but DJ’s Pizza & Steak House will serve you some very fine, you know, pizza and steak. It had been long enough since I’d had a good pizza with a homemade crust that I was glad that I stopped at DJ’s.

Where I Virtually Stayed: They say that if you’re staying in Woodbury, you’ve got to stay at the Cannon Inn. It’s a charming little place, but big enough to get its name and logo on those mini shampoo bottles in the bathroom. The Cannon Inn also just happens to be directly across the highway from the Moonlite.

Only in Woodbury: The town, incorporated in 1838, was named for Levi Woodbury, who was US Treasury Secretary at the time. Woodbury later became a US Senator (from New Hampshire) and an associate US Supreme Court justice, becoming one of three Senators to have also served in both of the other branches of government. Woodbury was also the first Supreme Court justice to have had attended law school.

Next Stop: Stardust Drive In Theatre, Watertown TN.