Feb. 6: South Bay Drive-In Theatres, San Diego CA

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It’s Day 37 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. I drove from suburban San Diego to southern San Diego, and in less than a half hour I reached the appropriately named South Bay Drive-In Theatres, less than five miles from the Mexican border.

The South Bay opened in 1958 with a single 100-foot screen. In 1974, it replaced the original screen and added two more. According to a CinemaTreasures commenter, its main screen blew down during early 2003 winter storms and had to be replaced that spring. The South Bay converted to digital projection relatively early, in 2013.

The South Bay is open all week, even on this Monday night. I’d already seen all three early movie choices so I sat through Resident Evil: The Final Chapter for the third time in eight days. I hope this viewing really is final for me.

Miles Today / Total:  26 / 4719 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Resident Evil: The Final Chapter / 27

Nearby Restaurant: Since I set up shop in Imperial (see below), I stayed close by for dinner at the Coronado Brewing Company. Shrimp tacos and fresh beer within walking distance of my hotel. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Where I Virtually Stayed: There aren’t a lot of options close by, but that turned out wonderfully for me. I drove three miles due west and found Imperial Beach’s Sand Castle Inn, a charming little renovated place that’s literally across the street from the Pacific Ocean. The price was great for such easy access to Dunes Park, and the kitchenette and wifi made life easier in the room.

A heavily fenced 15-foot obelisk

The obelisk in 1894.

Only in San Diego: Fifty-two obelisks, known as Boundary Monuments, were erected between 1849 and 1857 along the U.S – Mexico border. The westernmost obelisk, set between San Diego and Tijuana, was rededicated in 1971 by First Lady Pat Nixon as part of a new “Friendship Park.” In 2009, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security closed down Friendship Park to build a new fence. In 2012, it agreed to reopen the park with an outer perimeter fence blocking access to the public except Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 2pm.

Next Stop: Paramount Drive-In Theatres, Paramount CA.

Feb. 5: Santee Drive-In, Santee CA

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Santee Drive-In marquee

photo by Kevin, from the Carload Flickr pool

It’s Day 36 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. It took just over and hour and a half to drive from Riverside to the Santee Drive-In Theatre in Santee CA.

The Santee is set far back from the road, and as you can see in this CinemaTreasures photo, the marquee doesn’t look like much during the day. But it sure looks great after dark, as shown by the photo on the right here.

The concession stand was clean and straightforward. As long as there are corn dogs and popcorn, it feels like a real vintage drive-in concession stand, and the Santee has been around since 1958.

I had seen Rings the night before, so I chose the Santee’s other early movie, A Dog’s Purpose. This was my second straight Sunday night with that movie; I hope I get something different next Sunday.

Miles Today / Total:  104 / 4693 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: A Dog’s Purpose / 26

Nearby Restaurant: Looking for some comfort food that happened to be within a mile of the drive-in, I stumbled onto The Omelette Factory. It actually has some decent low-calorie plates for lunch, but that’s probably not the reason to visit. I got here in time for the Southern Breakfast platter, and I wasn’t hungry again till that evening.

Where I Virtually Stayed: Although there are quite a few hotels in Santee and neighboring El Cajon, I couldn’t find any to get excited about. That’s why I just picked the closest place, the Best Western Santee Lodge. It was close, which I really appreciate driving back in an unfamiliar city after a drive-in has taken me to another reality for two hours. And it had a fridge and a microwave and free breakfast, so it worked out okay.

Only in Santee: In nearby Lemon Grove, there sits the World’s Biggest Lemon. Weighing some 3000 pounds, and approximately 10 feet long and six feet wide, the lemon sculpture lies before a small lemon grove beside the local trolley tracks. Designed by Lemon Grove architect Alberto Treganza, the lemon was originally built as a parade float for the 1928 Fourth of July Fiesta de San Diego parade, carrying the town’s first Miss Lemon Grove. In 1930, the float was plastered to create a permanent sculpture and displayed near its current location. (It shifted a few feet in 1988 to make room for those trolley tracks.)

Next Stop: South Bay Drive-In Theatres, San Diego CA.

Feb. 4: Van Buren Drive-In Theatre, Riverside CA

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It’s Day 35 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey, and today’s drive is one of the shortest. I visited the Riverside CA’s second drive-in, the Van Buren.

Why didn’t I cover two drive-ins in the same city in one day, the way I did with Tyler last month? Unlike that situation, neither of Riverside’s drive-ins specialize in adult movies. And considering my goal of watching 200 movies in 365 days, I need to take advantage of every active winter drive-in that I come across.

According to the official Van Buren web site, it opened in 1964 at the site of a former orange ranch with a single screen. The theatre was expanded to three screens in 1975, and was substantially remodeled in 2007. It converted to digital projection in 2015.

The Van Buren site also states a theory that I’ve been hearing more often: “Like most drive-ins, the Van Buren was not built to last more than a decade before it was redeveloped, for a higher value, in the booming Southern California real estate market.” I’m sure that some drive-in owners had that in mind, but many others really planned to hang around longer than a mere decade.

The Van Buren is owned by the same folks who own the Rubidoux across town, which accounts for a similar snack bar speciality: carne asada nachos.

I had seen two of the Van Buren’s early shows, so I chose the third, Rings.

Miles Today / Total:  10 / 4589 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Rings / 25

Nearby Restaurant: After days of comfort food, it was time to try something challenging. There are several restaurants in a strip mall adjacent to the drive-in, and the one I chose was Morefire Thai Cuisine. I had the pineapple curry with spicy red chili paste partly extinguished by coconut milk. Yum!

Where I Virtually Stayed: After a few nights in a row away from my favorite chain hotels, I sought refuge in the familiarity of the Hampton Inn. It’s pretty close to the drive-in, and I knew what to expect in my room and for breakfast. I was glad to be back, knee-deep in the positive sameness of Hampton.

Only in Riverside: According to KABC, Riverside is home to perhaps the oldest navel orange tree in the world. It’s the Parent Navel Orange Tree, California Historical Landmark No. 20, one of the two original navel orange trees planted in 1873. Navel oranges have no seeds, so growers used cuttings to start navel orange groves throughout southern California. Every navel orange grown and eaten in California is a descendant of this tree. According to Roadside America, the tree lives in a tiny fenced-in park with a marker and its own parking area.

Next Stop: Santee Drive-In Theatre, Santee CA.