photo by Granola, via CinemaTreasures.org

It’s Day 13 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey, Friday the 13th. and once again my drive was a little over an hour. This time the trip was from Russellville to Guin AL, home of the Blue Moon Drive-In Theater.

The Blue Moon is still closed for the season, although its Facebook page says it will reopen in “early 2017.” Just not quite this early, I guess.

According to CinemaTreasures, the Blue Moon opened in 1956 as the single screen Gu-Win Drive-In. (It’s between the cities of Winfield and Guin in the very small town of Gu-Win.) The 1955 drive-in census listed over 100 Alabama theaters, but nothing in any of those three municipalities.

Miles Today / Total:  53 / 1131 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 9

Nearby Restaurant: Should I go to Winfield or Guin? That was my question, because there isn’t that much of anything in Gu-Win. Turns out that the closest restaurant was La Casa Fiesta in Guin. Fresh Mexican food beats the chain restaurants, at least most of them.

Where I Virtually Stayed: Since I had picked Guin for dinner, I figured I might as well stay in town, at the Holiday Inn Guin. That sounds like the name of a small-town motel from the 1960s when Holiday Inn ruled the roads of America, but this place looks like it was built recently.

Only in Guin, or is it Gu-Win: According to Wikipedia, the Gu-Win area had been known as Ear Gap. When it incorporated in 1956, it named itself after its drive-in, which must have been just opening. Less than three miles west, in July 2010, Guin voted to become the first city in Marion County to allow the sale of alcohol since Prohibition. Yet another reason to stay there.

Next Stop: Iula Drive-In, Iula MS.

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

It’s Day 12 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey, and the drive was pretty short again today. It took less than an hour and a half to get from Athens to the King Drive-In north of Russellville AL.

The King is closed for the season. Its Facebook page suggests that patrons check back in mid-February for details on when it will reopen for spring.

People tell me that the speakers still work at the King, which has been around since 1949. (There’s also FM radio sound, but what’s the fun in that?) The King was listed in the 1950 Theatre Catalog as one of 31 active Alabama drive-ins, open seven days a week for nine months a year and operated by Lee King. Sorry I missed seeing a show here.

Miles Today / Total:  65 / 1078 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 9

Nearby Restaurant: With the drive-in closed, I didn’t mind driving 3.5 miles back to the middle of Russellville to the 43 Grill (as in US Highway 43) for the best steak and salad bar I’ve had so far on this trip.

Where I Virtually Stayed: There weren’t a lot of choices in Russellville, but fortunately one of them was the Best Western Plus. Very reasonable prices, friendly staff, guest laundry, and breakfast to get me on the road again.

Only in Russellville: According to Wikipedia, after the War of 1812, the U.S. government wanted a better road from Nashville to New Orleans. That road, named Jackson’s Military Road after Andrew Jackson, passed through what became Russellville. One of the road’s builders, Major William Russell, gave the city its name. Today, US Highway 43 follows portions of that original road.

Next Stop: Blue Moon Drive-In, Guin AL.

photo by Brad Smith, from the Carload Flickr pool

It’s Day 11 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey, and my easy drive was mostly a straight shot up I-65 from Leeds (by way of Birmingham) to Athens AL, home of the Cinemagic Drive-In Theater.

The Cinemagic’s steup is such a good idea that I often wonder why more drive-ins don’t try it. There’s an indoor theater (with five screens) along the back wall. It includes the projection window for the single drive-in screen. It seems like such an obvious way to hedge a theater owner’s bets on weather and to share facilities with more screens.

The concession stand was pretty basic but not expensive, and the rest rooms were clean. Nice to have management that cares about the moviegoing experience.

I didn’t expect to find the movie Fences, with its serious Oscar buzz, available anywhere along my odyssey, but that’s what was showing here. Decades ago, I saw the play, so I knew it’s not an action-packed story, nor a comedy, nor a box-office smash, and maybe not even a feel-good movie, but it’s a fine character study.

Miles Today / Total: 109 / 1013 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Fences / 9

Nearby Restaurant: The two closest restaurants were the Samurai Steakhouse (half a mile northwest) and the Ninja Japanese Steakhouse (less than a mile northeast). Is this a neighborhood trend? I picked the Samurai, which doesn’t look like much but serves some tender steak in between all of its sushi dishes.

Where I Virtually Stayed: All the closest hotels are 2.5 miles east by the interstate. The best combination of low price and good accommodations was the Best Western Athens Inn. I especially enjoyed the pancake machine at breakfast.

Only in Athens: According to Wikipedia, Athens is the home of Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant, a Tennessee Valley Authority installation first operated in 1974, that was once the world’s largest nuclear plant. On March 22, 1975, the plant was the scene of the second-most (after Three Mile Island) serious nuclear accident in United States history after a worker using a candle to check for air leaks started a fire among the control wires.

Next Stop: King Drive-In, Russellville AL.