Top down. Seat leaned back. Deep-fried mac n' cheese in hand, Diet Coke in the other. Settling in for the double feature at the Georgetown Drive-In is a treasured summer tradition for me, a real signal that vacation-time and sunshine are here. The Georgetown Drive-In is opening this weekend, and I'm tempted to skip everything: Oaks, Derby, everything, to travel back in time for a few hours and relax.
This opening weekend the Georgetown Drive-In is playing "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and "Big Hero 6" on Screen One, and "Cinderella" and "Avengers: Age of Ultron" on Screen 2. Admission is $10 for adults ages 13+ and $6 for kids 5 - 13, kids under 5 get in free. The movies don't start until dark (around 9 or 9:30 p.m.) but the Drive-In opens around 7:30 p.m. and it fills up quickly, so get there as soon as you can. Remember to bring blankets, lawn chairs and cash for your entry and the concession stand.
Please, please, buy snacks from the concession stand. The Drive-In makes most of its money from the concession stand and the plethora of gorgeous county fair food proffered there. Cheeseburgers wrapped in foil, fried Oreo cookies crisp on the outside and smushy within, giant pork chops dripping with flavor: you can buy all of these and more each weekend, standing in the line that snakes through the stand, watching popcorn pop and stuffing sour straws into your mouth by the handful. Arcade games and vending machines line your exit from this fried food paradise: play Pac Man. Buy a "sticky hand" on a string and get it stuck in your date's hair.
Let this throwback ferry you into a simpler mindset: being at the Drive-In makes you feel like a kid again, with all the wonder of a big screen under the stars, skinned knees from the playground, old commercials piped through speakers perched on your car window. There's a playground for kids. People bring air mattresses, fill the backs of their trucks with pillows, lay out on the grass to enjoy the double feature.
You can visit the Georgetown Drive-In's website for more information or follow them on Facebook.
