This week I experienced two New Things: Letting someone pick a New Thing for me and, as a result, going to a Drive-in Movie.  Early in the week I was informed that I had to leave work by 5:30 (not an easy task) because we had special belated birthday plans for Friday night. I was given no hints, no clues, just that I needed to leave work by a specific time for something on my list.

I love surprises, but I love figuring out surprises even more. Thus, I began my line of questioning.

“Can I wear a cocktail dress?”
“Sure, but you’ll be over dressed.”
“Can I wear cut-off shorts?”
“Do you even own cut-off shorts?”
“No.”
“Are you trying to figure out what to wear or figure out what we are doing?”
::lying badly:: “Figure out what to wear. I want to dress appropriately.”

I then consulted my actual To-Do List, but there are so many options on there it didn’t help narrow it down. When Friday arrived, I was still contemplating what I needed to wear. When I asked again I was told, “It doesn’t matter, nobody other than me is going to see you.” Once I found out we were driving an hour to get there, my first thought was, “Great, he is going to take me to a field and murder me, I better find someone to feed my fish.”

Much to my delight, I was not left for dead in a ditch. Instead, we arrived at the Stardust Drive-In Theatre in Watertown, Tennessee.

Drive in Theatre

Our first order of business was loading up on snacks. They actually had a veggie burger, which surprised and thrilled me. And of course we got the obligatory popcorn, sodas, and (my favorite) Skittles. You have to show up pretty early to get a good spot and to avoid the concession line, but that gave us plenty of time to relax and enjoy the beautiful weather as we ate.

At the drive in

The drive-in had a double feature: 22 Jump Street and some Tom Cruise movie that I’ve never heard of. We left after the first movie because it was getting late and we had a long drive back. 22 Jump Street was hilarious and I highly recommend going to see it (especially if you liked the first one). I was particularly impressed with the sound. In order to hear the movie, you turned the radio to the associated radio station. Because of the acoustics of the car, it sounded even better than in the theatre.

Drive in Movie

I can’t wait to go back. Next time we’ll be totally prepared with a picnic basket, blankets, chairs, and whatever else we need to partake in the full drive-in experience.