Remembering the drive-in theater: the best pajama fun

Shenandoah Valley, VA 2002

When earlier this month I read Janet Dailey’s novel, Blue Moon Haven, I was transported back to my childhood. The book is a romance novel about a woman who moves to a small Alabama town with her two foster children, where she takes on the arduous job of reviving an old drive-in theater in grave disrepair and forges a relationship with her reclusive neighbor. I loved this story for its endearing characters and for the emotional circumstances that bring them together, but also because it showcases a piece of Americana that evoked some happy childhood memories.

Drive-in theaters were invented in the United States sometime in the 50s, but by the 60s and 70s they were popular in many other countries around the world. As a child growing up in Johannesburg, going to the Top Star Drive-In theater was a regular family event. On Friday nights, my brother and I would don our pajamas, arm ourselves with snacks and drive off with our parents to what was probably the most unique drive-in theater in the world, to watch movies from our car and listen through door-mounted speakers. Built on top of an old mine dump overlooking the city, it offered a spectacular view for miles around. In the summer, we would bring camp chairs and watch double-feature movies under the stars. Sadly, those times ended when we moved to Europe.

On one of our road trips through the Shenandoah Valley, several year ago, we stumbled upon a drive-in theater. I couldn’t contain my excitement and insisted with my husband that we absolutely had to stop for the night and catch a movie. It had been almost three decades since I’d last seen a drive-in theater, and for my husband, who was born and raised in Southern Italy, this was a first-hand encounter with something he had only witnessed in movies. I was thrilled to offer him the chance to experience this unique and memorable outing. He found it incredibly fascinating to see some folks watching the movie from mattresses laid out in the beds of their trucks or sitting in camping chairs around a picnic table.

It was the highlight of our vacation, and in my case, a fun trip down memory lane.

Have you been to a drive-in theater, and what was your experience like?

On the book that inspired this memory: I hadn’t delved into a Janet Dailey novel since the Calder Series in the late nineties. Upon completing Blue Moon Haven, I was surprised to learn that the author had passed away in 2013 at the age of only 69, and that this book, a part of The New Americana Series, was penned by a ghostwriter on behalf of her estate. This revelation left me with mixed emotions. Nevertheless, I decided to give it a 5-star rating. After all, I believe the writer did an exceptional job of preserving Janet Dailey’s unique writing style. However, for my next Janet Dailey selection, I’ll likely opt for one of her earlier works.