Drive In Memories

I was talking to some co-workers this morning about the demise of the drive-in movie theater. New Jersey was lousy with the things up until about 15 years ago or so, and then, one by one, they closed down to make way for some multiplexes, condos, strip malls and other soulless structures ... happily there is still one functioning drive in in The Garden State that I am aware of, hopefully more will pop up - I feel bad for the generation of kids who never got to experience the unfettered joy of watching films in the front seat of the car, or maybe even coping a feel in the back seat ... how about hiding someone in the trunk and sneaking them in?

In any case, I got to thinking of the last films I saw at the drive in... funny thing is, they were all horror/fantasy or sci fi films; perfect drive in viewing.
I saw Little Shop of Horrors at the now defunct Tacony Palmyra Drive In in Palmyra, NJ. I went with a group of friends and we smuggled in some beer and some decent food (everything you have heard about drive in fare was true, the grub was mostly horrible)...
...if memory serves, The Witches of Eastwick was the second feature that night.
My ex and I caught Pet Sematary at the Super 130 in Beverly, NJ. Man, oh man, that movie blew my mind ... owed, in no small part, to the illicit smoke we were partaking of during the viewing. Needless to say, we braved the snack counter that night and ate hamburgers that were the texture of hockey pucks, and drank soda that was mostly over carbonated and under flavored - and yet, it tasted like ambrosia, I wonder why?
The last movie I ever saw at a drive in was Leviathan, again, my ex and I went, and again we brought some weed. What can I say? It was a simpler time...funny thing, I don't recall much of the movie, but I do remember that we had a great time that night...err, that is...never mind.

*** Year's earlier, I also recall seeing Perfect at the Pennsauken Drive In; no, it was not a horror film, even though Jamie Lee Curtis was in it - this was after her Scream Queen run, a buddy of mine had dragged me out to see this mess and for some reason, only one scene stays with me...

...that would be John Travolta gyrating on a six story screen. Keep in mind this was Travolta long before Scientology, bad food, a fake marriage, and the death of his son took its toll...

Ah, sweet drive-in memories.