Los Angeles: Outdoor Movies
So I've been wanting to go to a drive-in movie essentially since I've gotten a car. And not for the not-watching-the-movie-Grease-lightning-factor — I really want to just pull up to a large screen and watch a movie under the stars. Does that sound cheesy?
Either way, there's not that many drive-in movie options in Los Angeles. This article mentions some (and maybe when I'm back in Los Angeles this summer I can check it out for myself), but for the most part I've found that they're at the top of parking garages or something urban. Which could be cool, although not exactly my 50's vision.
Anyhow, a drive-in was not in the cards at this time, so we opted for the next coolest thing — blankets and grass and food and lawn chairs in a Los Angeles park to watch "The Karate Kid" under the non-existent starry sky.
The event was put together by Eat|See|Hear and located at a park in Beverly Hills with the kind of streets that have five different signs telling you when not to park — that was a little confusing.
Overall, the event was really fun. They had food trucks, some fun interactive things such as getting a caricature drawn (although Whit and I waited in line for that for about 30 minutes and then were told they didn't have time for one or two more), and the vibe was really relaxed and friendly.
They also had the director, John G. Avildsen, there to talk about the creation of the film, which was a really neat addition. #onlyinLA
I forgot how great of a film "The Karate Kid" is, and seeing it in that environment and having the director speak added more depth and interest to the film.
I essentially learned that Mr. Miyagi knows best. Remember to wax on, wax off.
Outdoor movies are not limited to the summer — they're on-going! Also, you can see additional pictures from that night in particular from their photo gallery here.
PS. I don't think if I've mentioned (maybe I have?) — Whit and I go way back. And not just to this last summer when her and her boyfriend Chris sojourned over to visit me in Los Angeles and we went on this multitude of adventures.
She and I met the summer we were going into our senior year of high school. We both were part of AFS and stayed with a host family in Italy — her near Rome, mine in Sicily — for six weeks. I'm still in touch with a few people from that time, but Whitney has really become one of my best friends — even though we've never lived in the same area.
Over the years, Whit's visited me in LA a couple times, I visited her in Kansas City, MO (I'll have to share that trip too — it's so cool to see a side of your friend's life like that, where they grew up etc. when it's so completely different from yours) and we traveled together in Europe for two weeks going from Berlin, Germany -> Paris, France -> Geneva, Switzerland -> Milan, Italy -> Rome, Italy where I began my semester study abroad. That kind of trip is when you really get to know someone, and your relationship with them. We've also taken a group trip with Brittney to Nashville when I graduated college a couple years ago. It was one of my favorite trips of all time.
To conclude, she's basically awesome. And I'm grateful that she enjoys adventure seeking, and hand-written letters and cards as much as I do.
Looking back at pictures from the last time I saw her in August, especially these sort of goofy ones when we went to see the outdoor movie, reminds me of how much I enjoy her friendship. And I'm SO EXCITED she's coming to visit for an upcoming weekend in March! So you'll be seeing more of her on here ;)