Star Trek!

This last weekend, looking for something fun to do on a Saturday night (which is a rarity for our family, considering Adam often gigs on Saturday nights), we decided we would pack up the car and head to the Valle Drive-In in Newton, Iowa.

The double feature for the night was "Star Trek" and "Night at the Museum" (the sequel). Adam and I both had a desire to see "Star Trek", so decided it would be a fun outting. The weather was gorgeous that night, and we were in between thunderstorms.

You may or may not know that I don't know much about Star Trek. I have never seen any of the episodes or the movies, don't own fancy Star Trek costumes, and only know the "cult classic" quotes that circulate our culture.

So, I was quite amazed by how much I actually "knew" while watching the movie. That alone drew my attention and caused me to really get "into" the movie, despite the fact that my 18-month-old was gabbing away, hanging out the window, and sometimes sitting directly in line-of-sight of the movie.

I can't say that I would be a very good reviewer of the movie... for better reviews, check out these two blogs (two of my friends!):
Movie Review: Star Trek
Stardate 653… er… Reboot

However, do know that I LOVED THIS MOVIE! I thought it was great! And now that I have seen it, I totally want to go back and watch all of the Star Trek episodes and movies and everything else... it was that excellent!

Aside from the movie itself, if you haven't ever been to a drive-in, it is a real treat. For one, it is a kid-friendly place... and even though our kidlet chose to stay up with us through the entire movie (as opposed to going to sleep, thus being up 3.5 hours past her normal bedtime), she wasn't a disturbance to anyone. And, if she got too "chatty", we could just turn up the volume (because you listen to the movie through a radio station in your car).

Another positive... you can bring your own drinks and food. Many families were sitting out in lawn chairs with coolers and such... we chose to watch the movie from inside our vehicle, however, Adam was able to enjoy a few beers, I had a Coke, and we both worked at a bag of Doritos. And Julia managed to create a cracker / Nilla Wafer / Cheerio storm in our vehicle... hmm, time to clean it out again.

However, we didn't stay for the second feature... because the first ("Star Trek") didn't start until 9 pm. So... if you really want to see the second feature... plan on taking a nap in the afternoon, or plan on a really tiring next day!

All in all, it was a super fun experience for all of us! We got home ~ midnight that night, and Julia pretty much slept like a rock. (She had passed out from exhaustion less than one mile from the drive-in on our way home.) Seeing as how I haven't been to a movie in a theater since before Julia was born, this was a real treat... and something I would definitely do again with kids!

erin