2002 Crossroads Drive-in Trip Reports
I recently received an e-mail from Steve Rodman notifying me of a change in the website address for the Crossroads Drive-In Theater (http://www.crossroadsdrivein.com). That same e-mail contained a welcome announcement - the Crossroads would soon be reopening for 2002! This was an event I did not want to miss!
The season opening was on 1 March 2002. As you may recall from my prior reports on the Crossroads, it is located approximately 84 miles from Live Oak, just east of Shiner, TX. I made plans to leave work at 5:00PM. I knew this would give me plenty of time to get organized and arrive at the Crossroads in time to take a few pictures and visit with Steve and his wife prior to the start of the show.
Alas, this was not to be. I am forced to work with many individuals who excel at procrastination. Call them careless. Call them lazy. Call them inconsiderate. I called them many things I can't write in this report. By the time I finally got away from work, it was 6:20PM. I knew that I was going to be late. The only question was how late?
I drove home to change clothes. I was in such a rush that I failed to arm myself for the trip. But I wasn't worried. Captain Chicken was my copilot!
Once in the car, I passed Captain Chicken our ticket money. After all, who would challenge the foremost crime fighter of our generation?
Captain Chicken gladly accepted the task of monitoring my GPS receiver.
Moments after taking these two pictures, I learned that Captain Chicken did not appreciate having a flash go off in his face.
Fortunately for me, Captain Chicken was buckled into the seat. While this belts couldn't keep the 'Fantastic Fowl' restrained for long, they served to hold him back until he calmed down! I shudder to think of what might have happened if I had been the victim of a furious pecking attack while attempting to navigate dark country roads at high speeds.
Being in a hurry, I failed to make all the necessary preparations for the trip. I was forced to stop for cash at an ATM machine in Live Oak. I was forced to stop for gas in Seguin. I was forced to stop for fresh batteries in Gonzales. Batteries? This GPS receiver eats batteries the way I eat hot dogs!
I finally arrived at the Crossroads at 7:45PM. By this time, the feature presentation, "Harry Potter", had already been going for forty-five minutes.
As I entered the property, I found the ticket booth was empty. Always interested in a mystery, Captain Chicken got out of the car to investigate.
The Captain lost interest when he decided there was no evidence of criminal conduct.
We then moved on into the lot. I parked the car in the concession stand row. I left my companion in the car and then went inside.
Once inside, I waited until it was my turn and then ordered a drink and a pair of hot dogs. Steve Rodman walked out of the projection booth and greeted me warmly. I paid him for my admission and we talked for awhile. He had been unable to secure a platter system and was continuing to use his two original projectors. Given that "Harry Potter" is such a long movie, I was curious about how many reels it would take to hold it. I was surprised to learn that it takes five reels! That means a lot of work for the projectionist! (Visit the Crossroads website to see pictures of the projection booth and its contents.)
After our talk, I returned to my car. I got out my chair and sat down outside to enjoy the movie. Captain Chicken took shelter in the trunk.
He was certainly on to something as I got damp latter when it began to drizzle.
I counted 18 cars in the lot. I thought this was exceptional given the weather and the relative age and popularity of the film. "Harry Potter" has been out for several months and is closing in on a billion dollars in ticket sales.
The major change to the Crossroads has been the addition of a fence on two sides of the property. The fence runs along Alternate Highway 90 (behind the screen) and then turns and runs along Farm-to-Market Road 531. This blocks the headlights of cars travelling down these two roads. I believe it also blocks the Crossroads sign from being seen from inside the screen lot. I'm not sure about that as it was obviously dark.
I continue to be impressed by the brightest of the screen at the Crossroads. Below are two sample pictures taken with my digital camera, a Sony Mavica FD-92.
The first picture was taken in "normal" mode.
The second was taken in "night plus" mode.
I was amazed to get pictures of this quality given my previous attempts to photograph at the Mission. The long exposure times used to capture these pictures produces a blurry image. Don't be mislead by that! The actual images on the screen were clear and sharp. The Mission very rarely achieves this high level of clarity.
I only collected GPS coordinates for a single point on this trip. The coordinates for the ticket booth are 29 degrees, 25.686 minutes north and 97 degrees, 7.136 minutes west.
Steve came out and visited with me at my car between reel changes. He really enjoys the drive-in business and couldn't wait to get started this year!
I had a great time this trip despite getting off to such a late start. The Rodmans are some of the nicest people that I have ever met. They are clearly an asset to their community!
I'll be returning to the Crossroads and I hope you will give it a try if you are in the area. It is well worth the drive from San Antonio.
7 September 2002 - Terry Moore
I suffered an additional blow on Saturday when my plan to visit the Crossroads Drive-In was unexpectedly cancelled.
Tropical Storm Faye swept through Shiner on Friday night doing minor damage to the fences surrounding the property. The owner decided it would be in the best interest of all concerned to cancel the final night of the season.
I really wanted to go and I was "down" the entire rest of the weekend. I had visited the Crossroads the first night of the 2002 season and had been unable to return during the rest of the season. I wanted to make that final visit to "bookend" the season -- first night and last night. Even Captain Chicken was hyped about making the trip.
On the plus side, the Crossroads will be reopening during the holiday season for three nights to show "Harry Potter 2". The Captain and I WILL make it out there for one of those showings!
23 December 2002 - Steve Rodman, Owner
Hello,
Regrettably I have to cancel the December showing of "Harry Potter and the Chamber
of Secrets" scheduled for the 26th to the 29th. A major storm front this morning
brought flood type rains down on the lot and we received some more minor
wind damage. The weather report shows more of this to come for Friday and
Saturday. Under these conditions I do not think anyone would enjoy the
feature. We will be open again this spring with our normal Summer schedule.
I thank everyone for writing us. If you know anyone planning to attend
please inform them of the situation.
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