Kicking It Old School at the Drive-In

I took my two older kids, Nicholas and Maddie to their first drive-in movie tonight in deep, deep 408. After getting a bit nostalgic about the drive-in movie, or two, I went to as a kid, I looked high and low and it turns out that there is still at least one drive-in theater in the Bay Area.

If you've even been to a drive-in movie, you know how great they are. I haven't been to one in perhaps 25 years and it did not disappoint. We saw the Dr. Seuss Horton movie which the kids loved.

Here's what I brought, which I recommend that you bring with you this summer when you go there with the whole family:

• Beach chairs
• Jackets
• Blankets
• Pillows
• Food (I brought dinner for the kids - sandwiches - along with some major snacks and candy)
• Portable radio with a manual tuner - as a kid they used to have this old metal boxes for the audio, but now you tune in your radio to some obscure station. To ensure you get clear reception, bring a boom-box with a dial tuner so you can fine tune it and avoid the static.
  

Get there at least 30 minutes prior to the start of the movie to get settled in. If you have time, there's a decent selection of video games in the food court area along with my favorite: Air Hockey.

Make a drive-in movie part of your summer plans. The best part: $6.75 for an adult and kids under 11 are free. Yup.

Medlar Red Pepper Spice

I just got back from Hong Kong and thought I would share with you an English translation from a package of Medlar Red Pepper Spice used for cooking. This is on the package itself:

"Medlar unwarranted anxiety: Medlar the kind of unwarranted anxiety numerous, kind is each different, this article from Ning Xia Yinchuan south beam farm production, in it, contain sugar, is exquisite, red and gorgeous to want to drip, form similar ruby and the color of dry fruit are ruddy, leather thin meat is thick, seed few taste has even pellet willingly, divides into with size district: Medlar the king of unwarranted anxiety and special grade, a level Medlar unwarranted anxiety."

Sounds yummy.