Marquee for the 99W, a red, green, and white sign advertises the films playing, The Sandlot and Spider-Man.

Returning To My Favorite Place In Oregon, the Beloved 99W Drive In Theater

October 15, 2026, Leave a Comment on Returning To My Favorite Place In Oregon, the Beloved 99W Drive In Theater

Longtime readers will remember I loved going to the 99W Drive-In just outside of Portland in the small town of Newberg when I lived in Oregon. Unlike California, where drive-ins operate year round, the 99W is subject to the weather whims of Oregon, and operates typically late spring through early fall. Thankfully Pat’s sister’s wedding…

A black and white image of the back of an abandoned drive-in, portions of the screen are missing, on the left is the small ticket booth.

Abandoned Places, Neon Wonders, and More from Our Idaho Road Trip

September 24, 2025, Leave a Comment on Abandoned Places, Neon Wonders, and More from Our Idaho Road Trip

A road trip is never complete without pulling over to some weird places, including abandoned buildings, amazing neon signs, and more. While Patrick and I have traveled to Idaho a few times, there is always something we missed the time before. So today, I bring you the collection of random places we stopped at during…

Myself, wearing a white tee and a red vest and blue jeans, leaning against the yellow snack bar wall, painted on it reads the radio station for guests to tune into to hear the movie.

Sunset Drive-In

November 30, 2023, Leave a Comment on Sunset Drive-In

Back in September I was in a wedding in San Luis Obispo, and it gave Patrick and I the perfect excuse to visit the Sunset Drive-In, which we had briefly stopped at just to snap a photo of on our Bay Area road trip last year. I honestly didn’t even care what was playing, I…

Myself standing in front of one of the three screens, wearing a copper crown, blue jean jacket, pale green shirt featuring Humpty Dumpty and a castle reading "Enchanted Forest", pink corduroy pants, and holding a blue purse.

Van Buren Drive-In

April 12, 2023, Leave a Comment on Van Buren Drive-In

Earlier this year the sun set on Mission Tiki Drive-In, which had become our regular drive-in since moving to California. Thankfully we live near a few others, and recently Patrick and I went to the Van Buren Drive-in in Riverside to see Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Named after the street it is located…

Myself, leaning against the concession stand, wearing a straw hat, a black t-shirt that reads "Ian Malcom was Right" and green shorts, in the background one of the screens is visible.

One More Summer at the Mission Tiki Drive-In

July 21, 2022, Leave a Comment on One More Summer at the Mission Tiki Drive-In

Lost Places Update: The Mission Tiki Drive-In been recategorized as a Lost Place. On January 22nd, 2023, without any fanfare, the Mission Tiki Drive-In went dark. * * * Due to Oregon’s rainy weather my local drive-in growing up, the 99W, only operated seasonally, opening sometime in the late spring and staying open until autumn.…

A gas station doing in an ornate Spanish Revival style, with a small cupola at the top. Faded letters read "Barnsdall Oil Co. and Rio Grand Oil Co." Blue and white tile frame old doorways and windows.

I Pulled Over for This! Neon Lights and More from our Bay Area Road Trip

July 19, 2022, 1 Comment

Sometimes when out and about I stumble across a neat sign or abandoned building, a place really cool to look at, but perhaps not much more than that and doesn’t need a blog post all to itself. This is always the case with road trips, so today I bring you a round up of some…

A red painted building sits behind overgrown bushes. A large sign out front reads "Gene Valla's Blue Gum Luncheon-Dinners." A neon martini glass tops the large sign.

Photo Essay: Americana Through the Eyes of a 16 Year Old

January 26, 2022, 8 Comments

Recently Patrick and I went did a massive clean out and reorganization of our garage. Part of it involved me sifting through boxes of photos. Yes, real, glossy, shot on film type of photos. Growing up in the infancy of digital photography means my early memories were captured on film, and I learned the ropes…

Me enjoying the fun atmosphere of the drive-in, wearing a purple, blue, and green floral halter top, purple shorts, and wood tiki brooch. Behind a carved wood sign reads "Snack Bar" and paintings of Hawaiian beaches hang on either side.

Mission Tiki Drive-In

July 9, 2018, Leave a Comment on Mission Tiki Drive-In

Lost Places Update: The Mission Tiki Drive-In been recategorized as a Lost Place. On January 22nd, 2023, without any fanfare, the Mission Tiki Drive-In went dark. * * * Well, it only took three and a half years, but we finally made it to a drive-in movie theatre here in southern California, the Mission Tiki…

Cover Girl

July 12, 2014, 6 Comments

A few weeks ago while at the 99W Drive-In Patrick and I were chatting with Brian, the owner and operator of the 99W. He made mention that a man from Ruralite magazine would be attending working on a piece about drive-ins. As the evening progressed, Patrick and I made our way back to our car, played…

“I Ain’t Nobody, Dork.”

June 21, 2014, 8 Comments

Last night Patrick and I went to the 99W drive-in (yet again! Seriously, it’s the best part of having a car!) to see How to Train Your Dragon 2 and, the biggest reason, American Graffiti. I was super excited that we were first in line too, so we were for sure able to snag my…