Seattle Date Night: Diners and Drive-ins!

September 4, 2009:
Mitzel's and Puget Park Drive-In

He Said:

Americana. I love it! Any chance I get I like to indulge in things uniquely American. Be it tractor pulls, gridiron, baseball games or as previously discussed, shooting; I make it a personal mission to get to know all aspects of this great country's culture. What else is the point of travelling I ask ya? Anyways, this week, the Hoov and I headed north to take on something I’ve never done before, a night at the Drive In!

Puget Park Drive In is roughly 25 minutes north of Seattle, just off I5 (128th Street Exit in Everett).



Leaving after work, we made sure we got there with plenty of time to setup and get comfortable. As the closest I’ve got to a drive in before this was when Danny Zuko molested Sandy in the movie Greece, I made sure to follow Mandy’s lead. For us the setup, and I highly recommend this, involved backing Mandy’s SUV into our park, putting the back seats down and popping open the back hatch*. We then lined the back with a number of blankets and pillows, popped a couple of cold beers, sat back, relaxed and waited for the feature to start.



There really is something special about catching a flick outside. At Puget Park the screen quality is surprisingly clear and the sound is played through your cars speakers (107.3), so make sure you have a decent system. A top way to catch a film.


Before heading to the drive in, we started our American themed date with a trip to a diner.

We didn’t have anything planned but Mandy knows the area well enough to know that a number of tip top diners were within minutes of our final destination.

We decided on a place called Mitzels.


A quaint little diner, with 4 locations around Seattle, I had the pork chops and Mandy had a salad.


[Pork Chops, $12.99; Cobb Salad, $9.99]
Both great for the price we paid. A great night had by all!

Cheers,
Brett

*You can always close the back hatch during the movie if you and yours need a bit of 'personal reflection time.'

She Said:

Brett summed the night up perfectly. We had a blast!

I'd frequented this Drive In all through my high-school years, and hadn't been back since. Knowing Brett's obsession love for all things Americana (and anything from the movie Grease), i couldn't believe we hadn't been here yet! So naturally, it was next on my "Date Night To-Do's" list.

Some things to know before hitting up the Drive In:

♥ Show starts at dusk. This means, show times change daily, along with the changing of the season. Ours started about 8.30. But in a week, that will change. Be sure to check out your daily dusk times online before your departure!

[Dusk-ish]
♥ Tickets (at Puget Park) are $8.50 each, and it's CASH ONLY. There is no ATM. So be sure to come prepared!

♥ Be sure to check out the website to see what's prohibited, including alcohol. Some nights, this is strictly enforced with patrols walking up and down the aisles. Luckily for us, we got off scott free, sipping on our cold ones throughout the entire film. But stay discreet. And use keg cups!

♥ Back-in for optimum viewing pleasure (if you have a back hatch or a truck) -- this allows for maximum snuggle time (Brett's idea, not mine!!) ;)

♥ Bring TONS of pillows and blankets. By the time you're on your second film (yes, every night it's a double feature!) you're really uncomfortable, so the more padding under your bum, the better.

♥ Bring TONS of snacks. Although, they do have a snack bar, but it's dicey, and they don't offer a lot. So bring some goodies to munch on.

♥ Sit back and ENJOY! That's the best advice i can give!

[Brett and Mandy ready for Showtime!]

RATINGS:

Puget Park Drive In
13020 Meridian Ave S
Everett, WA‎
425) 338-5957‎

Romance: 4: The place is dicey, but snuggled up in the back of your car with your sweetie, well, that just can't be beat!

Cost: $: $17 for two adults for a double feature? YES PLEASE!

Would we recommend it? 4: Good! Great Date Night had by all!

Seattle Date Night: Date Night at the Gun Range!

Due to our hectic schedules this summer, i wanted to be sure we provided you readers with plenty of content, even when we aren't able to blog as frequently as possible. SO, I'll be posting some back-logs of dates we've done in the past. We've had some great ones, and i feel that, just because we did them PB (pre-blog) doesn't mean that we shouldn't share them with you! So, enjoy!

March 24th, 2009
Ladies Night at the Gun Range!

She Said:

To celebrate Brett's 2-year anniversary in America, we decided to incorporate a bit of stereotypical Americana into this Date Night.

Brett took me to none other than Wade's Eastside Guns in Bellevue for a little target practice. YES, he took me to shoot guns. Cause, well, in America, that's what we do!



This place is NO JOKE. Now, for those of you who know me, you know how anti-guns i am. Brett is the same, for the most part. But, it's always fun to try something you wouldn't normally do for a Date Night... and this certainly fell into the category. So, excited and incredibly nervous, we headed inside.

It happened to be a Tuesday, which meant "Ladies' Night" at the gun range!


What is Ladies' Night, exactly?!
I hear you ask, obvious fear in your voice...

Ladies Night: Every Tuesday 10am-10pm
Ladies: 1/2 price lane fee and free gun rentals!!!

I KNOW!
So, we head in and check out the menu. Brett had been there before, so he knew what to do. I just followed his lead.

Inside the lobby, it was very crowded. Ladies' Night is clearly a very popular event. So, we put our names on the list, and waited (about 20 minutes). Time flew, as there are many fun things to do while waiting in the lobby. You can check out the gun shop/store for all your shooting/gun needs... you can peruse the guns that you have at your disposal, and decide which you will shoot when it's your turn... you can read all the anti-Obama posters on the wall and have a laugh... you can use this time to sign you, your wife, and your kids (kids are FREE!) up for the NRA... or, you can simply people watch. This is what we chose to do.

Once we got our lane, we chose our gun, our target, put on our ear muffs, and finally headed in.



It was like nothing I'd ever experienced. Loud bangs going off all around me, people just shooting away, like it was no big thing... I hadn't been around so many guns since my days as a personal trainer!

But i went alright...


[ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!]


Of course, Brett was a natural!





You will have to experience it for yourself. I'll just leave it at that.


[awwwwwwwwwwwwwww, so romantic!]

Here is the rental information for you, so you can make an informed decision once you arrive!

MENU
GUN RENTALS
One Gun: $8
All Guns Same Caliber: $10
All Guns (excluding carbines and S&W X-frame): $14
S & W 500 Mag or S & W 460: $30 each (includes 5 rounds of ammo)
AR-15 or UZI 9mm: $15 (one or both)

LANE USE FEES
First person: $15.00
Each additional person: $10.00 (up to 3 max)

TARGETS
Small 4 / $1.00
Medium $0.50 - 0.75 each
Large $1.00 each
(no facial targets please)
(ammo is extra, and it's the most expensive, so be forewarned.)


The entire two hours of shooting ended up costing us about $60! Can't beat that. We even got to try THREE different guns (because the first two were too scary for me!)!

We were so exhausted after all that shooting, we decided to head over to Shari's for some all-American diner cooking!




We went to the Kirkland location, which was the first restaurant Brett visited after moving to America. It was just as he remembered it. The menu is chock-full of terrible for you foods. Our orders were no exception. He ordered the T-Bone Steak with Mashed Potatoes, me a chopped Cobb salad.





We sat back and laughed about how terrible i was with a gun (obviously i need more practice!) and how amazed he is that we, as Americans, have the freedom to just walk in to a shop and rent these weapons. Pretty crazy if you think about it.

All in all, was a GREAT way to spend a 2-Years-In-America Anniversary! DAMN it's good to be in the Land of the Free!