surprise!

Well, we have reached the end of another semester.  I thought it would be fun to plan a special night out for Dave. I started looking around, trying to find something fun but not to expensive.

I found an old theater that was showing A Christmas Story! We went to an Italian restaurant before then the movie after. Dave loves Italian, but we rarely go. He was very surprised by both events planned for the evening.

The theater opened in 1927 sat empty for 20 years beginning in the 80s and experienced a lot of damage. In 2004, they reopened after renovating the whole theater. It was so beautiful inside and out. I can't imagine all the work it took to get it back in working order.

The Genesee Theater, Waukegan, IL

We decided to get seats in the balcony and that was the perfect place to watch the movie.

They showed old movie shorts for previews. They also showed the movie on actual film! It was such a fun experience.

view from our seats

I have to say that I've grown tired of A Christmas Story over the years, and often fall asleep when its on. I really enjoyed seeing it this past weekend. Its the first time I've watched it all the way through in a long time. It was fun to hear people around us laughing and enjoying themselves.

The smile of a relieved man!

They will be showing a few movies in January. We might just have to go back again!