Rucker Movie Theater

Date nights are always a good idea. Most girls like the idea of getting dressed up for the evening and going out to do something. For me, this meant I showered, put on a bra and actually put on some make-up. :)

Tonight my hubby took me on a date.  First we stopped by the Allen Heights Club House for their summer pool party for dinner and to enter in for some door prizes. We didn't really have time to cook dinner before the movie started, so we opted for "free food" advertised on the neighborhood newsletter.

We didn't really stay for the "bash", but they had lots of little games for kids. Crafts and carnival type stuff. They also had little handouts, sunscreen, pens and chap-stick--things like that. Of course the pool was open, and that seemed to be the main event (since it was like 800 degrees out).

Hubs and I got a couple dogs and a hamburger, some chips and some capri sun's and that was dinner. We didn't really take the time to meet anyone, but it seemed to be a nice gathering if that was your goal. However, I will say it was geared mostly towards those with families.

Next we went to see a movie on post. We were pretty excited to see if it was a good deal or not. Movies in Utah were getting close to $20 for the two of us to go. In New York, 5 years ago when I lived there, it was about $22 for two people to go to the movies.

On post they have one movie theater and it shows one movie at a time. They change the movie often, sometimes daily. They also change what type of movie they have. For example some of the movies that have played in the past week or so we've been here have been: "Scream 4", "Source Code", "Transformers  3" (I think), and tonight was "Rio".

We got to the movie theater just before it was suppose to start and there was a line out the door. We were nervous at first because we had no clue what to expect. (Does it sell out?) Once we were in line, we realized the cashier is actually at the door (explaining the line out the door) and you pay for your tickets to the person who is taking the tickets, in fact I'm pretty sure there weren't any tickets at all. Cash or Check only. No credit cards.

Good news were the prices:

Adults (which include those 12 years and older): $4.50
Children (4-11): $2.50
Children 3 and under are free.

Hubby and myself: a total of $9.00
He did have to show his Military ID at the door, but I didn't. I am assuming then, that the movies are for guests as well.

Because of the nature of the film, there were a bunch of families there. Why not? It's a great, inexpensive way to take your family out. I didn't find the children distracting from the movie at all, but I think it's funny/cute when kids comment on the movie.

I decided I wanted some chocolate and hubby never argues with chocolate, so we got in the even longer line for the snacks. This was my one complaint of the night. The line took FOREVER! They, also, only have one cashier and she took her sweet time ringing up everyone. However, we were still in our seats by the time the movie actually started (we missed the previews though).

The actual movie theater was nice. Old, but nice. It had a huge screen and it seemed to be one of those theaters where there really isn't a bad seat. We sat on the end on the right hand section. So we were still pretty central, I thought our seats were great.  The seats themselves were actually pretty comfortable, I wasn't expecting that. However, Hubby was disappointed that the armrests didn't move.

The movie "Rio" itself, we thought was OK. There were no spectacular moments, no memorable characters. In fact the movie was over all a solid "C". The music was ok, the storyline had great potential, (so did the music for that matter--who doesn't like salsa?) but the writing just wasn't up to par. I think it was one of those movies that they show all the good moments in the previews. Sad.

We parked on the North side (if I have my directions straight), and we just exited the theater straight into the parking lot. Parking was easy and convenient.

The movie started at 7:00pm (19:00), which was great for us, but might be a little late for children who have early bed-times. That would be up to parents.

My review of the night: Showering was worth it.

Fort Rucker, Al--Welcome to the South

I hate spiders. I hate everything that has to do with them. Actually let me be so much more specific. I am TERRIFIED of them. I wake up with nightmares just by having a conversation about them (I am now jinxing myself).

Fort Rucker is full of bugs. and spiders. and snakes. and alligators. and other things.

favorite quote from the FRG meeting last night "I was walking my dog and ran into a bore hog". I mean, that's fine. Why not?

These are some of the first things I heard when I found out we would be stationed here. Hubby is in flight school, so here we are. I cried our first day here.

because of a spider.

NOT FAIR! I wish I was one of those girls that could deal with anything. You know the ones who pick up snakes like it ain't no thang, my sister-in-law told me she used to have a housekeeper that HUNTED SNAKES!!! I told hubby I wanted that kind of housekeeper, he looked at me and said "we don't need a housekeeper". He missed the point. I'll clean the house, she can kill the spiders. and hunt the snakes

Day 2. Found a snake in our backyard. What the??? Welcome to the South. (enter snake hunting housekeeper please!!)

We have chosen to live on post and I am personally SUCH a fan of it so far. I love having everything so close. It really is like living in a gated community. It also reminds me of when I lived in New York and everything you could ever need/want in your life was in a 4 block radius.

I also love that I have friends (newly made friends) that live down the street or around the corner. (for killing spiders... lol).

But seriously here are some benefits that I found from living on post:

~The house was SPOTLESS. I mean not a spec of dirt anywhere. And they repaint the house for every new tenant.
~The water, power and all utilities were already turned on.
~When things break, they come fix them. Quickly. --Example: our air conditioner broke on the 1st of 2nd night we were here. They fixed it right away).
~They spray for bugs/spiders whatever, EVERY WEEK. Yup. I LOVE that.
~ They cut your grass and trim and prune.
Specific to Allen Heights (other places may have this too, but I don't know)
~They have two great storage units. One in the garage area and one out back. The one in the garage area is finished, with shelves. The one out back is unfinished (it scares me more).
~ They have room for two cars on the driveway.
~ The Club house is nice, the work out room is more than adequate and they have a play area for kids to be in with a big window while the parents work out. The pools is nice, with lap lanes, but it is not at roped off. If you want to swim laps, you might want to go when the pool isn't crowed. (Not sure when that is yet).

Here are some drawbacks to living on post.

~They take your entire housing allowance. Because Fort Rucker has so many Lts in school. It's a rumor that there are more of them than anything else. So we were told we are actually in enlisted housing. IF that's true, we are paying a lot for what we're getting.
~ You can save money by moving off post. We found places to rent between $400-$900. Well with-in our BAH.
~ While the houses are nice, they are very "cookie cutter".  However, they do allow you to paint, bang whatever hole you want in the walls and the like...as long as you patch up any hole you make.
~ All the rules that come with living on post. (And yes, there is a hand book)
~ Our house has someone RIGHT next to us. It's a duplex. However, noise is never an issue.

Well that's all for this post. Leave questions and I'll try to answer them--or at least find out the answer. I had so many when I moved here.

The front of our house

This is the garage storage unit

The backyard storage