More Tennis and a Really Big Drive-In-August 2025

I’ve stayed pretty close to home this August due a family situation and a need to be readily available. There have been two little trips, though. The first was an impulse drive to Baltimore County, Maryland. I’d seen something about drive-in movie theaters, and my research yielded information about one there.

Popcorn and a Drive-in Movie

Bengie’s Drive-In, which advertises itself as “the home of the BIGGEST Movie Theatre Screen in the USA,” is located in Middle River, approximately a half hour’s drive from Baltimore. If I was going to make the drive there, I would need to leave early enough in the day to avoid both DMV and Baltimore rush hour traffic. So, I decided to see if there was a state park nearby and found that Gunpowder Falls State Park-Hammerman Area was close enough to the theater to make it a layover destination for that afternoon.

The park was a lovely space along the Gunpowder River with lots of picnic spots and playground equipment. It was clearly designed for family activities, including boating fishing, and hiking. I had not brought anything to take advantage of this, so I stayed inside the Silver Bullet, ate the lunch I had bought, listened to music and read. The temperate weather made it an enjoyable way to pass the afternoon.

It was a short drive to Bengie’s. The theater was next to a McDonald’s, so I got something to tide me over in anticipation of indulging myself with movie theater food. I entered the grounds early enough to get a perfect spot with an excellent view of the screen and a very short walk to the concession area. I shouldn’t have been surprised that the restroom wasn’t accessible, but I was. I recognize the effort to maintain the “old-timey” feel of the place; however, they really need to reconsider that in this one case. They have made other accommodations to modern times, including broadcasting audio to a dedicated radio station rather than relying on the old-fashioned speakers that used to hang onto car windows (the CD/USB/Cassette/FM portable player I keep in SB did a pretty good job on that front).

With hotdog, bag of popcorn, iced tea, and funnel cake in SB’s passenger seat, I settled in to watch a 8:30 p.m. double-feature of two recent features: The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Thunderbolts. The first movie thankfully got better as it progressed. Unfortunately, a second viewing of the second feature did not improve my impressions. In fact, I went to sleep on it, which I have barely avoided doing when I previously saw it  (sorry, Marvel, but it sucks almost as much as The Eternals did). I did wake up in time to see the post-credits scene and make my way home on 2 a.m.-quiet interstates.

Below are a few pictures from the day:

All of my photos from the day are at: https://singin1.pics/piwigo/index.php?/category/Seein-the-DMV-Middle-River-MD-Bengies-Drive-in-080625.

A Tennis “Ball” at the Cincinnati Open

As I posted on Facebook the morning I arrived at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, Ohio, I decided to make the overnight drive in order to see two of the tennis players who had not played at the DC Open: American Coco Gauff and Carlos Alcaraz of Spain. As the final WPT1000 and ATF1000 hard court tournament before the U.S. Open in New York, this tournament drew top-ranked players who wanted to have a warm-up before the Open. The facilities had just undergone a $200M renovation, and I was mostly impressed with what I saw. However, they really need to rethink the physical aspects of their accessibility. From the lack of paved handicapped parking and absence of a vendor offering motorized scooters for day rentals, it was clear they could have invested more into that effort. On the other hand, the staffpersons who went the extra mile to assist were a major plus.

I used what I learned from attending the DC Open a month earlier to game plan my visit to the Cincinnati Open. Sessions were divided into mornings and evenings, so I had purchased tickets for both on the second Tuesday of the tourney. I had guessed that top players would be in action, yet the ticket prices would be reasonable. In the Singles’ third round matches for Tuesday, second seeds Gauff and Alcaraz were scheduled to play that afternoon, and Ben Shelton was scheduled to close out the evening.

I caught the early match including Reilly Opelka, who I had first seen in DC. Then Alcaraz played Serbian Hamad Madjedovic. There were several long, well-played rallies between the competitors, and while the crowd was clearly pulling for Alcaraz, we enthusiastically applauded the intense play. Alcaraz won in straight sets, but Madjedovic really made him work for it.

Afterwards, the announcer informed us that the match between Gauff and Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska had been cancelled due to Yastremska’s withdrawal. I can’t describe how disappointed I was. However, having sat all day under the oppressively hot sun made even more so by a brief afternoon shower, I understood. I decided to find some relief during the next P&G Center Court match to find some food, some shade, and the gift shop so I could buy a large tennis ball as a souvenir of the day.

The evening began with the match between Jessica Pegula of the United States and Poland’s Magda Linette. They were just about to play the third set when the rain returned, this time ferociously accompanied by intense lightning. The officials called a halt to the match and ordered the attendees to clear the stadium for their safety. I had found a lounging area near the only elevator in the stadium and hoped the storm would end quickly. On the contrary, conditions worsened, and those of us who had taken refuge in the wall-less area–great for getting some cooling breeze in the sun– were drenched (unlike the folks waiting inside across the stadium). I had gone to great effort to dress lightly and have refreshments and supplies with the anticipated hot weather in mind. I didn’t, however, plan for the rain. My umbrellas and rain poncho were in SB, of no use to me in the stadium.

Officials finally called an end of the evening session–including Shelton’s match against Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut–when it was clear that the storms would not stop until much too late to try to restart play.

The rain finally let up enough around 11:30 that I could make my way back to SB. As I dreaded, the unpaved lot was swamped, making it difficult for me to maneuver Have-Wheels-Will-Travel 3 through the mud. Somehow, that was a perfectly fit ending to a disappointing evening. It was way too late to find a room for the night, and I was in no condition to drive any great distance, much less eight-plus hours back to the DMV. I decided to get something to eat and find a place to rest and dry out. The next morning, I nixed my original plan to visit the Underground Railroad museum until another time. Instead, I rested until I could get a loaded fettuccine, bread sticks and strawberry Italian ice at Fazoli’s, then I steered SB home.

A few photos from the trip are below:

All of the pictures are available at https://singin1.pics/piwigo/index.php?/category/Cincinnati-Open-Tennis-Tourney-081225/start-15.

As always, I thank the Lord for granting me the stamina to make the trip, the damn good reflexes to steer the Silver Bullet (SB) as she needed to be guided, and the ability to enjoy His handiwork as it whizzes by my windshield.

The difference between my drive there and back was like night and day. I left home at 1:30 a.m. and was able to drive the light traffic Beltway and I-270 West as well as set the cruise control through the mountains unimpeded (the trucks stayed in their lane and I stayed in mine). Coming back, however, was an exercise in dealing with madness. (I think I will just leave it at that.)

Next time I am in the Cincinnati area, I definitely want to visit the Underground Railroad museum.