Bill & I had our outing yesterday. Rave, did you get to the drive-in movie?
We headed for Syracuse, but we made a couple of stops along the way, and it took a bit longer than calculated, so we were just outside Syracuse at the time the movie started. We had planned to see the movie first, then go to Dinosaur Barbecue to eat, so we decided to eat first. We got a little lost getting off the freeway, so we stopped and asked a group of guys with motorcycles where the Dinosaur was, and, of course, they knew, since the place is popular with motorcyclists and blues fans. We went to the original restaurant, but recently, they've expanded and have branches in other cities, so if one's near you, and you get a chance, give it a try. I'm not that much a fan of barbecue, but theirs is good! If you go, beware that the portions are large, so take your appetite along or share a plate.
Even though we arrived a little before 5 pm, the place was crowded, and we had to wait for a seat. But at least there wasn't a line outside as there had been the last time, when we had gone a little later in the evening. I took some photos of the place with my old, little camera, and I would have shared them, but for some reason, the photo program in my computer couldn't read them. They showed up on the screen, but they couldn't be downloaded. Very mysterious.
After the Dinosaur, we went to Destiny USA, a huge shopping mall not far away. We were early for the movie, so we strolled around. I wasn't too interested in the stores, which were typical of any big mall, but they had some interesting activities for kids. One was Pole Position Raceway, where kids zoomed around a track in little race cars. They went pretty fast, too. The brochure said the cars would go up to 45 mph! That was fun to watch. The track was curved, not just an oval, and the cars zoomed around the turns.
We also watched some little girls negotiate the Canyon Climbs Ropes Course, which was exciting. The children were strapped into harnesses which fastened to a track above them, so if they fall, the harness wouldn't let them get hurt, but the ropes they walked were 3 stories up, so the height was pretty dizzying. This was a section of Wonder Works, which had more activities inside, which we didn't get to see.
5Wits looked interesting, too, though it was all inside, so we didn't get to see how it worked. Apparently, it's like an interactive computer game, where you have to solve puzzles to get
through doors.
Finally, the Mirror Maze, which was what it says: a maze with mirrored walls that you have to find your way
through.
There was a video arcade, too, but that didn't seem as novel an idea.
After touring the 3rd level of the mall, we went back to the area where the movie theaters were -- there are several, one of which was the IMAX theater. We bought tickets and went in. We were disappointed that the screen was basically a rectangle, not the huge overhead dome we had experienced in other IMAX theaters, though the screen was curved around horizontally. We saw some ads and coming attractions, all of which seemed very silly.
Since the film, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, was more Bill's cup of tea, I had low expectations, though I figured it'd be exciting, if not very sophisticated. I actually enjoyed it more than I expected. Sure, there was one heroic and improbable thing after another, but I sort of accepted that, even while realizing it was total fantasy. There's a lot of willing suspension of disbelief, but if you can just go with the flow, which I didn't find hard at all, the movie was fun. I thought it was cleverly done, and in the midst a fairly nonstop furious action, there were funny moments that made me chuckle, and at one, the audience laughed out loud. I would recommend this movie to even those who aren't particularly into action movies. It was good, solid fun and excitement, not to be taken too seriously.
So we saw a later showing than we had planned, and it was late when we got home. Syracuse is about 1 1/2 hrs. away, so it was nearly midnight when we fell into bed.
Probably having too much fun to join us. 
