Well, you may remember how much I enthused about America’s infatuation with their cars. The fact remains, they have rubbish bins specially designed so you can throw stuff out of your car as you drive by. They have drive-through ATMs, where you can not only do ATM banking but service all your other banking needs from the air-conditioned convenience of your automobile.
I recently experienced yet another aspect of this car-ridden culture. A cultural icon in its own right: Sonic.
Sonic is a fast food restaurant with one twist: everything is done from your car. No, it’s not like a drive-through, it’s literally a drive-in. You drive up to the restaurant and park your car at one of the convenient locations. You then place your order, pay, receive your order and consume it all from the comfort and safety of you car. Stephen tells me it’s the only fast-food restaurant where the quality of your chair is determined by your wealth, and I guess that’s true. It’s intended to hearken back to the 1950’s when drive-in was all the rage.
I wish I had something witty and insightful to say about this, but really all I can do is gawk in awe as a dumbstruck tourist. I broke an unwritten rule and embarrassed Stephen by getting out of the car and snapping off a few photos.
Dinner at Sonic? $23.95 Embarrassing your friends while taking photos of a cultural icon in a foreign country: priceless.