Red Box

Have you heard about Red Box? Have you tried it?

We had heard about it, but had yet to give it a try. We thought everyone had heard of it, but we’ve met some fulltimers who hadn’t. Now that we’ve tried it, we just have to talk about it!

As newbie fulltimers parked in a bit of a remote campground in front of a row of trees that provide no shade but block our satellite, our entertainment options are limited. We have no DVR (yet) so there’s no catalog of shows queued up for our viewing pleasure. So, our rolling home entertainment center sits idle.

Here in Port Angeles, we were checking out of our second Walmart in two days (Yep, we’re fulltimers!) when we spotted a Red Box machine. Our two entertainment-deprived souls were lifted as we caught eye of the titles that were available for a mere buck a night. We spotted Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino and chimed in perfect unison, “Let’s get that one!” I put a finger to the screen, and with a quick swipe of my credit card the magical red machine popped out the DVD we wanted to see.

With our Walmart essentials and evening’s entertainment in tow, we headed back to the moose for dinner and a movie. We settled our stuffed bodies into our comfy chairs and fired up the DVD. For a couple of hours we basked in the warm glow of our flat screen TV. This, alone, was worth our one dollar investment. The fact that the movie was a good one was icing on the cake.

Today, on our way to Olympic National Park, we stopped at an Albertson’s with a couple of Red Box machines outside. If a dollar a night wasn’t enough of a value proposition, the fact that you can return your movie to any Red Box anywhere makes it the greatest thing since sliced bread in our book. One touch of the screen and the magical machine sucked that DVD into its belly. The screen assured me that our movie had been successfully returned.

Now, that’s cheap entertainment!