A dull, plain and extremely boring city; a typical statement made when an average individual inquires about Dayton, Ohio. Personally, Dayton does not even rank in my top 25 favorite cities on the planet. I believe I can state whether a city is deserving of a visit; based on the fact that I have been to almost every major city, alot of larger cities and small towns along our wonderful interstate transportation network. Dayton, Ohio is a city that I have frequently visited over the past few months because members of my family have recently moved here.

While driving amongst your average evening traffic on Dayton’s maze of horrible paved streets I stumbled upon Fifth and Wayne. Unknown to me at present time; this seemingly average intersection would soon modify my overall impression of Dayton. As I made an illegally performed left turn; neglecting to use my indicator lights, I found myself in Oregon District. The Oregon District is a four city block night life hot spot. I drove the Fifth street three or four times before deciding upon where to park and what my ambitions for the area would become.

After briefly analyzing the area I decided to visit The Neon Movies. This location caught my attention because of its small size and appearance of an extremely wonderful movie cinema. I walked into the theater with high expectations. Those expectations were instantly achieved when I saw a counter-top style coffee shop within the theater. The concessions area was not just limited to coffee, popcorn, tea and snacks. They actually served alcohol as well!

I ordered a hot cup of black tea and walked over to a small colorful table and sat down. At the time of my arrival there were only three individuals in sight. Two of these individuals were employees of the cinema and the other a passenger of the nationwide Greyhound bus line who was temporarily delayed in Dayton. The employees were very generous and polite; giving me detailed information about the district and where I should hang out and avoid. One of the employees actually equipped me with a great map that she outlined locations with notes of why they were fun for her.

The cinema felt small. Serving only two movies at a time. The two movies currently being showed were Into the Wild and The 11th Hour. I have not heard too many statements about 11th hour so I decided to watch Into the Wild. I was familiar with the story behind the soon to be viewed movie and I was excited to watch it. After a few minutes people began walking from the first Auditorium. To my surprise, there were more individuals than I expected to see leaving the movie of such a small cinema.

I joked a bit with an older couple sitting next to me in the lounge area outside the auditorium. At 9:50PM EST we were informed we could now take seats. I walked in and found a uniquely designed theater with a curtain over the main screen. The seats were extremely comfortable and designed well. They were slightly larger than most seats you find at cinemas. Everything about this cinema was different: seats, screen, exterior, interior and staff.

It pays to explore more. I now have found myself reading up about Dayton, Ohio and the various hidden spots of entertainment and leisure around the city. Hopefully I will be granted more time to spend driving the labrynth of roads, discovering new locations to surprise me and more polite people like those found at the Neon Movies.