Newport Dunes Marina Outdoor Movie - Newport Beach, CA

I’ve really had a brain fart recently finding new things to do. Not to say there aren’t things I’d be willing to do....there are plenty of festivals and fairs still going on; but I figured that would start to get old (plus I don’t want my love of corn dogs to go away). I was still perplexed on finding something when Saturday approached. In my pajamas and with my decaf coffee, I scoured the internet for anything that would be good. I had finally resigned myself to drive 3 hours for a sandwich (which, not to give too much away, will happen at some point) but decided to go get my nails done first (have to look pretty for sandwiches). Kevin, not wanting to drive 3 hours for a sandwich (yet!), offered to look for some ideas while I was gone.

By the time I got back Kevin (who rocks) and found a great idea that was a cheap, and even better still, it was practically in our own back yard. We decided we were going to go to the Newport Dunes Marina. They show outdoor movies on the beach every weekend.

Kevin’s idea was a great idea, but it was also an “on the\in the” activity, which really is the best kind. In Milwaukee during the summer months, they have Drunks in the Park Jazz in the Park every Thursday night in downtown’s Cathedral Square. I’m not a big fan of jazz, but being in the park is awesome, and I always have a good time. Most activities are best when they are “on the\in the”. Like having dinner on the lake, or watching fireworks on the roof, or checkers in the tree house. I suppose some “on the\in the” things wouldn’t be so great, like taking a crap in the jail, but most things are so I’m going to go for it.

The movie didn’t start until dusk, so Kevin and I went searching for a place that served dinner before 5. HA HA HA! Apparently there is no such thing as dinner before 5PM on a Saturday in Southern California. We ended up getting appetizers in the bar at Habana, and then got dinner to go at Memphis once they opened. I’m really only telling you this so I can post the pictures of Habana and Memphis at Kevin’s request. Here they are:

Memphis

Habana

We managed to get to the marina a good hour before the movie started. It was only $10 to get in (for parking) and a short walk to the other side of the lagoon to get to the movie area. There weren’t that many people there when we first arrived so we managed to get pretty good seats up front. We were a bit confused on what they were going to show the movie on so we were absolutely amazed when they started ‘blowing up the screen’.






I guess now is a good as time as any to tell you that they showed ‘the Goonies’. I actually saw ‘the Goonies’ in the theaters when I was eleven - two days in a row to be exact (hey! I was eleven!) - not to mention countless times on TV since then. Kevin, however, had never seen it before and I could tell by the look on his face that he was pretty skeptical of this Spielberg masterpiece. But he ended up really liking it. I kept on looking over to be sure.



Seeing a movie on the beach was really great. There really is nothing like watching a movie with your feet in the sand, cool breeze and the smell of a campfire near by, eating a semi-warm hamburger from a to-go box, drinking wine out of plastic party cups, sometimes getting distracted by the huge yellow moon over the water, and watching someone who has never seen ‘the Goonies’ really enjoy it.I definitely want to do this again.



Kevin will want me to mention that there was a wedding reception going on the other side of the lagoon. The little kids had glowing light-sabers which with the darkness were really visible from far away. They also had karaoke going on and two, probably already smashed, wedding guests doing the worst bubble-gum metal song ever. Two guys, back to back, screaming\singing “AAAAAAAAA! (inaudible lyrics here)”. They literally had a crowd of non-guests peering through the fence to take a look at the humor. At the end of the song, one of the guys brought the microphone back to the DJ and said matter-of-factly, “Now THAT’S how it’s done.”

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Almost completely forgot! Remember last time when I said that the bartender at Skosh Mohahan's had to dress in full makeup because he lost a bet with one of the waitresses (Broncos vs. Raiders!). Here's the evidence that he actually went through with it: