A Great Way To Spend A Friday Night In LA’s Marina del Rey
The band was playing the blues, but I was beaming as bright as the sunset.
It was a gorgeous mid-June evening, devoid of the “June Gloom” overcast weather that typically plagues Los Angeles this time of the year. As the glowing sun slowly dropped behind the distant Malibu Canyon hills, I had a glass of champagne in my hand and a smile on my face.
I was on board the Hornblower Cruises dinner cruise in Marina del Rey, CA which, for one Friday a month in May, June, July and August, involves a blues/jazz band from KJAZZ radio. It’s a great evening and, while not quite the party scene you might expect from me and PubClub.com, sometimes one needs to step out of their zone and into another cool world.
Plus, I like being on boats. And this one was – compared to the 30-something sailboats I’m usually on – was like being on a cruise ship. There’s two main decks, including a lounge-like rooftop area that, had I had a PubClubette with me instead of my PubClub associate Rick, would have been an outstanding place to hang out on this very pleasant night.
Actually, the band was so good – cranking blues with a harmonica, big bass fiddle, keyboard and rustic-voiced singer – that I wanted to be on the main level more than on the top deck anyway. I love good bands and the Mighty Mojo Prophets pretty much kept me anchored in front of them the entirety of their two sets.
I also met the captain. The bouncy PR person for Hornblower, Mia Falkenstein, took Rick and I up to the bridge to meet him. I’m always respectful of captains of boats no matter what the size and when he informed me he spent 50 years as a cargo captain on the open seas, I felt like saluting him.
Then he showed me his sense of humor.
As we departed, I made a small joke about “not hitting anything” as we cruised by high-dollar yachts at their dock. “Not yet,” the captain deadpanned, “but it’s early.”
You’re probably wondering about the food. And why not; after all, it’s a dinner cruise, right!? Well, each table came with a fancy-looking bread contraption with great salsa and hummus for dipping. There was a salad with Caesar dressing.The main course was a fantastic breaded pan-seared salmon plus a so-tender-you-don’t-need-a-fork thick piece of roast. Along with crisp green beans and really good mashed potatoes.
Drinks are at the bar or are delivered to your table (wine, beer and cocktails with prices ranging from $6-12) but this proved to be more of an “enjoy the moments” experience rather than a party one. Hey, Hornblower also has a sunset cocktail cruise for pounding the drinks!
The future dates of the jazz dinners are July 13 (a “good luck” Friday the 13th!) and Aug. 10. The price is $95 plus your drinks.
Link: www.hornblower.com
Cheers!
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