Movie night

It’s Thursday night which means free movie night at the marina in La Cruz.  A crowd gathers at sunset at the outdoor amphitheater.  It’s a BYO event, which includes your own cushions as the amphitheater is made of concrete.  If you prefer, you can purchase a hot dog or beverages from the marina deli.  They’ve set up a small table and hauled down two dock carts; one filled with little bags of free popcorn and the other filled with ice and cold beverages.  It’s quite a treat. 

You enter at the top of the structure where short two-foot wide rows sit atop five-foot wide rows.  This pattern alternates down to the base so you can choose to sit down and stretch out or sit upright on the short portion.  We choose to luxuriate in the space and toss our cushions down, stretching out every inch that we can, making ourselves comfortable enveloped in the soft heat of the day held in by the concrete.  A light towel over our legs wards off the mosquitoes. 

A large screen hangs between poles at the base of the theater.  Our view through the lines and around the screen is of boats safely nestled in their slips, the dim lights of the town and further in the background, up the hill clinging to the edge of a cliff is a restaurant with its patio lights ablaze. 

The movie starts as the stars hang in the dark sky. 

It’s the best movie house that I’ve ever been in.