Dana Point: Father's Day Cruise - NBC Southern California
Worth the Drive
Our daily look at nearby getaways

Dana Point: Father's Day Cruise

Go looking for whales, and perhaps the occasional shark.



    Top 5 Short Distance Road Trips from Los Angeles
    Dana Pride
    Go looking for whales, and perhaps the occasional shark, on Sunday, June 19.

    A FEW TRUISMS: You can state, with some verifiable accuracy, that rain is wet, and the sun is hot, and chocolate left in a warm pan will melt. But there are other truisms of this life, statements so factual that they'll brook no argument. One of the most major? You never know what you might see while spending a day out on the ocean. For sure, if it is grey whale season, you could see a giant releasing water through his blowhole, and certain birds call upon certain areas of the shoreline at certain times of the year. But the Big Water is famed for its vastness, and bio-based richness, and a cruise to find one sort of beastie may yield another. Take Dana Wharf Whale Watching, which, in addition to pointing out dolphins and harbor seals also searches for whales (spoiler alert). A mid-June jaunt out into the Pacific, though, found something else, something a bit gasp-worthy: a great white shark. That means that you and your pops could see something similar on the company's...

    FATHER'S DAY CRUISE, which sets off on Sunday, June 19. Or not. But knowing that a mondo shark has been spied in the area may just keep the adrenaline up onboard. The 95-foot Dana Pride is far longer than any shark, though, and you'll stay dry. There shall be live tunes on Dad's Day, and a BBQ buffet with non-alcoholic sips (there's a cash bar, too). Cost? It's $59 per adult, and $29 per kid. The whole shebang is two hours, which will give you A) plenty of noshing time and B) plenty of scanning time. You have to scan the waves when you're in possible shark territory, the better to spy a sudden fin. The time of the whole trip? You'll coincide with sunset, which makes it even nicer: The boat pushes off in Dana Point at 6:30 in the evening.