The Hopper’s nighthawks

The Peninsula might have a new place to be seen ? one that owners Mitch Morrison and daughter Kaylen Morrison are hoping becomes as commonplace in Newport Beach as long lines and Red-Bull-and-vodkas.

With its tinted windows and pumping stereo-system, the Hopper could be the new “it” place wherever it’s parked. Photographer Doug Zimmerman and I spent Thursday evening riding around town with the Hopper as it corralled stragglers and half-drunks. While we made several stops along the way, we learned a night on the Hopper isn’t just about the destination watering hole ? it’s the journey that counts.

9 p.m. ? The ocean breeze is making for a cool night out and the sight of the Hopper pulling into Billy’s at the Beach brings a little relief. As the bus comes to a halt in the Coast Highway restaurant’s parking lot, hosts Kaylen Morrison and Mike Levesque emerge from behind the tinted windows, throw open the door and welcome us onboard.

9:02 ? Greetings out of the way, we sit back in leather seats and brace ourselves as driver Blanca makes a U-turn and heads for the Balboa Peninsula. A surfing flick beams on the flat-screen televisions in the Hopper and we’re told we’re riding on the smaller of the two buses in the Hopper fleet ? the larger bus has a stripper pole in the middle aisle.

9:11 ? The Hopper cruises past Sharkeez and several bars at the footprint of the Newport Pier. Everything seems dead ? hardly anyone is drinking, let alone looking for a ride on the Hopper. Levesque didn’t think things would really pick up until about 10:30 p.m.

9:16 ? After circling around near the Fun Zone, we make our first stop at the Newport Beach Brewing Co. Levesque orders a round of pints and starts working the crowd. The former Peninsula bouncer grew up in Newport Beach and attended Newport Harbor High school, so he knows a few people. Everywhere he goes he runs into friends and tries to encourage them to hop on the bus.

9:47 ? It’s time to leave the brewing company, and we exit without any takers. As we drive off, I nearly fall out of my seat and look for something to grab onto. The stripper pole would have come in real handy right there.

9:53 ? We patrol Coast Highway and still find no one to drive around. Levesque keeps a cool head. To find a drunk, you have to think like a drunk.

9:55 ? Finally, the phone rings. Morrison tells Blanca to make a U-turn and we head for the Rusty Pelican.

9:58 ? We pull up and Vicki Schones steps on the bus. She had just left a fashion show at Sutra Lounge and decided after a few drinks at the Rusty Pelican that she needed a dive with a much younger crowd. Levesque knows just the place.

10:03 ? The discussion turns to jewelry and all things expensive ? Schones decides she wants one of her rings outfitted with a diamond and says, “I’m going to make my next ex-husband buy me one of those.”

10:10 ? Another partygoer calls for a ride and the entire Hopper erupts in excitement. No one seems to care that it’s just a friend of Levesque and the drummer for his band, “Swinging Richards.”

10:14 ? The bus pulls into the parking lot of Dolce and Blake Bartlett gets on board. Before sitting down, he excitedly announces to the crowd “Dude, I just bowled a 255!”

10:15 ? The doors close and Levesque decides to take the group to Peninsula bar Rudy’s, where he used to work as a bouncer.

10:30 ? “You do not want to get a DUI in Newport,” Levesque jokes with the others on the bus. “Everybody will know about it because it will be in the Daily Pilot. I always look at them.”

10:33 ? The group reaches Rudy’s and orders cheap cocktails, while a sparse crowd watches the Lakers battle the Denver Nuggets in overtime. A homeless woman sells artwork out front while a drunk couple argues at a crowded table. Levesque assures me the place is usually much seedier.

11:15 ? The group gets back on the Hopper with no clear destination in sight. Levesque struggles to remember which bar is hosting Urban-Cougar Hunting Night.

11:22 ? The Hopper-line receives a call. “We have to go to Landmark to rescue a friend,” Morrison jokes. “There’s a bunch of people waiting for us.”

11:24 ? Schones wants to know what happened to the stripper pole.

11:32 ? The Landmark can be a tough place to get inside, but Morrison uses her connections and a few smiles at the bouncer at the side door.

11:33 ? The rescue team finds the girl in distress. “I just wanted some people to dance with me,” she said. The team eagerly obliges.

11:56 ? Bottoms up on the overpriced beers and it’s time to get back into the Hopper and be taken to a waiting taxicab. The Hopper doesn’t have permits in Costa Mesa or Huntington Beach, so it’s limited where it can travel.

12:01 ? We arrive at our waiting taxicab and wave as the Hopper speeds off. As the taxi-driver opens his door and lets me in his car, I realize that I left a little bit of my innocence behind on that bus. I also realize that I have to be to work in nine hours.dpt.10-pubbus-4-CPhotoInfo931PQ1FO20060410ixfo4wncPHOTOS BY DOUGLAS ZIMMERMAN / DAILY PILOT(LA)A tongue-in-cheek sign greets customers as they board the Hopper. dpt.10-pubbus-1-CPhotoInfo931PQ1FD20060410ixfo3knc(LA)Ramsey Bilbeisi, left, Chris Moghaddam, center, and Kaylen Morrison, right, share a laugh while riding on the Hopper. dpt.10-pubbus-3-CPhotoInfo931PQ1FK20060410ixfo4dnc(LA)Kaylen Morrison is co-owner and Mike Levesque is providing marketing for the Hopper.