New Year’s at the Beach: ‘No Danger’

The sun was setting on Huntington City Beach, and a good eight hours were still left in 1984, but Bob Glick and about 30 friends--all members of the Prospectors Club of Southern California--were already partying.

“I figure we’ve already drunk 16 to 18 bottles of wine and maybe 11 or 12 cases of beer in the couple days we’ve been here,” said Glick, of Torrance.

“And that doesn’t even count what we’re going to consume tonight,” he said, pointing to an ice chest packed with champagne.

Despite the drinking, no one had to worry about driving home. When the New Year’s Eve party was over, Glick and his friends slept in their motor homes. As Frank Leon of Buena Park put it, “We’re off the streets. There’s no danger of us hurting anybody, and there’s no danger of anybody hurting us.”

Glick and Leon were among the hundred or so people--most of them recreational vehicle owners--who decided to forgo the traditional New Year’s celebration of house parties and bar-hopping, opting instead to welcome the New Year with a party and camp-out near the surf.

This New Year’s Eve was the fourth straight they have spent at the Huntington City Beach parking lot. It has become a tradition.

“We do this so we don’t have to drive around drunk,” said Art Morgan, founder of the club. “By staying at the beach, we can drink all we want.”

Farther down, on the south end of parking lot, about 30 members of the Elks Club of Long Beach had much the same idea in mind.

“This is a safe, sane way to spend New Year’s Eve,” said Jean Churchill, whose husband is an Elks member. “We’ll stay away from the drunks on the road.”

Lisa Lee, who helps supervise the camping area for the city of Huntington Beach, said Huntington City Beach becomes popular around this time of year.

She said the number of campers in motor homes more than doubled in the two days preceding New Year’s Eve, increasing from 45 vehicles Saturday to more than 100 Monday.

Motor-home campers pay a fee of $8 to stay in the parking lot for up to seven days.

Chris Rey, a co-worker of Lee’s, said, “A lot of the people come here so they don’t have to drive, but they also come to enjoy the weather.

“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the New Year than to do it here at the beach.”

Tom Pellerin, a member of the Prospectors Club, expressed a similar sentiment: “It’s better than being in the snow,” he said. “We’re just going to relax in the sunshine and enjoy some football games.”