Looking for the Coolest Place in Town : Many Head to Beaches, Campgrounds to Escape Heat, Play on Holiday

Jason Cruamas didn’t mind carrying three beach chairs, five towels, a diaper bag and groceries down a path from the car to a spot on the sand at Marina Park in Ventura.

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“I’m just glad to be away from the heat,” the Simi Valley man said, stopping every few feet to pick up dropped towels and clothes.

Up ahead, his girlfriend, Linda Oh, watched over her young cousins, who scurried over the sand, eager to find a place to try out their new plastic beach toys.

Cruamas and Oh were among thousands who flocked to Ventura County’s public recreation spots to get a jump-start on their holiday weekend.

While many across the county headed west to the beach, others stayed closer to home despite temperatures that reached well into the 80s in the east end of the county.

On Sunday, Lenore and Lee Edson of Newbury Park loaded up a truck full of stage equipment from their annual block party.

“This neighborhood is very family-oriented,” Lenore Edson said. “Almost everyone stays in town and goes to the block party. They’re all home recovering. That’s probably why the streets are so quiet.”

The only evidence left Sunday of Elkwood Street’s fourth annual block party was a string of American flags hanging from the Edsons’ awning, a patch of grass flattened by the sound stage and a wrinkled cardboard cutout of Uncle Sam pressed against the garage.

“When I was growing up in New York, we always knew our neighbors,” Lenore said. “I wanted to keep the fun here in the neighborhood so our kids would have a sense of community.”

For others, the heat at home was too much to bear. Susan and Jeff Mars of Lancaster arrived at Emma Wood State Beach campground north of Ventura on Friday night.

“We were lucky to get a space,” Susan Mars said, braving the chilly ocean breezes in a bikini as she sat next to her camper. “But it was 102 degrees in Lancaster and we just had to get out of there.”

She said schools of dolphins playing offshore was the highlight of the weekend so far.

Cal State Long Beach senior Rainer Boelzle, 21, and his buddy, Chris Henry, 21, of Fallbrook, ended up at Emma Wood almost by accident.

“We were planning to go camping and surfing north of Santa Barbara, but there was so much traffic, we just pulled off here,” said Boelzle, pointing to the gray tent sandwiched within an endless row of RVs.

“The only thing I’m bummed about is the waves and the cold water,” he said, looking out over a tranquil ocean that registered only 64 degrees.

The two left their surfboards strapped to their white BMW and played football and drank beer instead, happy to have secured one of the two remaining campsites Saturday morning when they gave up on northbound traffic.

At McGrath State Beach, which filled up Thursday for the holiday weekend, American flags posted at several campsites flapped in the brisk wind.

John and Becky Posthuma of Pasadena made reservations two months ago to ensure a spot at their favorite coastal campsite. Standing under a string of plastic flags, the couple hugged and greeted friends from Hawaii, who had come for an annual celebration at the beach.

“We’re looking forward to doing one thing today that we didn’t do yesterday,” said John Posthuma, gazing up at the sky. “That’s enjoy the sunshine. It’s been so gray.”

About 20 friends and relatives join the Posthuma group at least once a year at McGrath to play and party. The group met while playing pickup football at a Pasadena park years ago.

“We used to play football every weekend,” John Posthuma said. “Now we’re older and have kids, so we just play a game once a year. It’s called the Toilet Bowl.”

Recreation spots in the eastern half of the county were not as crowded as those in the west. A few parents brought young children to community parks. But most seemed to duck the heat, either by staying indoors or getting out of town.

Mary Porter left Camarillo with her parents, who were visiting from Phoenix, and headed for the Ventura Pier.

“This is a lot better than Arizona,” said Porter’s mother, Marge May. “There, it’s 110 degrees.”

Geraldo Contreras, 18, stood waiting to meet his brother at the Ventura Pier for some fishing. The Texan said he had been looking forward to the trip for months.

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen the Pacific,” he said. “I could get used to this.”