Some Businesses Expect Bountiful Thanksgiving

Ventura County’s highways filled with holiday travelers Wednesday night as thousands took to the roads for the start of the Thanksgiving weekend, amid forecasts of near-perfect weather for the next four days.

Hotels and restaurants in the county said they expect heavy business today, and a few are completely booked. As always, law enforcement agencies will be out in force.

The California Highway Patrol is in the seasonal spirit of giving--traffic tickets, that is--with what’s called a maximum enforcement period that began at 6 p.m. Wednesday and stretches through midnight Sunday.

“Every available officer assigned to the Ventura area California Highway Patrol will be out patrolling the freeways and county roads,” said Capt. Mike Porrazzo, commander of the Ventura office.

Prowling police will seek speeders and holiday imbibers.

The CHP has been gearing up for the holidays for several weeks with civic group screenings of the well-known short documentary with the ominous title of “Red Asphalt.”

“Oh man, it’s gory,” Officer Steve Reid said. “It really grabs their attention. We have to say very little.”

In Thousand Oaks, four two-person teams of sheriff’s cadets will look for generally slower species of motorists--those who ignore no parking, loading, red curb and handicapped parking zones--around the city’s shopping centers. The annual clampdown begins Friday, traditionally the kickoff of the Christmas shopping season, and continues until Dec. 25.

“We’re here to provide a service and that’s to assist the shoppers as best we can in parking availability,” Sgt. Ken Bailey said. “It’s education through enforcement, the same thing you do with your kids.”

Police will teach lessons via $30 tickets for those who violate no parking zones and $260 tickets for able-bodied people who park in spaces reserved for the handicapped.

Although freeways began to fill Wednesday afternoon, no serious travel problems were reported.

“Travel this year is probably up a little bit over last year,” said Robert Blacketor, district manager for the Automobile Club of Southern California’s Thousand Oaks office. “Don’t ask me why . . . the No. 1 destination for this weekend is Las Vegas, followed by Palm Springs--particularly for last-minute travelers.”

It was the same story at the county’s only commercial airport, in Oxnard.

“The flights going in and out are starting to pick up,” Manager John Dodd said. “I think this weekend will probably be the busiest because everyone will be coming back.”

People staying closer to home can expect highs in the mid-60s to upper 70s today, with temperatures moderating slightly for the remainder of the long weekend. Warm offshore winds Friday will bring gusts of up to 30 mph in the canyon passes and should provide stunning views of the Channel Islands before dying down again Sunday, said Curtis Brack, a meteorologist with forecasting company WeatherData Inc.

Ventura is increasingly becoming a destination at this time of year, said Bill Clawson, executive director of the Visitors and Convention Bureau.

An unscientific survey Wednesday showed that visitor numbers are up slightly over 1995, suggesting that recent advertising efforts are starting to pay off, he said.

“We have a couple of hotels that are sold out for Thursday and Friday, and close to it on Saturday,” Clawson said, adding that perhaps the traditional stay-at-home-Thanksgiving holiday is on the wane. “People are so glad just to have the time off.”

Ventura’s Pierpont Inn expects to serve more than 700 Thanksgiving dinners, above the 660 served last year.

For many travelers, it’s not the turkey on the table, but the ones on the road that define Thanksgiving.

Chino Hills resident Nancy Smith, 49, wore a button Wednesday reading “Give Thanks” and did just that after an unnerving drive down the Conejo Grade.

“We’ve hit some crazy drivers that don’t respect the traffic jams,” the self-confessed back-seat driver said after a late breakfast to steady her stomach in Ventura before resuming the drive to Solvang with her husband. “Driving usually relaxes me--maybe not today though.”

Wednesday was twice as busy as a day that does not precede a holiday weekend, downtown Ventura gas station clerk Connie Mitchell said. But most people were at least pleasant--grumpier travelers usually emerge as they head back home after a holiday, she said.

“They’re just happy to be out of L. A.,” Mitchell said.

Still, some do their part to keep the freeways clear in other ways.

Reid, for one, won’t venture far, preferring his wife, kids, honey-baked ham and 51-inch wide-screen television to the roads.

“I prefer to stay at home,” he said. “It’s safer that way.”