Ventura Beaches Lure Many Happy Campers

Kyle Haliburton spent this New Year’s holiday the way he does every year: camping at one of Ventura County’s beaches.

After the San Fernando Valley resident helped his wife, Leslee, back their enormous RV from its space Sunday at Hobson County Park near Rincon Beach in anticipation of the ride home, Haliburton said the beach offered a nice, quiet way to celebrate a new beginning, like it does every year.

“There’s something for everybody. . . . You can Boogie board, fly kites, and if you don’t want to do anything, you can just vegetate,” he said.

Local campgrounds were at capacity during the New Year’s holiday weekend, officials with the state parks department said Sunday.

“This past weekend was like the summer,” said state parks ranger James Grennan, describing the number of campers.

The Haliburtons took advantage of clear, sunny skies on Sunday and temperatures in the low 60s to extend their stay until the late afternoon, strolling along the beach while their 8-year-old son, Tommy, explored the tide pools.

The weather forecast for today is mostly sunny and breezy with highs again in the 60s, lows in the 30s and winds of up to 30 mph along the coast. And though brief showers ushered out the century Friday in Southern California, no additional storms are forecast in Ventura County this week, according to the National Weather Service.

Howard Lang and his wife, Marsha Hagestad, camped out at Emma Wood State Beach for the millennial weekend, while visiting family members in Ventura.

The former Oregon residents took one last look around Sunday for any stray possessions before heading back to their home in Baja California, where they moved three years ago.

“Ventura is very nice,” said Hagestad, 44. “I like the mixture of people and the oddities of it.”

The warm, breezy weather lured a fair number of local residents outdoors for windsurfing and bike riding.

But others stayed inside to take in a movie matinee or a football game before having to return to work.

Sarah Chang, an assistant manager at the United Artists theater in Thousand Oaks, said the multiplex was crowded during the day, mainly with families seeing “Stuart Little.”

Angela Gardenas, a waitress at Chuy’s Mesquite Broiler in Thousand Oaks, said she was having a busy day waiting on football fans.

“We’re pretty solid in here,” she said. “Lots of people watching the game.”

Of course, Sunday was also a big travel day for those returning from out-of-town visits.

Roadrunner Shuttle had its busiest day since Thanksgiving weekend, hauling county residents back home from Los Angeles International and Burbank airports.

“We are maxed out,” said shuttle dispatch manager Al Samer. “We’re moving at full bore.”

The California Highway Patrol expected the heaviest amount of traffic on Ventura County roadways early Sunday evening. As of 6 p.m., 29 drivers had been arrested since Friday evening on suspicion of driving under the influence, the CHP reported. No fatalities were reported.

At Emma Wood State Beach, Chuck and Shirley Leger said they were mourning the end of the holiday season in their RV. The Lancaster couple had spent about 10 days camping and visiting Ventura and Santa Barbara counties to escape what Shirley Leger, 61, called “all that Y2K crap.”

“That’s all the media talked about,” she said. “I figured if something was going to happen, then it would happen, and I couldn’t do anything about it.”

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Times Community News reporter Tony Lystra contributed to this story.