Coastal Campers Get Early Start on Weekend

On a sunny Labor Day weekend, there is nowhere Rod Cleary and his wife Bobbie would rather park their RV than on Ventura’s Rincon Highway, sandwiched between the railroad tracks and the sun-brightened sea.

Retired and able to travel anywhere they want, the couple always make sure they end up here after a summer of traveling.

“There’s probably no place else in the country you can open [the awning on an RV] and see dolphins going by,” said Rod Cleary, who lives in Cathedral City near Palm Springs.

Their RV was among 125 lined up nose-to-tail along the Rincon strip Friday, as more than 2 million residents of Ventura and surrounding counties hit the road this Labor Day weekend, experts say--fully justifying the region’s reputation as home to sun-loving road warriors.

More than 90% of an estimated 2.5 million travelers from Southern California are driving this weekend, to such sunny destinations as the Grand Canyon, San Francisco and Monterey, according to a survey by the Automobile Club of Southern California.

Despite a sluggish economy, the number of travelers is expected to be about the same as last year. But based on the most popular destinations, Auto Club officials say it appears Southern Californians will drive farther this weekend.

Last year’s most popular Labor Day vacation spots were all in California, with San Diego leading the list. This year, the Grand Canyon tops the list, with Anaheim, home to Disneyland, coming in second.

California Highway Patrol spokeswoman Katrina Lundgren said highways started getting congested early Friday, a trend that will last through the weekend.

“This really is the last hurrah for summer, and the incoming and outgoing traffic will be bad,” Lundgren said.

Lower gasoline prices could be one reason.

Statewide, the price of a gallon of regular unleaded is $1.62, compared with $1.74 last year. In Southern California, motorists are enjoying gas prices nearly 50 cents lower than the May record high of $2.01 per gallon.

Along Rincon Highway, it was the warm weather and clear blue skies on Friday that attracted early holiday throngs.

Maria Pink, who drove in from landlocked Glendora, set up a card table and played a game of Uno with her kids, Brandon and Riley. She planned a laid-back weekend.

“It’s so easy,” she said. “You don’t have to fish. You don’t have to hike. Here, you can just veg out.”

In Orange County, the last gasp of summer began traditionally: with clogged highways, bustling beaches and thick crowds at Disneyland.

Lt. Kyle Lindo, a Huntington Beach lifeguard supervisor, said beach attendance could reach 80,000 and even 100,000 during the weekend. A regular summer crowd tops out at about 45,000.

“For a lot of people, this is their last opportunity,” he said.

As vacationers began the three-day weekend, law enforcement officials issued warnings about leaving children unattended in cars during hot weather.

Throughout the nation, 32 children have died in the past nine months--a dozen in California alone--as a result of being left alone in motor vehicles on hot days.

Even on a mild day of 73 degrees, an SUV can heat up to 100 degrees in 10 minutes and to an unbearable 120 degrees in just 30 minutes, state officials said.

The Auto Club also warned about another potentially deadly summer hazard: boating accidents. Accidents on beaches, lakes and rivers are on the rise in California, and Auto Club officials warned Labor Day vacationers to take safety precautions while on the water.

Boating accidents in California killed 51 people and injured 524 last year, an 8% increase over 1999, according to the California Department of Boating and Waterways.

Times staff writers Matt Surman and Matthew Ebnet contributed to this story.