SAN DIEGO — Memorial Day weekend across San Diego County is traditionally a mixed bag from Mother Nature, and this year was no exception. Despite the cool temperatures and overcast skies, visitors and locals made the most of the beach.
Marisa Johnson is visiting from Phoenix where it was 100 degrees. "Nothing to complain about,” she said. “This is literally perfect weather. That's what California is - perfect weather all year."
Skyler McManus, a manager at Hamel's, noted that instead of selling t-shirts, they were selling a lot of hoodies due to the cooler weather. However, the beach cruisers were still popular, taking the cash registers for a ride.
“If you're not out in the ocean, what are you doing on the boardwalk? You're riding a bike” McManus said. “Going up and down, checking out the sights and sounds. Everyone's busy clambering around, doing things so it's nice to see.”
And if you didn't want to spend money, the people watching was always free.
Police had extra holiday patrols, but fights over parking spots were not a concern. Public lots had plenty of open spaces. Lifeguards only had to watch a few people willing to brave the 64 degree water. "That's why they call it May Gray/June gloom," said McManus.
Memorial Day has had unpredictable weather in San Diego for decades. In 1981, CBS 8 reported that the overcast skies did little to keep tourists from our most popular attraction… the beach.
Lifeguards estimated that 30,000 people showed up that year from Ocean Beach to Torrey Pines.
Despite the cool temperatures and overcast skies, there were few complaints from those at the beach.
As Richard Bentley from Carlsbad put it, "To be honest with you frankly, I don't care if it rains or whatever. If you're at the beach, you're at the beach. So if it rains, it rains. If it's cloudy, it's cloudy. If the sun's out, that's a bonus, but technically, I don't care."
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