The city of Carlsbad and beachgoers are preparing for a busy holiday weekend at the beach.
“(You will see) a lot of pop-ups, a lot of families, a lot of kids, a lot of people down there,” said local Paul Simmons.
Simmons and Joel Boehm are longtime friends. And over the years there’s one thing that hasn’t changed.
“We usually meet here,” Simmons said.
Every morning-- rain or shine-- and that’s not changing even this holiday weekend.
“We’re going to walk down here early in the morning, so we can get a parking spot,” Simmons said.
That's because parking will be hard to find this weekend. And that's by design.
The city of Carlsbad has announced they are closing the parking lot located at Ocean Street as part of an overall plan given the ongoing COVID-19 health order.
The same happened for the 4th of July weekend at many beaches in San Diego County. In some areas, the closures resulted in traffic congestion and confusion.
The Ellsworth family, however, is set up. They're visiting from Arizona and don't plan on moving.
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“In Arizona right now is so hot and you can’t really go outside, you sweat all the time, so coming out here and getting to be by the beach relaxing is nice,” said Melissa Ellsworth.
The family makes a yearly trip to Carlsbad and they say they weren't going to let COVID-19 take it away.
“The numbers have gone down drastically and we’re not concerned at all,” said Ellsworth.
And while they're not concerned, county officials are worried many will be letting down their guard.
