Before San Diegans even start thinking about next week's storm, there is still plenty to clean up after the one that just swept through.
Sunny skies were over Mission Beach on Saturday — one of the hardest-hit areas. The beach was clear and beachgoers navigated around the closed parts of the boardwalk that was covered in seawater just hours before.
Some tourists and businesses were grateful it wasn’t worse. Crews were on the boardwalk Saturday morning, cleaning up what was left from Friday's high tide and crashing waves. But overall, people were happy to get back on the boardwalk and back on the sand.
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Ocean sounds were muffled Saturday by the crew's cleanup equipment.
“We’re getting a lot of people coming down and they're still shopping and still checking this orchestra of bulldozers and bobcats," said Skyler McManus.
At Hamel's Surf Shop on the Mission Beach boardwalk, McManus's instrument of choice is a shovel.
"You didn’t want to be on the beach when it was doing what it was doing. You can swept out to see and that’s it. Good luck," McManus said.
Luckily, there wasn't any damage.
“They're clearing it up quick, so I don’t think it's going to be very long before it's back to normal," McManus added.
Big Weather in San Diego
That's music to resident Shawn White's ears. He rides his bike every weekend.
“Last night I came here and it was covered with sand. And I wanted to cry because like 80-100 people show up here on Sunday and gather and ride our bikes here,” White said.
Like a lot of people, Sheryl Knapp was curious to see the City of San Diego's performance.
“I'm grateful to see that they're doing a great job trying to clean it up," Knapp said.
It was a very different scene 24 hours after it all shut down — a reminder that the weather is always the star of the show.
“Mother nature bats last and she has the last say, and I have a lot of respect for that, especially with the ocean,” Knapp added.
By Monday, the cleanup was still well underway. Bulldozers were on the beach leveling sand and small tractors were crawling up and down the boardwalk scooping up sand carried onto the sidewalk and nearby streets by the high surf.
Left behind after the water drained away were lobster traps, battered trash cans and seaweed.
"When you walk by and see the damage, and see how powerful water is, it's just kind of a little bit of a reality check," boardwalk alker Linnea Campbell said.
