Crowds flock to the beach

Bryce Alderton

With cool ocean breezes, air and water temperatures in the low 70s,

and plenty of sunshine, beach goers at Newport Beach made the most of

Sunday’s ideal weather conditions to take advantage of what many consider

the last hurrah before the end of summer.

Newport Beach lifeguard officials estimated that about 75,000 people

visited the beach on Sunday.

“It’s been a quiet, uneventful Labor Day weekend so far,” explained

Newport Beach Lifeguard Capt. Eric Bauer. “I’ve seen days a lot more

crowded than this.”

Having grown up in Sacramento before spending another 20 years in

Montana, Sunday marked the first time Berta Goodenough, now an Upland

resident, had been to Newport Beach.

“We’re here with family and having a good time,” Goodenough said.

“We’re going to spend the rest of the day here relaxing.”

Goodenough and her husband, Mike, came to the beach with her

sister-in-law, Kathy Ortega, and her family. Sunday was Ortega’s first

time to the beach in 13 years, but she plans to return, she said.

“The best part about coming to the beach is watching my kids play in

the water with their boogie boards,” Ortega said. “And it’s not too

crowded. I expected a lot worse.”

Labor Day signals the end of summer and the beginning of school for

most children and a few looked forward to what the new school year might

bring.

Katrina Fossum, 10, of La Verne will start the fifth grade this year.

“The best thing about going back to school is meeting new people, new

teachers, and it’s the last year before junior high,” Fossum said.

Ortega’s son, Michael, 6, prefers recess and looks forward to digging

in the sand and playing on the monkey bars.

Harvey and Carolyn Posert from Napa Valley flew into Palm Springs

Thursday night, stayed two nights, and then drove to Newport to celebrate

the extended weekend with their son and his family.

The whole family spent Sunday going in the water, making sandcastles

and enjoying the sunny weather.

Harvey Posert said he enjoys the cooler weather Newport offers,

explaining that it can get hot in Napa during the day.

“But the nights are cooler, which allows the grapes to ripen so well,”

he said.

Meanwhile, LaVerne Willison spent most of Sunday riding his bicycle

across Orange County, expecting to log about 60 total miles.

He began his journey at Edison Field and rode south to Balboa

Peninsula before turning around and heading north to Seal Beach and

eventually through Huntington Beach, where he would take a break.

“I will stop and lay on some grass next to a Taco Bell, take a

30-minute nap and then bike the next 18 miles to [Edison Field],”

Willison said.

Willison, a San Dimas resident, makes the trek on the weekends, and is

still going strong after undergoing hip surgery nearly a year ago to

insert a metal pin into his broken hip, which he suffered while riding

his bike along the Huntington Beach Pier.

“I was making a simple U-turn when I fell and broke my hip,” Willison

said. “But someone helped me back on the bike and I rode back to my car

that day.”

Bill Dix also likes to spend his days riding his bike to and along the

beach.

Sitting on a concrete bench while looking toward the sand, he smiled

and spread his arms when asked what he likes most about coming to the

beach.

“The vistas and the exercise I get,” Dix said.

Retired, Dix rides his bike two-and-a-half miles from his home on

Balboa Island to the beach every day.

“It was cooler than usual this summer with more days of overcast skies

but the crowds have been pretty much the same each day, fairly normal,”

he said.

* Bryce Alderton is the news assistant. He may be reached at (949)

574-4298 or by e-mail at o7 bryce.alderton@latimes.comf7 .