Thousand visiting Central Coast Memorial Day weekend

Luis Hernandez-Abrau has been eyeing the Central Coast for some time.

“It’s always been on my bucket list,” said Abrau.

So for Memorial Day weekend, he and Ali flew in from Miami, Florida and rented a hot red convertible to journey on the Pacific Coast Highway.

“We’re basically getting around, moving around, getting lost around the city, so it’s kind of fun,” said Abrau.

They are just two of the more than 38 million people traveling for Memorial Day weekend, which means it’s go-time for tourism in Pacific Grove, Monterey and surrounding areas.

“Seventy percent of our money is made between Memorial Day and Labor Day,” said Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce president Moe Ammar. “That’s when we put our best foot forward and deliver great service and make sure everybody’s happy so that they can come back.”

This weekend Pacific Grove is expected to go from 15,000 to 100,000 thousand people.

“I think it’s kind of a mixed blessing,” said Pacific Grove resident Mary Ann Meagher. “We want to be loved but we don’t want to be loved to death.”

Locals told KION large crowds and congestion during holidays can sometimes bring down the fun.

“Mainly when you’re trying to get somewhere on the freeway it gets frustrating,” said Pacific Grove resident Dave Olney.

Some locals said they plan to lay low this Memorial Day weekend to avoid the large crowds and horrendous traffic.

“Actually stay in Pacific Grove pretty much or go see a movie,” said Linda Olney, Pacific Grove resident.

The Pacific Grove Chamber told KION they try to balance things out with tourists and residents to make sure everyone feels like they are being catered to.

“We don’t do any advertising out of the area, we minimize that during the high season,” said Ammar. “So we don’t spend a lot of money out of the area telling people to come because we know that the town is going to be packed.”

But for the most part residents say they welcome tourists because there are many benefits to sharing their home town with them.

“The more visitors we have, the more education that they have about taking care of the ocean and our environment the better,” said Meagher.

Some locals told KION they will head out of town to celebrate Memorial Day in other touristy destinations.

Santa Cruz is also expected to bustle with business. Hotels are already sold out of rooms.