A different looking Memorial Day near Santa Cruz beaches

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION) As the sun glistens down on Santa Cruz beaches this Memorial Day, a lot fewer visitors than normal surrounded Santa Cruz County's coast.

There were likely fewer people because of the beach closure that's in place everyday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Only water activities are allowed during that time.

“You can’t be on the sand, but you can be on the water? That’s kind of weird. What's the difference? But hey it is what it is,” PK, visiting from San Jose said.

There was some sort of enforcement at every beach we visited. In Santa Cruz, that meant police on ATV's reminding people not to lounge on the sand. In Capitola, police checked anyone trying to go onto the beach.

As visitors were kept of the sand, crowds walked along the Santa Cruz wharf and packed into Capitola Village.

“It's nice to see people out here. It’s getting back to normal slowly,” Evelyn Ramos from Sacramento said.

However, it's not back to normal for Capitola Beach Company, which usually rents out water gear and does surf lessons.

“With this weather, this would be one of the staple weekends for our business," owner of Capitola Beach Company Matt Arthur said. "This to us is like holding our favorite meal in front of us, and not being able to take a bite.”

The other common thread this Memorial Day, was out-of-towners driving in to escape the heat and get away.

“I’ve been sitting at home for a long time, and it's been like two months and this is the first time I’m going out actually,” Sash Bhaskar from San Jose said.