Some Travelers Getting a Jump on Holiday Weekend

OXNARD — Jeff and Danielle Timmins sat inside the Oxnard Airport lobby early Thursday afternoon, both nervous and excited.

The Camarillo couple, awaiting a United Express flight to Los Angeles that would connect them to Chicago for a stay with his parents, had an extra special package in hand: their 4-month-old daughter, Lauren. Just days away from her first Christmas, Lauren had never been on an airplane.

“I’m extremely nervous,” said Jeff, squatting on the floor while his wife sat across from him holding their daughter. “The rigors of holiday travel aren’t really set up for traveling with a baby.”

Nobody said holiday travel was easy, but those who filled the airport and the roadways Thursday to get a head start to their weekend were making it a little easier on themselves, California Highway Patrol Officer George Myers said. Police today expect congestion on highways and at airports to increase.

The CHP will be prepared, maximizing its enforcement with more than 60 officers on patrol through midnight Monday, Myers said. While there were only eight traffic collisions in Ventura County last Christmas weekend, there were 20 in 1998, when the holiday weekend was extended, as it is this year, Myers said.

“We expect this to be a busy travel weekend for everybody getting to their families for the holidays,” Myers said. “That’s why we’re going to have most of our force out there.”

Locally, the greatest traffic is expected where the Ventura Freeway intersects with California 23 and Oxnard Boulevard, Myers said. Last year there were four car accidents during the Christmas weekend, one resulting in a fatality, he said. The CHP made 10 drunk-driving arrests over that period, Myers said.

While motorists can expect to see more CHP officers on patrol, gasoline prices shouldn’t change much in Southern California, said Marie Montgomery, a spokeswoman for the Automobile Club of Southern California.

Fuel prices in the area dropped for the third consecutive month, averaging $1.77 per unleaded gallon in Ventura County and $1.64 in Los Angeles County on Dec. 12, Montgomery said.

“No major price jump is expected at this point because crude oil prices have gone down,” Montgomery said.

Weather shouldn’t be a negative factor locally, either. Ventura County’s coastal areas are expected to have highs in the 60s, while the county’s inland valleys could reach the low 70s, said Stuart Seto, a weather specialist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. Skies should be mostly clear, he said.

It will be somewhat chillier for people heading out of town, Seto said. Temperatures are expected to be a few degrees lower in Las Vegas and San Diego, and there is a chance of rain late tonight north of San Luis Obispo that will become more certain on Saturday, Seto said.

“Around here, everything looks good,” Seto said. “There is not much going on except a little wind in the passes and canyons.”

With such pleasant weather expected locally, it was no surprise to see a number of people at local campsites.

At Rincon Beach, Gus and Ginger Sandberg of Taft were back for their ninth seaside Christmas with Ginger Sandberg’s brother and sister-in-law, Jack and Pat Gragert of Phoenix.

The couples, each traveling in giant RVs, make their own Christmas tree--seaweed draped on a wooden frame--that they decorate each year with lights, tinsel and metallic balls.

Come Christmas Eve, the retired foursome will welcome extended family members from Santa Barbara for a potluck dinner.

“If it’s not too dang cold and nasty, we’ll stay up late,” said Gus Sandberg, 69.

A handful of campers also settled in for the long weekend at Emma Wood State Beach in Ventura. Victor and Henrietta Anderson of Washington state said they have spent the past 12 years celebrating Christmas and New Year’s at the popular site at the city’s north end.

“It’s quiet, lovely and it’s the nicest place on the whole coast of California,” said Henrietta, 87.

Nearby, Gary Jeane of Texas said he and his wife, Joanne, were waiting for their daughter and two grandchildren to arrive for the holiday. Jeane said he had to build a bike for his 9-year-old granddaughter, Madison, before she arrived with her mother on Saturday.

With a small artificial tree perched on the RV’s dashboard and lights strung around the windshield, Jeane said he was ready for his California Christmas.

“We’ll light a campfire, do a weenie roast and toast some marshmallows,” said Jeane, a retired electrical lineman. “It’s going to be beautiful.”

Sentiment was similar at Oxnard Airport, where both arriving and departing flights on United Express and America West Express were nearly booked up through the holiday weekend, officials said.

As many people waited patiently for their flights to take off, more than a dozen stood by the runway, greeting friends and relatives as they arrived.

Bart and Jan Albright of Oxnard embraced their 22-year-old daughter, Kathy, who arrived at 2:45 p.m. Thursday from Sacramento. Kathy graduated Dec. 14 from Chico State with a degree in child development.

“She’s our Christmas present,” Bart Albright said.

As he hugged his daughter, the Timminses were inside with theirs, just minutes away from boarding their flight. Lauren, wearing an outfit emblazoned with a snowman, was ready.

“It will be great to go back and see snow and all the family,” Jeff Timmins said. “It should be a good first Christmas for her.”