Thanksgiving California-Style

Hit the beach with a turkey in Huntington Beach

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. October 14, 2008

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA, November 22, 2005. Thanksgiving is a holiday for family gatherings, ridiculously big buffets and comfy couches on which to collapse and watch sports after the turkey is picked clean. But in Southern California, sometimes the gorgeous weather is just too hard to resist.

So if you're looking for something different to do in this 80-degree weather, come on down to Huntington Beach for some turkey and stuffing served with a salty ocean breeze. Every year the parking lots of the city-owned Sunset Vista RV Campground and the Bolsa Chica State Beach are filled with RVs, campers, vans and pickup trucks filled with Californians bent on having their traditional Thanksgiving feast by the sea.

Most people cook their turkey in advance - along with all the usual side dishes - and bring it to the beach for a picnic. But don't be surprised to see turkey being grilled, fried or smoked beside the hundreds of fire pits or right in the middle of the parking lot. There are as many strategies as there are people about the best way to prepare Thanksgiving dinner without a full kitchen. But there's one thing everybody here seems to agree on: It tastes better outdoors.

Some families have been coming to the shores of Huntington Beach on this four-day weekend for 15 to 20 years or more. The calendar may say late November, but typically the weather is mild enough that it looks and feels like summertime. Like other Americans, people here at the beach play flag football, volleyball, or horseshoes before or after their meal. Unlike the rest of us, they also bring surfboards and wetsuits - something most folks wouldn't even think of wearing after such a heavy meal - or bicycles and inline skates to cruise down the Huntington Beach Ocean Strand.

True sports fans bring along their portable television to watch the game from a beach chair - you have to angle the umbrella just right to eliminate the sun's glare - and the cheers or groans of fans rises above the sand, along with the faintly sweet smell of coconut sun block.

This year, celebrate Thanksgiving California-style by packing up the turkey and heading to the beach. Or, if that sounds like too much trouble, eat before you come!

Sunset Vista RV Campground

Huntington City Beach (south side of HB Pier)

Sunset Vista Recreational Vehicle Campground, open October 1 through may 31, 2006, is owned and operated by the City of Huntington Beach and provides the newest RV camping facility in Huntington Beach and the closest location to downtown. The 46-space facility offers individual water and electrical hookups, as well as a dump station. Reservations are not accepted over the phone and must be made in person at the RV park or by mail. Maximum stay is 14 nights per month. Applications for reservations can be obtained by calling 714-536-5286.

Bolsa Chica State Beach RV Park offers year round reservations. Fees include entry for one vehicle and one legally towed vehicle or trailer. Electrical and water hook-ups are provided. Facilities include food service, picnic areas, restrooms and showers. Adjacent to Dog Beach, leashed dogs are permitted on the paved path leading to Dog Beach and may play at the water's edge without leash at Dog Beach. Entry gate closes at 7pm nightly. Campers arriving after 7pm need to make after hour entry arrangements by calling 714-377-5691 between 9am and 4pm.

To learn more about Huntington Beach, visit www.surfcityusa.com or call 800-729-6232 and request a free visitors guide. Surf City USATM is a trademark of the Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau. All rights reserved.