Visitors choose Central Coast to ring in 2017

New Year’s Eve is just around the corner and many are headed to the Central Coast to celebrate.

“I flew in from Washington D.C., and door to door it took me 12 hours,” said visitor Audrey Siek.

What usually is an hour drive from San Jose International Airport to Monterey took Siek double the time.

“Quite an experience of the California traffic,” Siek said. “Now that I can say I lived through that, bumper to bumper. I’ve heard a lot about it.”

And after sitting through all the holiday traffic, Siek took a stroll along Fisherman’s Wharf.

“I think it’s a nice place to be, especially it’s towards to end of the year, and the weather is a lot better than D.C.,” Siek said.

Some businesses say it’s been a good week.

“On Fridays, it’s usually not that busy around the winter time,” said Jonathan Valles with Scales Seafood & Steaks. “Yea, it’s good.”

And others say the weekend might be even better.

“Because it’s New Year’s Eve, and it’s a three-day weekend, it says Monday is a day off, too, so we are expecting more people,” said Ishma Shresdha with Wharf Chocolate Factory.

Visitors and locals alike are excited to bid farewell to 2016 and welcome a new beginning.

“Even though it was a hectic trip, the process was worth it. It’s all about ringing in the New Year in the best way possible,” Siek said.

“I want to be going places that’s really fun, and I get to spend time with my family,” said Aleena Correa from Seaside.