It Was a Busy Holiday Weekend at County Beaches

San Diegans and visitors flocked to the the county's beaches this Memorial Day amid warm weather, afternoon sun and water temperatures in the mid-60s.

Lifeguards were prepared for the influx of beachgoers and had extra staff on hand, according to Del Mar lifeguard Johnny Sieber.

"There's a lot of people, but pretty smooth sailing," Sieber said. "Typical Memorial Day for us."

No significant incidents were reported, he said.

South County beachgoers may have been out on the coastline this weekend for another reason -- the dead whale that washed up about a mile north of the U.S.-Mexico Border.

Officials with the Marine Conservation Science Institute believed it to be the same smelly cetacean carcass that initially turned up on the beach near Gatchell Road in Point Loma a week ago.

The roughly 40-foot carcass was later towed out to sea, but the line snapped and it ended up drifting back to shore, according to an online posting by the Fallbrook-based nonprofit research agency.

Multiple broadcast news outlets reported the dead whale had become a sort of attraction.

Jessica Michel, who along with her family visited the whale at the Border Field State Park, told NBC7 the hike to reach the carcass was worth the trouble.

"I really wanted to see a dead whale because I've never seen a whale before," she said.

—City News Service