They came from the Inland Valley

Memorial Day weekend. The weekend that unofficially ushers in days of

lounging at the beach and catching waves.

The start of summer also brings people from other parts of town to

the paradise we call home. Locals claim they can spot the outsiders.

They are the ones wearing socks and tennis shoes on the beach or

unloading a carload of children, coolers, umbrellas blankets,

canopies, smash ball and sun block.

Many of them have traveled about an hour via the Riverside and

Costa Mesa freeways to Newport Boulevard, which dumps them at the

beach. They are known around town as “the 909ers” (as in the area

code).

Whether in jest or seriousness, the term is thrown around loosely

by locals. A guy who gets bumped at a beachside bar might yell, “Hey,

go back to the 909.”

Urban legend at local hangout Blackies has it that a resident on

18th Street hangs a sheet in the window that says, “The 91 Freeway is

that way.” Even discussions at City Hall have revolved around the

visiting inlanders and their craving for Fourth of July

rabble-rousing.

Newport Beach resident Joe Aldana, who was enjoying a cold beer at

Blackies on Saturday, said he moved here from the 909 about six years

ago.

“I hear that crap all the time,” Aldana said. “You can sit at this

window and watch the parking spots fill up and you know the 909ers

are here.”

Huntington Beach residents Steve Alminiana and Jeremy Ellis, who

were hanging out in McFadden Square for a change in scenery, said the

phrase is common in their beach town also.

“It’s just a running joke,” Alminiana said. “We all have friends

from there.”

“It’s more talked up than anything,” Ellis said.

Or is it?

Newport Beach lifeguard John Moore said there is “absolutely” a

difference between locals and the 909ers. But he sees it from a

safety perspective.

“It all comes down to being water-oriented,” Moore said. “The more

you are around it, the safer you are, the better understanding you

have of the environment you are in.”

Of course, the lifeguards watch, protect and treat all beachgoers

the same, but there is a difference in “how they come in, what they

bring and the amount of time they stay,” Moore said.

“They’ve just driven an hour and a half, they didn’t just walk

outside, see the clouds and go back into bed,” he said. “They are

here for the day.”

Newport Beach employs six guys who used to live in the 909, Moore

said, and they are all great.

“They really appreciate what they have in front of them, which a

lot of people might take for granted,” Moore said.

Newport Beach resident Gilbert Juarez used to live the San

Bernardino mountain town of Crestline. He owns homes in the 909 and

949 and has always been a beach lover.

His fellow inlanders usually don’t share that love, he said. There

is a one-digit difference in the area codes, but a vast difference in

attitudes.

“I respect the ocean, but they dump [stuff] out of their cars when

they leave,” Juarez said. “It’s not their home, so they are not as

respectful.”

Fullerton resident Aaron Michael doesn’t consider himself an

outsider. He defends the local’s beef with out-of-towners.

“People come down here and think they can get all crazy,” Michael

said.

“Where else are they supposed to go?” his friend Andrew Delgado

asked. “They don’t wanna be stuck in the city. They wanna go to the

beach.”

“Yeah, but they can’t just come down and party and fight and trash

everything,” Michael said.

“Well, yeah, there has to be a respect factor,” Delgado agreed.

Rudy and Maria Ysais said they have nothing but respect for the

beach. The Riverside family traveled almost an hour for a gloomy --

but still fun -- day in Newport. They only come down a few times a

year, Rudy Ysais said.

“It’s Memorial Day weekend, and I wanted to go to the beach, but

there is no sun,” he said.

The couple said they were ignorant of any animosity toward

inlanders.

“Are you serious,” Maria said, with a puzzled look on her face.

“We sure have never felt it.”

* LOLITA HARPER writes columns Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and

covers culture and the arts. She may be reached at (949) 574-4275 or

by e-mail at [email protected].