San Luis Obispo residents and visitors plan for a quieter Independence Day

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - This Fourth of July is looking very different from years past. Downtown San Luis Obispo is fairly quiet for the day before a major holiday.

Visitors say they were looking to travel somewhere less crowded.

"We're getting away from everybody else," said Michael Rosen. He and a friend left Southern California for the weekend for a quiet getaway.

Gregory Massey from San Diego said he "decided to take a little road trip to do some wine tasting" while socially distant with friends.

But with bar closures, plans are changing for some.

Massey and his friends will not be going to any bars this weekend, but said it is probably for the best.

With coronavirus cases spiking, the city of San Luis Obispo opted to close bars on Thursday night. Bars in the city will be able to open again, but not until Monday and only at 25 percent capacity.

The county followed suit Friday morning and also closed bars for the weekend.

"Bars seem to be the problem at this point," said Zack Corpuel from Cool Cat Cafe. "It's a lot harder to manage people when they start drinking and once they're in that environment."

Locals say they plan to stay in.

"We are doing just a simple dinner tomorrow night with our family that we've kept in our COVID circle," said Kara Miller of Santa Maria while visiting San Luis Obispo with her children.

Her children said that fireworks and family are what they are looking forward to most.

Most we talked to said they are looking to enjoy this holiday for what it is, and hopefully next year they can celebrate bigger.