People around the Central Coast will be welcoming the New Year differently.
"We're having a shrimp dinner with prime rib and, of course, a toast to 2021, which we have to to have a better year,” Debbie Layton said.
A better year, something many people are desperately hoping for as New Year's celebrations arrive Thursday night.
For a recent bride and groom, traveling is on the agenda.
"We've been traveling for about a week just going to different spots to San Diego all the way up to Sacramento and so just being random,” Jaylyn Megahed said.
Although Thursday night's celebrations might be different, people say thehy won't let that stop their plans.
"We are just making the best out of the pandemic. We are given lemonade to lemons, we are going to make the best of the end of 2020,” Roslyn Clark said.
For hotels like the Wine Stone Inn located in Orcutt, during this time rooms would normally be booked up and people would be ready to toast to the New Year. This is something the general manager says won't be happening this year.
"So our bar has to be closed to the public. For our hotel guests, I still say that it looks like New Year's Eve because you are still greeted with champagne when you check-in and we can still offer you a beer and wine for our manager's reception, we just can't have people in the bar,” General Manager Lauren Wise said.
Wise said what would be a packed bar will now be the opposite, but despite the changes, she stays full of hope.
"This isn't going to be forever. 2021 will be different. I have a lot of hope and I think it'll be a great year. It can't be any more like this, we can't do this anymore,” Wise said.
