COCOA BEACH, Fla. – In May, management of the Sea Aire Motel was excited to be welcoming back its first guests since the pandemic.
Now, Gary Jenkins and Nita Breadwell are thrilled again to be sold out over the Independence Day weekend.
"It's been so good, so busy," Breadwell, the owner, said.
Chet Ross and his family from Leesburg are celebrating Independence Day in Cocoa Beach for their twenty-fifth year.
They're traveling in a group of 20.
This week, Cocoa Beach decided to limit group sizes on the beach to ten or fewer for the next two months.
[READ MORE: Cocoa Beach to limit groups at the beach to 10 people or less]
"We have a group but half of the group is either in the water or, like my wife right now, walking down the beach," Ross said. "They're out throwing footballs, or kicking soccer balls, or catching waves."
And while the Ross family will be enjoying the beach, Shari Wardlaw said she's getting away.
Wardlaw stays in Cocoa Beach for the summer, but this weekend she said she's going to her place in Orlando to avoid all the people.
"We prefer to be here during the week when there are fewer crowds," Wardlaw said. "I expect, being a holiday weekend, it's going to be very, very busy."
Breadwell said the motel is getting a lot of phone calls from guests on their way.
"Everybody's so anxious to be here," she said.
Since reopening, the motel said it still hasn’t made up the money it lost when it was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.