For Memorial weekend, many local residents visited Rancho San Rafael Regional Park to enjoy the outdoors and honor those who lost their lives in the line of duty.
"Appreciative of all the people that fought and died for our country and it's a great weekend and beautiful weather to do it," said Mic Cutler, Reno resident.
"We love Memorial Day and my parents were vets, so it's a weekend that's pretty special to us," Mike Hayes.
While many people go out camping or to the lakes for the long holiday weekend, some prefer to stay closer to home.
"We usually don't travel on Memorial Day we just try to stay home and be with family," Cutler said.
Some people had multiple reasons to visit local parks. Not only is it a long weekend, but some large groups were celebrating other personal milestones as well.
"We have a one-year-old golden retriever, and this is their one-year birthday party out of a litter of 14 so we're up here enjoying this," Hayes said.
"Well here we are in the good old American tradition going to be enjoying you know starting out Memorial Day weekend we are going to be celebrating the birthday of one of our fellow Bengali people," said Muhammed Quddus, Reno resident.
While family time and barbeques are a great way to spend the day, some think the significance of honoring veterans who have passed from time served has been lost.
"If you ask from the historical perspective as to why and why not most people do not pay any attention, they just say well this is the way of enjoying," Quddus said.
The rain came in hard earlier this afternoon, bring some peoples' plans to an end earlier than they had planned. However, after the long cold winter, some say it makes this Memorial Day more special.
"And particularly this year it has been a very cold, long winter I guess," Quddus said. "So, I think this year the memorial weekend is going to carry some special significance to most people and that would include us as well."
