SAN MARCOS -- Among the thousands of people at Sunday's San Marcos Summer Festival were several first-time visitors -- some from as far away as the East Coast -- who said the street fair in the "quaint little city" beats anything back in their hometowns.

Three government contractors from Virginia Beach said they saw an ad for the festival and drove from their hotel in San Diego to San Marcos to take in a bit of Southern California culture.

"Getting here was a bit of a trick, we thought we were lost," said Jim Kelley, who along with his colleagues, Butch Godbout and William Weger, are temporarily working at Naval Station San Diego to make repairs to U.S. Navy ships and submarines.

"We're glad we finally made it, it's definitely something worth checking out. It's better than what we have back home," Kelley said.

Godbout said he was most interested in the cars on display.

"All three of us are really into cars, so we've been checking out anything around here that has to do with cars," Godbout said. "We went to the Barona races last night and later today we're going up to Pomona to see what's in the drag racing museum. They've got a nice selection of cars right here, though."

Dean White, a captain with the San Marcos Fire Department, brought his two young sons to the festival.

"This is such a great city, a great event and the weather is just perfect for this," White said after going on a ride with his boys. "You look around and you see all these people out here having a good time, and it makes you feel good about being a part of this community."

Other visitors included a couple from Chula Vista, who said the San Marcos event was one of their favorites.

"We go to a lot of festivals and this one is the best we've seen," said Scott Smith, who drove with his wife, Zeanna, to visit the summertime edition of the twice-yearly street festival.

"There's a Lemon Festival held down in Chula Vista every year and we go to that one, but it can't compare to this event. This festival fits perfectly in this quaint little city," Smith said.

San Marcos Mayor Jim Desmond said that even though the crowd at Sunday's event was smaller than expected, he was encouraged by the turnout.

"Some of the folks that might normally be here are away for the Labor Day weekend, but it's early and things will pick up," said Desmond, as he scanned the vendor's section of the festival. "Considering that everything is a little tight for folks right now, I think we've still got a lot of people here today. The weather is cooperating and it's already been a great day for this festival."