Feeling Warm All Over : Weather: As temperatures break 80, people enjoy the hottest weekend of the year by pursuing activities that take them outdoors, including picnics in the park, kite-flying and fishing.

Liane Booker’s picnic table told the weather story Saturday.

A bag of potato chips sat beside four bottles of condiments and two large plastic containers filled with ribs and chicken. Her radio was pumping out R&B; tunes. The smell of barbecue wafted through the air as the meat sizzled on the grill. Paper plates and napkins, lots of napkins, were on standby.

The sun was shining, the mercury broke 80 and the leaves above Booker’s table swayed with the gentle breeze. It was a fine day at Irvine Regional Park in Orange.

“It’s a beautiful day . . . typical California weather,” said Lindsay Smith of Yorba Linda, who was cooking hot dogs, hamburgers and baked beans for 40 people at his daughter’s 1st birthday party. “We planned to be here, so we’re pretty blessed with the weather.”

On a nearby grassy knoll, two people flying kites used their hands to shield the bright sun from their eyes.

“After all the rain, it’s nice to have a sunny day,” said Kim Hooper of Anaheim, whose Batman kite was so high it looked like a yellow and black dot next to the sun.

Similar scenes of people enjoying the warmest weekend of the year could be found elsewhere in the park and throughout Orange County.

Small children climbed monkey bars and rocked on swing sets. Adults were busy too. Either playing volleyball, horseback riding, pushing strollers or chasing after their little ones.

Cars continued to stream into the park in the early afternoon and those who had picnic tables or grills were lucky.

Booker, who was looking forward to coming to the park Saturday, said she staked out her site before 11 a.m. so she could start preparing for the 12 others in her group who were coming later.

“I like this park,” she said, rubbing her feet through the cool grass. Later she got up and turned the meat under a cloud of smoke. “I only eat it when it’s well-done,” she said. Booker also added some pork bones for her dog, Heidi.

Meanwhile, Sonny Stoehr of Orange had his fishing pole propped up against a ledge, at the end of a pond. He said he’s seen footlong bass in the shallow pond, but has never caught one. “We’re always trying,” he said.

Turning his attention to the sky above, he said, “It’s been great the last couple of days.”