HAMMONTON, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — Millions of Americans are hitting the road this weekend, destined for Memorial Day getaways. AAA says about a half-million people from the Philadelphia area are expected to travel 50 miles or more this weekend. There are a lot of Pennsylvania license plates on the Atlantic City Expressway.
One of them belongs to the Darden family from Norristown, who stopped at the Frank S. Farley Service Plaza on their way east. Mary says she and her husband Casey are looking forward to a great weekend in Wildwood, traveling without restrictions — getting back to normal.
“Yes, definitely. That’s why we took this weekend,” Mary said. “Just to be able to relax and get away. Definitely need it.”
Casey says he can’t wait to chow down on some fresh seafood and not worry about wearing a mask.
Surging gas prices are redefining pain at the pump. The average gas price in the U.S. on Thursday was $4.60 per gallon — $4.75 in New Jersey and $4.76 in Pennsylvania — according to AAA figures, but people Friday morning were so excited to get out, nobody was complaining.
“It is what it is,” said Amy, with a shrug. “It’s not gonna stop us from going.”
She and her family were nearing the end of the long drive from Ithaca, New York, to Cape May. A bike rack on the back of her SUV was a dead giveaway that she and her family were Shore-bound.
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“The kids love the boardwalk,” said mom Amy. “We love the ocean, and of course the seafood!”
The high price of oil — largely because many buyers are refusing to purchase Russian oil because of its invasion of Ukraine — is the main cause of the steep gasoline prices.
By the way, Americans don’t have it so bad. Across the European Union’s 27 countries, gasoline has risen 40% from a year ago, to the equivalent of $8.40 a gallon.
Traffic is expected to really pick up later in the day. AAA says people should expect travel times to more than double during peak hours.
Keeping it local
After 2 1/2 years of pandemic life, a great many people are anxious to hit the road or take to the skies. AAA estimates that 39.2 million people in the U.S. will get out of town — by car, plane and other modes of transportation like trains or cruise ships. Those projections are up 8.3% from 2021 and would bring Memorial Day travel volumes close to 2017 levels. However, the estimates are still below pre-pandemic 2019 levels, a peak year for travel.
About 88% of those 39.2 million travelers — a record number — are expected to go by car over the long weekend even as gas prices remain high, according to AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross.
But not everyone has travel plans this weekend. Some have decided to spend the unofficial start of summer closer to home.
In fact, Ziya from South Philadelphia says she will be right at home.
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"Just chillin' with my dad," She said. "Sometimes I will go to my grandmom's house, maybe. We'll do a cookout or something."
Diane from the Northeast will be barbecuing -- at her uncle’s house. She says she is excited because she hasn't seen most of her family through the pandemic.
"More of us can attend if it's local," she said.
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COVID-19 is also on Darren Fava's mind. He lives in East Passyunk and said he will be visiting friends in the area who are hosting barbecues.
“I just got over COVID, and I didn't want to go far or take a vacation."
Asked what he looks for in a good barbecue, he said, "Someone else doing the cooking! I don't normally like doing the grilling. I like bringing the salads and things."
As a guest.
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Hadas Kuznits reported from Philadelphia.