Gas prices don't put brakes on weekend plans for many
CALABASAS, Calif. -- Like many holiday travelers, Ron Evenhaim isn't going to let rising gasoline prices curtail his plans for a weekend getaway.
Evenhaim rented a 40-foot diesel recreational vehicle to take his family of five the 300 miles from his home in suburban Los Angeles to Lake Isabella in the Tehachapi Mountains.
"That's 30 gallons," he said, using the vehicle's average mileage of eight to 10 miles per gallon .
"Even if gas prices go up $1, that's an extra $30. You buy the kids a sandwich halfway and you've spent more," he said.
Americans are expected to do slightly more driving this Memorial Day weekend than they did last year.
But the near-record gas prices are prompting some travelers to take shorter trips and economize in other ways.
About 38 million Americans are expected to travel 50 miles or more this weekend.
That is a 1.7 percent increase from last year's holiday, according to the American Automobile Association .
About 83 percent of them will drive, with the remainder taking airplanes, trains, or other transportation.
An AP-Ipsos poll showed that nearly half the country says gas prices are causing a "serious hardship," but fewer people than last year are reducing their driving, trimming other expenses, or curtailing vacation plans because of higher energy costs.
Holiday travelers will find gas prices nationwide averaging $3.04 a gallon for self-serve regular, according to AAA.
That's up 25 cents from last month and more than 15 cents from the same time last year.
Hotel rates are also up about 13 percent from last year, the association found, but flights and car rentals are expected to be a bit cheaper.
Vacationers seem resigned to gas prices and confident that, as in previous years, prices will drop after the traditional start of the summer driving season.
At a Citgo station along the Florida Turnpike in Miami, regular gas was selling for $3.21 a gallon.
At one pump, 29-year-old David Cook of Hollywood, Fla., and his younger brother, Danny, made a quick stop for gas and snacks before the four-hour drive to Key West to meet friends for a bachelor party weekend.
"Sure, the price of gas here is a little high, but compared to other cities I've heard, it's not that bad," David Cook said as he filled up his vehicle .
