Despite Gas Prices, This Getaway Is a Go

Four years ago, it cost about $35 to fill up the minivan. Then it was around $42. Last year, it was $60. This holiday weekend, it will cost almost $65.

And yet a record number of Washington area drivers will take to the highways this Memorial Day weekend -- a sign of either prosperity or defiance, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

"People will penny-pinch elsewhere," said John Townsend, spokesman for the organization, which estimates that 518,000 Washington area residents will travel more than 50 miles this holiday weekend, an increase of nearly 2 percent from last year.

"Consumers are in a defiant mood and are stubbornly clinging to the habits of the past," Townsend said.

If it seems that gas prices spike just before Memorial Day, it is because they often do. In three of the past four years, prices have gone up considerably in the weeks before Memorial Day. Industry analysts blame a rise in demand in advance of the summer driving season.

In 2004, the average cost of a gallon of regular gas in the Washington region shot up 28 cents between the middle of April and Memorial Day. Last year, the increase was 19 cents and this year, 24 cents.

The average price in the Washington region was $3.14 yesterday, nearly double the $1.64 it cost in 2004. Nationwide, the average price was $3.23, up 38 cents from last month.

Around the pumps, few drivers think the uptick in price is caused entirely by neutral market forces.

"The oil companies look at us with a straight face and say it's supply and demand and the consequences of terrorism," said Jay Davenport of the District. "And each time the prices come down, they don't come down quite as low as before."

Prices are high because Americans are driving more and the country's gasoline production is limited by a lack of refining capacity, according to the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group.

A survey by the Travel Industry Association found that vacation drivers will alter their plans if gasoline prices continue to climb. How high do they have to go? A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll found that gas would have to reach $4.38 a gallon before Americans would significantly cut back on their driving.

At $3.15 for a gallon of regular, District resident Iyon Johnson said she has hit her limit. Johnson said she and her two children will forgo the annual Memorial Day weekend trip to visit family in West Virginia. Spending more than $100 in gas for a quick getaway is just too much, she said.

"We'll just try to find a cookout," Johnson said.

Beach-based businesses report that high gas prices are beginning to change habits.

Kari Styron, an agent at Ocracoke Island Realty in North Carolina's Outer Banks, said fewer renters are driving there from far away this year. "More folks are closer by from North Carolina, so they don't have to drive so far," she said.

And Sherry Bezold, a sales and rental agent for Condo Realty Inc. in Ocean City, said business has slowed. "By this time four years ago, we were booked up by March," Bezold said, but this year, there are plenty of rentals left. "We definitely blame it on the gas prices," she said.

But that doesn't mean drivers are going cruise traffic-free over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

The Maryland Transportation Authority expects more than 175,000 vehicles to pass through Bay Bridge toll booths this weekend, an increase of 3 percent from last year. The authority said the best times to beat traffic are before noon and after 10 p.m. today and before 7 a.m. and after 5 p.m. tomorrow.

Escaping by air will also be challenging, especially if parking at Reagan National Airport is part of the plan. Airport officials expect parking lots to be full and strongly urge travelers to arrive by Metro or taxi.

About 60,000 Washingtonians -- or 12 percent of all area holiday travelers -- are expected to fly, according to AAA, which drew its local numbers from a nationwide survey of 1,500 people.

A reminder to air travelers: All liquids, gels and aerosols in carry-on bags must be in three-ounce or smaller containers and must be placed in a single, quart-size, zip-top, clear-plastic bag.

Competition has cut the price of airline tickets about 5 percent from last year, AAA reported. Car rentals will also be less expensive, although customers can expect to pay more for gas, AAA said.

Amtrak still has seats for holiday weekend travel, especially during off hours, according to railroad officials. Unlike Thanksgiving, the railroad's busiest holiday, there is little business travel during Memorial Day weekend, freeing seats for vacationers.

Across the region, transportation agencies are planning to curtail highway work -- including major construction projects such as the Springfield interchange and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge -- to speed traffic.