Illinoisans Are Hitting the Road Memorial Day Weekend

High gas prices, combined with effects of the Great Recession, have tamped down holiday travel to a certain degree over the last few years. However, according to a new report from the American Automobile Association (AAA), more Americans (including more of us from Illinois) are ready to do some travelling this Memorial Day Weekend.

It looks like Memorial Day Weekend 2016 is shaping up to be a very big travel weekend for around 40 million Americans. That's the estimated number of us who'll be packing the car, or heading for the airport (good luck with those long, long TSA lines), according to a new report out from AAA. That is the second-highest Memorial Day travel volume on record and the most since 2005.

From AAA:

In Illinois, 1.9 million people will be traveling for the holiday weekend, which is a 1.1 percent increase from 2015. Of those travelers, 1.7 million will be driving (up 1.3 percent from 2015) and 95,000 will be flying to their destination (a .8 percent increase from 2015). Gas prices across Illinois are on average $2.36, down substantially from $2.78 in 2015.
In Indiana, 820,000 people are expected to travel, which is a two percent increase from 2015. Of those, 750,000 are expected to travel by auto (2.2 percent increase) and about 41,000 by air (1.7 percent increase). In Indiana, gas prices are on average $2.28 per gallon, down from $2.69 this time last year. The average price nationally for gas is $2.24.

About 34 million Americans (89%) will drive to wherever they're going, 2.6 million will fly, and around 1.6 million will cruise, take a train, or hop on a bus (the #1 choice for guys named Gus, according to Paul Simon).

So, where is everybody going this year? AAA says:

Orlando
Myrtle Beach
Washington, D.C.
New York
Miami
San Francisco
Boston
Honolulu
Los Angeles
South Padre Island

And, surprisingly enough, New Milford.

Okay, that's where I'm going, anyway.