As Thanksgiving approaches, a significant number of travelers are expected to take to the highways. According to AAA, approximately 4.3 million residents of Florida are anticipated to drive to their holiday destinations.
ST. MARYS, Ga. — Over four million Floridians are gearing up for a Thanksgiving road trip.
AAA has noted that concerns about flight cancellations, which could be triggered by adverse weather conditions in various regions, might lead more people to choose driving over flying this holiday season.
“It hasn’t been bad,” shared Liz Brager upon her arrival at the Georgia Visitor Information Center on I-95 in St. Marys. “We haven’t faced any significant delays, and the pleasant weather has certainly been beneficial.”
Brager’s journey commenced in Delray Beach, Florida, and she has now reached Georgia. However, she still has quite a distance to cover to reach her son’s home in Washington D.C. for the Thanksgiving festivities.
“Our decision to travel was somewhat spontaneous, and the cost of plane tickets was just too high. Plus, we wanted to have a car available to spend time with our grandchildren once we arrive,” explained Brager.
Brager wasn’t the only one who chose wheels over wings, as AAA expects around 4.3 million Floridians to drive for Thanksgiving, compared to only 300,000 with plane tickets.
While she heads out of the state, AAA is expecting quite a few cars crossing the border into Florida from the other direction, as four of the top five projected domestic destinations are Florida cities.
“There was a lot of traffic on 75,” said Debra while getting out at the rest area to stretch her legs. “We take 75 first, then cut over to 95, but we try to take all kind of backroads.”
Debra always looks forward to getting off I-75 while trekking from Leesburg to Charleston, but not as much as she looks forward to the look on her grandson’s face when she arrives.
“My grandson has already said, ‘What time are you going to be here, Grandma? Are you on the road yet,’” said Debra.
Some good news for the folks who do take to the skies – Jacksonville Aviation Authority CEO Mark VanLoh is relieved the federal shutdown ended just in time for Thanksgiving travel.
That’s after he said 64 flights out of Jacksonville International were impacted by flight reductions during the shutdown.
“It seems like every time they get stuck in Washington, aviation is what solves the problem, because the people couldn’t fly home for Christmas and Thanksgiving, they got a hold of their Congressmen and made this happen,” said VanLoh.
Brager and Debra will stick to the ground this time – with slightly different itineraries planned when they do finally make it.
“My grandson and I are going to put up a Christmas tree and make our own garland,” said Debra.
“The only thing I know that I’m doing is taking my grandson to buy sunglasses,” Brager said.
AAA recommends filling up with gas, checking tire pressure and oil life the night before a trip.
Those tips may seem obvious, but AAA said they had 600,000 roadside assistance calls Thanksgiving week last year with all kinds of dead batteries, flat tires and empty tanks.
