Roger and Lola Laster made change for a stranger at the Lookout Valley welcome center Thursday afternoon as the Huntsville, Ala., couple took a break from the road and enjoyed a pair of cold Drumstick cones.
Taking advantage of the three-day Memorial Day weekend, the Lasters were just under two hours into their almost seven-hour drive.
"We're going to Mount Airy [N.C.] to see Andy Griffith's homeplace," Roger said.
By the numbers
* 32.7 million: Number of Americans who will travel at least 50 miles over Memorial Day weekend * 33 million: Number of those travelers who will drive * 2005: Last time so many people traveled on the holiday weekend * $2.66: Average cost of a gallon of gas nationwide * $3.65: Average cost of a gallon of gas nationwide at this time last year * 2010: Last time gas was this cheap on Memorial Day Source: AAA
Weekend forecast
* Today: High 76, Low 55, partly cloudy later * Saturday: High 79, Low 61, sunny early, partly cloudy later * Sunday: High 83, Low 67, partly sunny early, partly cloudy later * Monday: High 84, Low 69, 40 percent chance of showers later Source: National Weather Service
Guests visit the touch tank at the Tennessee Aquarium on Thursday.He works two jobs -- one for the U.S. Postal Service -- and said a rare three-day holiday was too good to pass up.
"It helped us make up our mind," Lola said.
According to AAA data, the Lasters aren't alone in taking advantage of Memorial Day to take a little trip.
The national auto group estimates just over 37 million Americans will travel more than 50 miles from home during the holiday weekend, which serves as the unofficial start of summer. That's a nearly 5 percent increase over last year's Memorial Day travel and the highest the number has been since 2005.
Of the 37.2 million holiday travelers, 33 million will run the roads, according to the study. And a big part of the return to the start of summer road trips are this year's better gas prices.
On Memorial Day last year, national average gas prices hovered around $3.65 a gallon. This year, the average cost of a gallon of fuel going into the holiday is $2.66, and that's after a 25-cent rise over the past 30 days.
But gas stations and snack stops aren't the only places staying busy over this holiday weekend.
Campgrounds and parks also see traffic when summer finally comes.
"It's a big weekend," said Marvin "Stump" Martin, director of East Ridge Parks and Recreation.
East Ridge is home to Camp Jordan, one of the largest recreational facilities in the metro area.
Over Memorial Day weekend, Martin said, the park will host a 48-team baseball tournament, a free concert and the Chattanooga Camp Jordan Gun Show.
"A lot of people are scared to do events on Memorial Day weekend," he said, exactly because it's such a big travel holiday.
But "I've always found that everybody doesn't go to the lake and get their boats out and go to the beach," Martin said. "There are people who want to do other things."
And meanwhile, up in Hixson at the county-owned Chester Frost Park, rangers and staff will have their hands full all weekend with a fully booked facility.
As of Thursday, all 200 or so campsites at the park were taken, park ranger Andy Neufeld said.
On Wednesday, Chester Frost opened a new island area that had been under construction since November.
And "from what I hear, they were busy from the time we opened to the time we closed [Wednesday]," Neufeld said.
But it didn't come as too much of a surprise.
"We're especially busy before or after the holidays," he said.
Contact staff writer Alex Green at agreen@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6480.
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