Holiday travel expected to soar

Ah, the joys of the open road: new faces, new places, scenic vistas and wind in your hair, the freedom to roam.

Yes, let’s head thisaway, or thataway or maybe any whichaway — just as long as we’re moving, going somewhere: “Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me,” as Jack Kerouac described it in “On the Road.”

“‘Sal, we gotta go and never stop going, ‘til we get there.’ ‘Where we going, man?’ ‘I don’t know, but we gotta go.’”

And so we will — nearly 50 million of us according to AAA’s Thanksgiving travel forecast, spending at least a part of our holiday on America’s highways. That’s an increase of 2.5 million or nearly 5 percent compared to a year ago, and the highest level since 2005.

Another 25 million will travel by air this week, according to the Transportation Security Administration. The agency expects Sunday to be among its top 10 busiest days ever.

“Consumers have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season: higher wages, more disposable income and rising levels of household wealth,” said Bill Sutherland, AAA Travel senior vice president, in a news release. “This is translating into more travelers kicking off the holiday season with a Thanksgiving getaway, building on a positive year for the travel industry.”

College football fans have an added incentive to hit the road in Washington this week: The annual Apple Cup contest between Washington State University and the University of Washington takes place in Pullman Friday evening.

Watch out, though. The Washington State Patrol plans to ramp up patrols for the holiday, checking to see who’s being naughty or nice.

Whether you’re in a car or a plane, Wednesday and Sunday are expected to be the heaviest travel days. Given the congestion, AAA estimates it could take as much as four times longer than normal to reach a destination, particularly for those traveling in or through major metropolitan areas.

Road warriors should see a bit of a break at the fuel pumps: Nationally, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline has dropped about 25 cents in the past month, to $2.64, according to gasbuddy.com.

The decline hasn’t been as steep in the Pacific Northwest, though, which ranks as the most expensive region in the United States. The average price in Washington last week was $3.43 per gallon, according to gasbuddy.com. That ranked third in the nation, behind Hawaii and California. Idaho came in as the seventh most-expensive state, with an average price of $3.02 per gallon — and prices in north central Idaho were about 20 cents higher than that.

The regional weather should cooperate early in the week, before the rain and/or snow arrives for the weekend.

The National Weather Service forecast calls for dry, partly sunny conditions in eastern Washington and north central Idaho through Wednesday, with daytime temperatures in the upper 30s to mid 40s. Areas west of the Cascades could see wetter conditions, beginning late Tuesday. That storm front will gradually move across the state; the chance of precipitation in southeastern Washington and north central Idaho will climb to 40 percent by Thursday and remain there through the weekend.

Wherever they’re headed this week, hopefully travelers will retain Kerouac’s sense of excitement and avoid the travails of John Steinbeck’s characters in “The Grapes of Wrath”:

“The people in flight streamed out on (U.S. Highway) 66, sometimes in a single car, sometimes a little caravan. All day they rolled slowly along the road, and at night they stopped near water. In the day ancient leaky radiators sent up columns of steam, loose connecting rods hammered and pounded. And the men driving the trucks and the overloaded cars listened apprehensively. How far between towns? If something breaks — well, if something breaks we camp right here while Jim walks to town and gets a part and walks back and — how much food we got?”

Ah, yes, the joys of the open road.

Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.