08:05 AM PDT on Friday, June 30, 2006

By KRISTINA BRENNEMAN, kgw.com Staff

A record number of travelers are getting out of town this Fourth of July holiday weekend, despite high gas prices and traffic jams.

CNN

Their main destination: the beach and small towns, said AAA of Oregon and Idaho.

"I think people are taking off for the holiday earlier than I expected," said AAA Oregon Public Affairs Director Elliott Eki. "The highways are busy."

And forecasters say the nation's birthday should be warm and sunny, with 80-degree temperatures predicted through Wednesday for the Portland-Vancouver area.

The travel agency projected that 10.2 million Westerners will travel from home this holiday – second only to Southeast travelers.

Most, or about 8.5 million Westerners, will travel by car. Another 1.7 million will take a plane -- the most of any region in the U.S., Eki said.

It will cost a little bit less to fill up the tank, an average of $2.97 per gallon, down 14 cents from a month ago but about 67 cents higher than a year ago, Eki said. Record travel likely will increase fuel demand, so pump prices will likely increase during the holiday weekend, he said.

Also, airfares are up 7 percent and car rental rates increased 5 percent in the past year.

Travelers heading to Arizona, where wildfires have raged near Sedona and other cities, and other regional troublespots like the flooded Northeast, should stay abreast of news and weather reports, Eki said. 

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the nation’s interstate highway, and vacation travel has changed dramatically since then, he said.

“Americans will stay in roadside hotels and motels and dine in restaurants that are direct by-products of our national highway system,” said Eki.

Today’s motorists will pay a national average $2.86 for a gallon of gas compared to 22 cents a gallon in 1956.   Average hotel rates are about $96 a night compared to $8.86 in 1956.   Back then, Niagara Falls was the top vacation destination in the U.S.; today it's Orlando, Florida.