Southern Californians hitting the road this holiday weekend, even with high gas prices
Despite high gas prices, people all over Southern California have packed their cars and heading out for Memorial Day weekend.
"I'm putting almost $80 bucks of gas just to fill up a tank," Alex Avalos told CBSLA.
Avalos and his family of four started their Memorial Day weekend with a day trip in their car.
"I'm coming from Oxnard and I'm going to the fair, right here in Pacoima," he added.
Triple A said about 3 million Southern Californians will be traveling this holiday weekend, with an estimated 2.6 million of them in a car. That's up by about 5% compared to last year.
"I'm going back to Palm Springs," said driver Mario Deloera. "That's my hometown."
Current gas prices are averaging about $6 per gallon, about $1.70 higher than this time last year in Southern California.
Deloera said despite the inflation, plenty of people he knows are traveling and spending money after being cooped up because of pandemic restrictions.
"It's definitely an issue. We talk about it, complain about it, but it's still not stop us from traveling," he said.
Instead of hitting the road this weekend, David Markham was getting groceries for a barbecue he plans to host this weekend.
"I have hamburger stuff, it's going to go with tacos," he told CBSLA.
Asked if his plans to stay put for the holiday weekend were financial, Markham said yes.
"It is. It is, especially with gas," Markham said. "Usually, I like to go to Vegas maybe on Memorial Day, but not this year."
As for the Avalos family, they're getting back in the care and going home to Oxnard after spending the day at the fair.
"I've actually been picking up extra shifts just for the weekend, just to spend it," Avalos said.
According to AAA, the top destinations for drivers from Southern California are Mexico, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, San Diego and Santa Barbara.
