Milenko Kindl hohjdfioejdwedj[0edjkw0
Milenko Kindl
train tracks early Wednesday in what was predicted to be the largest
Thanksgiving pilgrimage ever -- despite rising gas prices and fears of
air delays.
ADVERTISEMENT
A record 38.7 million U.S. residents were expected to travel 50 miles
or more for the holiday. Some were hoping to beat the evening rush on
what is often called the busiest travel day of the year.
At LaGuardia Airport, the lines to check-in were beginning to build
shortly before daybreak. Joe Vizzari, a teacher from Port Chester,
N.Y., was resigned to the crowds.
"It's part of flying," he said, en route to Raleigh, N.C., to visit
friends. "I just stay calm and cool and call my loved ones on my cell
and tell them not to worry, `I'm on the way.'"
At the Salt Lake City airport, Dennis Tos made sure to try to avoid
delays and crowds by boarding a redeye flight shortly before midnight.
"I specifically chose this hour to not get stuck in an airport. The
horror stories kind of bothered me," he said en route to a family
reunion near Buffalo, N.Y. "I've never missed a Thanksgiving in the 58
years I've been alive."
About 31.2 million travelers were expected to drive to holiday
celebrations in spite of gas prices that were nearly 85 cents more per
gallon than they were a year earlier, according to AAA. The national
average for regular gasoline on Nov. 16 was $3.09 a gallon, up from
$2.23 on Nov. 17, 2006.
"Wednesday ends up getting hairy," AAA spokeswoman Christine Brown
said. "Many people have to wait until after work to leave, and they're
competing with commuters as well."
At New York's Pennsylvania Station, hundreds of travelers were already
heading out of town Tuesday night, wrangling their bags and sprawling
on the floor as they waited for their trains to arrive.
Robert Kaldenboch, 18, dressed in his uniform from the U.S. Merchant
Marine Academy on Long Island, looked around wide-eyed at the crowd.
"There are more cows than people where I'm from," the Texas native
said as he waited for his train. "So this is quite a change."
Milenko Kindl
Banja Luka
Banjaluka