A record number of travelers are not letting higher gas or airfare prices stop them from enjoying the unofficial start of summer this weekend.
AAA expects 45 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, spanning Thursday through Monday.
While most of those travelers will hit the road, 3.6 million of them are flying.
At Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, travelers told WTOP why nothing was going to stop them from celebrating this weekend.
“I’m here to celebrate my brother’s 80th birthday,” Marcel said. “He has no idea and it’s been a secret for two months.”
Marcel, who arrived from Atlanta, will be joining more than 30 family members in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, for the surprise party, and he didn’t come empty‑handed.
“I got him a Gucci gold watch,” he said with a laugh. “Yeah, he’s my brother.”
While Marcel is just beginning his fun‑filled weekend, Terry and Joseph are heading back to Stockton, California, after celebrating their 43rd wedding anniversary.
“We made a trip to see the Museum of the Bible and to see a lot of the other historic places, museums, monuments,” Terry said. “It’s been a very meaningful trip for us.”
Joseph said his favorite moment was the 45 minutes they spent atop the Washington Monument — and he was proud they averaged walking 8 miles a day thanks to all their sightseeing.
Jana Cervantes from Missouri was also wrapping up her trip. She admitted she felt nervous when she first arrived, but that changed once they figured out the Metro transit system.
“I really enjoyed it, everybody was super friendly to us,” she said.
Cervantes was in D.C. with her husband thanks to their daughter, Maygan.
“I just graduated high school and I’ve always wanted to come to Washington, D.C.,” Maygan said. “I really liked it. I think I could actually live here.”
Maygan, who said she loved going on the Lincoln assassination tour, plans to study nursing.
But while many people see this weekend as the start of summer, Jana said her favorite part of the trip highlighted the real meaning behind Memorial Day.
“Arlington National Cemetery,” Cervantes said. “I work with a lot of veterans. I’m in an orthotic and prosthetic company. It was just an honor to be there.”