Update: Many Thanksgiving travelers on their way / Photo
4:23 PM Wed, Nov 26, 2008 | Permalink
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Luggage all around, a doll tucked into one of the bags, each kid found a way to keep busy until the train arrived. Destination: New York. Originally, the Mansfield, Mass., family of five planned to drive into the city, but high fuel prices -- and the emotional scars inflicted by previous car breakdowns -- drove them to Amtrak: the ride takes roughly the same time while bypassing the traffic jams. "Plus now we get to goof off on the way down," said the family's patriarch, Tom. The goofing off, however, would have to wait. First comes Scrabble. They plan to be in New York through Sunday, with their in-laws joining them from the Cape. Why New York? "We are going to be in town for the Thanksgiving parade," said Tom Griffin. "We've been there before, (but) the last time . . . it rained. It was terrible," he said. Although they'll miss this year's tree lighting ceremony -- scheduled for Dec. 3, -- their to-do list is sizable and all-inclusive: There is some ice-skating and walking on Central Park, a visit to Trinity Church, Rockefeller Center (the tree is up already), Times Square, the American Girl Store on Fifth Avenue, and, of course, Hershey's Times Square store. The Griffins are among the many expected to hit the road (add rail, air, and perhaps even water) today, on what is one of the heaviest travel days of the year. Just consider the numbers. AAA is forecasting some 41 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home Thanksgiving weekend. While impressive, that number is actually down 1.4 percent, or 600,000 travelers, from last year, according to estimates by AAA Southern New England. It's the first projected decline in Thanksgiving travel since 2002. Thanksgiving would be the fourth travel holiday in a row -- after Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day -- with a year-to-year decline in the number of travelers, according to AAA. "The overall state of the economy continues to present real challenges for some Americans looking to travel this Thanksgiving," said Lloyd P. Albert, AAA Southern New England's senior vice president of public and government affairs and new business development. "However, the desire to spend time with family, combined with significantly lower gasoline prices than earlier this year, will provide a strong impetus for many Americans to travel this holiday season." According to AAA, more than 33.2 million Americans (81 percent of all holiday travelers) expect to travel by automobile, a 1.2 percent decrease from the 33.6 million who drove a year ago. That may be partly due to the high fuel prices earlier in the year. Gas prices in Rhode Island, however, have dropped for nine straight weeks, falling to an average of $2.109 yesterday, according to AAA. The price peaked above the $4 mark over the summer. A year ago, the average price here was $3.079. Car rental prices have also climbed four percent, according to AAA. Nearly 4.54 million (11 percent of all holiday travelers) plan to travel by airplane, a 7.2 percent decrease from the 4.89 million that flew last year. Airfares have increased by eight percent, according to AAA. Another 3.26 million (eight percent) plan to travel by train, bus or other mode of transportation, up 5.8 percent over last year. Amtrak is projecting some 128,000 people riding their system today, a 65 percent increase from a normal Wednesday, said Cliff Cole, a spokesman for the rail company. "Each year we find that the week of Nov. 23 through Dec. 1 is the busiest week of the year," he said. Given the expected volume, Cole said, Amtrak had added additional trains on its Northeast Corridor, which serves Rhode Island. 
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