Mahoning Valley residents ready to kick off 3-day Memorial Day weekend

YOUNGSTOWN — High gas prices were among the reasons Jeremy Jewell of Girard and his family stayed home last year for Memorial Day weekend.

“It’s too expensive,” he said.

But this year, Jewell will be taking the family to Pymatuning State Park in Pennsylvania — a 40-minute drive from Jewell’s home. The family plans to “get some charcoal and grill out” at the beach, he said.

Auto club AAA predicts that about 37.2 million motorists will travel at least 50 miles on the nation’s highways for Memorial Day festivities this weekend. That’s a 4.7 percent increase compared with the 35.5 million who traveled last year and the highest travel volume for the holiday weekend since 2005.

“Auto travel continues to be the most-popular mode of travel. More than 88 percent of holiday travelers will be driving and will be seeing lower gas prices in many surrounding areas,” Jim Lehman, president of AAA East Central, said in a statement.

For the complete story, read Friday's Vindicator and Vindy.com