AAA Chicago

It's been almost two years now since Illinoisans and the rest of the country looked at Memorial Day Weekend as an opportunity to take a long weekend trip, but with COVID-19 numbers going the right way for the most part, plans to hit the road are being made.

With recreational marijuana sales in Illinois setting new sales records almost every month since last year's legalization, AAA Chicago is out with a warning about driving stoned.

I've noticed that there a couple different types of people when it comes to filling up the car with gas. You've got the folks who pull into the nearest gas station, shove their credit card into the pump, fill up their tank, and move on.

In the interests of full disclosure, I must point out that my son and I took a 3,600 mile road trip a couple of weeks back, so it's safe to say that I don't fall into that majority feeling.

In spite of (or maybe because of) warnings galore to skip the traveling over Thanksgiving, lots of Illinoisans still hit the road. Christmastime may be a different story.

The line of cars heading over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house will be a lot shorter this Thanksgiving, according to AAA Chicago.

It appears that all the COVID-19 lockdowns happening around the globe have had a side benefit to consumers. Crude oil prices have dropped to their lowest numbers since June.

The last time the national gas price average leading into the holiday was under $2/gallon was 17 years ago in 2003. That year motorists paid, on average, $1.50 to fill-up.

One of the few upsides to this whole COVID-19 mess has been lower prices at the pump week after week. Now, gas prices are on the uptick.

According to AAA-Chicago, the nationwide average for a gallon of gasoline reached $1.80 on Wednesday.