Despite the economic crisis, tomorrow promises to be the biggest travel day of the year in the United States. By car and by air, we go home, wherever that is, to be with our families. The popular idea of travel is signified by palm trees and exotic shores; but by far, the biggest reason Americans travel is to be with families. More than 80 percent of leisure travel in the U.S. consists of car trips to relatives’ homes, according to multiple surveys.

My trips home usually consist of a seven-hour drive to Lincoln, Neb., to visit my mother and sisters, followed by a two-hour drive to the tiny town of Dannebrog, Neb., to visit my grandmother, father and stepmother. That means, like a lot of Americans, I usually get two Thanksgivings. This year, I have a new grand nephew to greet (born yesterday afternoon), along with a lot of other things to be grateful for. Where are you going this Thanksgiving, and what are you grateful for?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 at 11:55 am and is filed under Thanksgiving, family, road trips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.