Despite the current economic state and higher unemployment rates nationwide, many people were expected to travel during the Labor Day holiday weekend.
AAA Carolinas estimated that more than half a million people in South Carolina would hit the roads, but national AAA officials also said that overall travel would be down by about 13 percent this year, compared to last.
Many travelers said they still wanted to take advantage of that last trip of the summer season, and would simply stay closer to home.
Because of the decrease in people on the roads, there were few travel headaches for vacationers.
"It was pretty much open the whole way, coming back so far, it hasn't been bad at all, no traffic jams, not caught in a bunch of cars, it's just been good," said Glenda Darling, who was traveling back to her home in North Carolina.
What the decrease in travelers on the roads meant though, is that fewer people were reaching into their pockets or bank accounts to fund the last vacation of the summer.
"I don't see as many people on the road this holiday as normally on Labor Day, but I think it's hurting...hurting people's travel plans," said vacationer Alan Smith who was traveling to North Carolina.
AAA predicted that fewer people would be on the roads this year due to various factors, including the economy and exactly when Labor Day falls on the calendar.
The agency predicted some six million fewer people on the roads nationwide, but for those who were determined to take the final trip of the summer season, there were creative ways to save some cash including riding motorcycles, taking advantage of South Carolina's cheaper gas prices, or simply by planning ahead and saving money.
For some families, even a worsened economy couldn't keep them off the roads.
Many simply decided to take a Labor Day trip closer to home to cut costs.
"We wanted to get away just for a little last vacation before we get back into the routine of you know regular...regular life," said Smith.
"Obviously people are getting out there, they are traveling to see family or wherever they need to get to," said traveler Mike Leandre.
"Pretty much it's because we stayed home all summer, like we said, the economy's pretty much kind of bad, we've spent a lot of time at home and we just really needed a break," Darling said.
AAA says last year, 45.1 million Americans traveled during the Labor Day holiday weekend, the most that have traveled during that time frame in the entire decade.
For more information on AAA's Labor Day travel forecast, visit:
http://www.aaanewsroom.net/Main/Default.asp?CategoryID=8&ArticleID=705
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