Are high gas prices changing your summer travel plans?

[AlumniClub]

Is pain at the pump effecting your usual summer activities? Share your thoughts in this poll.

[pk]

My dream was to take my younger kids back out west by driving and showing them everything on the way. We did this with my older children by pulling a camper and doing a 5,000 mile wonderful trip.

I really hoped last year we could do it but we stayed closer to home by renting a house in Upper Michigan. I truly hoped we could go this year before the kids became any older (13 &15). But with the gas prices soaring higher each summer it looks as if it is a dream that may not happen for a long time if ever. Days of long road trips are fading away.

[lyndonlegend]

I am not doing as much as usual. Needing to cut back on alot of recreational cycle riding and staying home more.

[MrKhay]

I sorta wish I could dump gallons and gallons of fuel into one of those hifalutin' motor homes. Vacationing across the country can be fun in one of those beauties.

[Twoaday]

I think the bigger question is will this change how people live? Are people considering downsizing and living closer to work? Have you tried mass transit or biking to work to save money? I believe we will see more and more people considering making these changes as gas prices continue to rise.

[Drmboteannie]

Perhaps when folks were trying to gain approval for developing vehicles that ran on cooking oil, corn, etc., the Government should have payed attention? Many of these Senators and Congressmen, let's not forget the President himself, have stock in oil; it was not in their best investment interest to consider those vehicles that ran on alternative fuels.....most were actually DESTROYED.

I live in Northeastern Wisconsin where many people from lower Wisconsin come on the weekends and vacation. It's where the rivers are wild and natural wildlife abound. I like to drive around, down old logging trails and dirt roads to view wildlife....stopping at any water's edge to look for tracks. Many of these areas are only 10-30 miles from my house and yet I must each time I want to go consider the cost in terms of fuel. Even living in this beautiful area there is consideration of gas and it's price which parallels the concern of city folks wishing to travel up here to "play".

It has and will continue to affect all aspects of my summer fun......in the winter, travelling to the cross country ski trails in the Nicolet becomes a consideration as well. I see this issue of oil and it's cost becomming a HUGE issue this winter whereby folks will be forced into "Heat or Eat" lifestyle. I see the Government having to "step in", much like this recent "rebate" to stimulate the economy to help people heat their homes. This rebate check issued to taxpayers to "spend" is a crystal clear error in judgement by our Government since they will be forced to shell out more money to those who cannot stay warm this winter. "Fix it till it's broke" is the US Government's "mantra".

My condolences to all this fall and winter as you struggle to pay for gas and food.

[j10asen]

Originally Posted by MrKhay

I sorta wish I could dump gallons and gallons of fuel into one of those hifalutin' motor homes. Vacationing across the country can be fun in one of those beauties.

Hey Mr Khay
Have you seen any of them cool 5th wheels?
The have slide outs in every direction and get as large as small cabins and when you get there you have a truck to travel to see local sites without bringing the whole shebang with you.
5th wheelers Rock!!!!! but alas Gas is toooooooooooooooo expensive on my pathetically paltry paycheck.

[StriKKer]

I was, and still am, fed up with the high price of gas, but I can't see letting that keep me home all summer. So I thought long and hard and could only figure one way around it... So I went to my wife and said, "Honey, I know gas prices will kill us this summer if we don't do something. I've thought about it, and as the 'head of the house' I feel I should be the one to make the sacrifice. So I am willing to give up driving the car this summer... and get a motorcycle!". (Ha ha) I never imagined in a million years that it would work, but after we crunched the numbers, she was convinced. Now I ride the bike EVERYWHERE (rain or shine), getting 45-50 mpg! It's not WHERE you go... It's HOW you get there!!

[pk]

So I went to my wife and said, "Honey, I know gas prices will kill us this summer if we don't do something. I've thought about it, and as the 'head of the house' I feel I should be the one to make the sacrifice. So I am willing to give up driving the car this summer... and get a motorcycle!". (Ha ha) I never imagined in a million years that it would work, but after we crunched the numbers, she was convinced. Now I ride the bike EVERYWHERE (rain or shine),

That wouldn't work around here. I have had to many dear friends/family die or get seriously hurt from accidents.

One close friend always rode. His bike was just part of who he was. He was going down the road when a car hit into him throwing him from his bike and taking his life. They said if he was in a car it would have been a mere fender bender accident. But he had no protection from the car, or the road that met him when he fell since he was on a bike.

Another friend of mine was going through some 'S' curves when a car coming the other way side swiped him when taking the turn to fast and losing control. His leg landed in a corn field and the rest of him in the other direction. His life was saved, but not the leg. He will never ride again. He wished he didn't that day.

A close cousin of mine went to Hawaii from Alaska where he was living at the time for a business trip. He decided to rent a motorcycle and go for a ride. A pothole in a curve decided it was the last ride he would ever take. He died that day. He had a wonderful life and left many of us behind that loved him. He had not been on a bike for years. Had he stayed off...well no one knows, but in a car hitting a pothole it would not have been a problem.

Two people that meant a lot to me was lost. One had his life altered forever.

And yes, accidents happen all the time in life. Car accidents, etc. etc....but when riding on a motorcycle one just knows, you take on a car, or even a pothole in the road, you have no protection around you and you are going to get hurt.

I use to ride. I use to even have my own bike for awhile. I know the good feeling of freedom with the wind. But I also know that my family means more to me then the ride, or the saving of the gas. They need me to be here for them and leaving the bike behind to make sure I added that safety for them means more. Especially after seeing my friends die or get hurt.

Just my thoughts.

pk