This past week, Q-line asked: With the economy sagging and fuel prices rising to all-time highs, vacations are a luxury many can’t afford to take these days. Do you plan to travel this summer?
“I’M GOING TO STAY HOME AND WORK and do stuff with my family and see friends.”
“NO, I WILL ABSOLUTELY NOT BETRAVELING this summer. Gasoline is way too high. Airlines are a mess and getting way too expensive. There are crowds everywhere. Rest, peace and quiet at home for me.”
“THIS SUMMER, I WILL VACATION IN A vacation spot known all over the world: Santa Monica, where I live. The entire coastline of California is a wonderful, favored tourist destination for residents of every country of the world. California has it all, folks.”
“IF I ACTUALLY WAS GOING TO GO ON vacation, I’d have to drive, because the train service is lousy and flying is insane these days. It’s too dangerous and the air-lines treat you like cattle.”
“I AM GOING ON A VACATION! I’M GOING to drive around 4,000 miles, about four weeks, 150 gallons. I’ll tell you this, at $4.60 a gallon, it’s a lot of money. But next year, this will seem like the good old days. This could be the last great American road trip.”
“MY TRAVELING THIS SUMMER WILL BE mostly to the gas station. First I’ll fill up, then I’ll go have a high end dinner at Campo’s or Carl’s Junior, then back to the gas station and do the same. Most trips will encompass getting some gas because I can now only afford two gallons at a time. The days of living high on the hog and having fun on your vacation for the middle class person are over.”
“I PLAN TO TRAVEL THIS SUMMER TO MY bank. I will take out a loan for a tank of gas. Then I will go to my pawn shop to get another tank of gas to get home. Other than that and doing my daily routine, I’m just praying to God for an answer. I don’t know how you travel anymore.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 21, 2008. Read the original PDF.