SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — After last summer's Fourth of July weekend under lockdown, Southern Californians this year were clearly eager to hit the roadways, railways and airways.
A spokesperson for AAA said that as vaccination rates have increased, so has the demand for travel.
In fact, holiday travel was up 46% this weekend among Southern Californians compared to this time last year, when we were under lockdown, according to AAA, and almost reached pre-pandemic levels: only about 5% less than 2019.
"What a huge difference a year makes," said Doug Shupe of the Auto Club of Southern California. "We saw so much traffic out there on the freeways and at the airports."
Shupe said that, overall, nearly 48 million Americans traveled this Fourth of July weekend.
Among them were 3.3 million Southern Californians, most of whom - 2.8 million - took a road trip.
Roughly 45,000 took a bus, train or similar mode of transportation.
In fact, after Las Vegas, San Diego was the most popular destination for drivers this weekend, according to AAA.
"So even if you stayed in town this holiday weekend, you probably saw a lot more traffic out there at the beaches and at the restaurants, certainly on the roadways," Shupe added.
About 412,000 Southern Californians traveled by air this holiday weekend. Among them was Del Mar resident Dave Theroff
"It was a little unnerving," said Theroff, who had not traveled in two years.
"It was quite a shock," he told News 8. "I feel like I went from zero to 60 in just a matter of seconds, from isolation to being out in the world again."
For other holiday travelers, the experience was not quite as jarring.
"It was pretty smooth, really busy," said San Diegan Amada Manno.
"I travel a lot generally for my job, and so for me, it feels like it's back to what it was pre-pandemic," said Carlsbad resident Monique Apter.
AAA's Shupe pointed out that the increase in travel demand correlates with increasing rates of vaccination.
"People feel more comfortable to get out and travel again, and there was certainly pent-up demand," he told News 8.
That demand is continuing: Shupe said that travel through the rest of this year and into 2022 could possibly break records.
"Because we know the demand for travel is so high, we really recommend that people book early," he added.