AAA estimates nearly 49 Million people likely traveled by car this holiday weekend.

And, Sunday, is right up there with one of the busiest travel days as everyone heads home.

We caught up with a few travelers at the “Missouri Welcome Center.”

“Today we are celebrating our 26th marriage anniversary and this is the first time on the road. We enjoyed it this year because we could come out because in 2019-20 we were at home not doing any travel. I didn’t think the travel was that bad either on the return.” said the Kumar Family. “I feel like it’s nice driving back to school instead of flying so you can spend more time with friends and family.”

Doing great, we’re driving back from Houston actually, to Missouri, up to Columbia yeah, yeah we’re right in Missouri.” said the Herbert Family. “We just crossed over into Missouri that’s right, we’re on our way to Columbia. Yeah, there was definitely more traffic, I would say, this year than in previous years, it seems like more people are out on the roads to be sure. The restaurants were a lot more crowded,”

“We had a great time while we were down there. My two granddaughters are going home with us and we get to St. Louis and then we’re gonna go on to Chicago
You know it’s really not been too bad but it is a lot heavier this year than the last two years, gas prices are a lot higher.” said Jack Hembree.

“We did until the COVID outbreak. This is the first time in three years, so gas prices are much higher but other than that it’s pretty much the same,” said Ed Simmons. “After staying for four days I was ready to come home.”

What are some tips for a long road trip?

“Know your stops, don’t push yourself. You feel sleepy, go to sleep, you know, don’t push too much because you might wake up in a rolled over the vehicle, so…” said Greg Icenogle “There’s definitely an anticipation to get there, but for whatever reason, it’s always faster just getting home, and I don’t know why, but it just doesn’t seem like it takes as long to get home as it does there.”