LAKE COUNTY — Tourist traffic was evident Friday as roadways jammed and cars on South Main Street honked at vehicles butted out onto the street as drivers waited to pump gas at USA Gasoline in Lakeport.
“This is the cheapest I could find,” Lakeport resident Jon Zastrow said, who drove south along Main Street until finding the $4.09 per-gallon station.
Out-of-towner Sylvia McVay of Petaluma had an “ulterior motive” for visiting the county for Memorial Day weekend. “My mom lives here,” she said.
Otherwise, she”d think twice about leaving her hometown for a vacation. She said she”s driving less because of the high gas prices. “I didn”t bring my boat this year ? because it”s too expensive,” McVay said.
About 4.66 million people are expected to travel during the Memorial Day weekend across the state, a decline of .1 percent from a year ago ? that”s because gas have jumped 65 cents a gallon over the past year to a Friday average of $3.88 a gallon nationally, according to AAA.
Rising gas prices show no signs of stopping. In some cases, area prices rose 15 cents from Monday to Friday to highs of $4.15 per gallon at several Lake County stations.
The Chevron across from USA Gasoline had a steady stream of traffic on Friday, and sold gas for $4.15 per gallon.
According to the Oil Price Information Service, this week saw a new record price of more than $135 per barrel of oil.
A projected 3.4 million people will drive and 710,000 are expected to fly this weekend across the state, according to AAA.
Contact Elizabeth Wilson at ewilson@record-bee.com
