ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Another busy holiday weekend is around the corner.

AAA reports more than 72 million Americans traveled for the Fourth of July weekend, and the company is expecting big travel for Labor Day as well.

“I’m sure we’re going to hit rush hour in Buffalo, but luckily, it’s a holiday weekend, so hopefully it won’t be too bad,” David and Judy Herrington said.

The Troy residents are celebrating their 32nd wedding anniversary by hitting the road to California.

“Want to see the national parks, want to see the USA,” David said.

“We’re taking the same exact route that his parents took back in the 70s,” his wife added.

Nothing was going to stop them from their trip, including the price of a gallon of gas.

“We’re doing it. No matter what. We planned for it, we saved for it. So we’re doing it. We did it two years ago when gas prices were high, during some other times,” Judy said.

“The New York state average is $4.26. So the New York state average is about $1.10 more than what we were paying last Labor Day. So drivers are definitely feeling that pain at the pump,” said Elizabeth Carey, AAA’s director of public relations. “However, we’re not seeing a slowdown in travel. What we’re seeing is people saying, ‘we still want to make the most of this last long weekend of summer, so we’re still going to take the trip.’ They’re just paying a little bit more for gasoline.”

The national average for a gallon of gas is $4.14, but New York’s average is sitting closer to $4.30 a gallon. However, AAA says travel numbers are high, between airfare, cruises and road trips, despite high gas prices.

“Well, right here on the Thruway, they’re a lot more expensive,” Jaminett Ortiz said.

“It’s really annoying, but gas is gas. You need it. So you gotta grin and bear it,” Jaidon McBride said.

“It sucks. It always sucks when you have to put more in the pump. It’s less money on trips and travels and holiday costs, and everything else, so, but it is what it is. Got to deal with it, right?” Andrew Wyatt added.

“2022 was the highest on record in New York state. So that being said, we’re still paying high gas prices, you know, $4.26 average for New York. And a lot of drivers are saying, ‘it hurts to fill up at the pump. But we still want to take those trips,’” Carey explained. “They might try to save money in some other areas, like maybe they’ll eat in one night rather than dining out every night on vacation just to stay on budget. But we’re not seeing people canceling any trips because of the high gas prices.”

Last year, AAA says it responded to roughly 14,000 road service calls. So it recommends making sure that your car is road trip ready before you hit the road. Check your tires and battery, for example.

“It’s best to travel in the morning or later at night when there’s less congestion because it’s going to be busy on the weekends, in the afternoon and also in the evening. If you want to fuel up, try to find big-box retailers, grocery store discounts, places like that, Native American properties where they can cut down on the taxes. You’ll save some money there and try to use cruise control if it’s safe to do so. That’ll get you the best gas mileage,” Carey said.

The Herringtons left at 4 a.m. from their home in Troy Friday. They say it’s about the journey, not the destination.

“We’re good at road tripping,” Judy said. “It’s a journey. It’s not a destination. That’s the biggest thing.”