"It feels normal again": Californians hit the road, pack stores ahead of Thanksgiving
SACRAMENTO — Car after car, people at Taylor's Market were putting the final touches on their Thanksgiving feast.
"It feels normal again," said David Hunter, the general manager. "It feels really good."
The excitement is noticeable as there is a hunger to get back to what was once familiar.
"People want to see their family again and do it the way they used to do it and get back to our traditions. We lost a lot of traditions over the last couple of years," Hunter said.
But people are certainly making up for lost time.
"We're having family coming from out of town this year. I think it will be the first time in a while that we've had a masked-free Thanksgiving," said Chris Beale, a shopper.
All those visits to Thanksgiving meals mean more people are traveling. AAA projects more than 7.3 million Californians will be on the move.
While air travel is expected to spike, people are mostly driving. And the California Highway Patrol is implementing its maximum enforcement period beginning Wednesday night.
"I'm leaving tomorrow and I'm going to stay the night there, so I don't worry about drunk drivers or anything like that," said Nicolaus Campbell on Wednesday as he filled his tank at the Sacramento 49er Travel Plaza along Interstate 80.
While officers will be looking for drivers under the influence, the CHP's Valley Division said speed is a very common collision factor in crashes.
Trekking through bumper-to-bumper traffic and eyebrow-raising gas and grocery prices pales in comparison to what is really important to travelers.
"It'll be nice to spend some time with everybody and not have to worry about spreading this disease that's been going around," said motorist Dominic Barile.
