Travelers

AAA warns travelers to beware [ travel tips ] [ top 5 destinations ] By KERRY LYNN FRALEY / Staff Writer photo: RICHARD T. MEAGHER / staff photographer Those heading home for the holidays can expect to deal with record crowds this year, according to the American Automobile Association. AAA expects a record 45.2 million people - 2 percent more than last year - to travel 100 miles or more from home between Dec. 24 and Jan. 3, according to Elizabeth Valuet, spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic's Maryland Division in Towson, Md. The majority, about 35.5 million people, are expected to travel by automobile, with the remaining 9.7 million going by airplane, train or bus, Valuet said.

Before you go: Consult a travel medicine clinic or your doctor as soon as possible before the trip. The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests going four to six weeks before the trip. If vaccinations are needed, this will allow time for the body to build up immunity or allow time if a series of shots are required, says Dr. Ted Sofish with Occupational Health Associates in Chambersburg, Pa. This visit to the doctor also will help you determine what medical items you'll need to take.

Eric Payne was in elementary school when his father taught him and his brother how to hunt small game on their farm near Cearfoss. Payne, now 31, said his father, Art Payne, never imagined the pastime would evolve into a passion that would take his younger son to remote parts of the world in search of record-size animals. He said his father sometimes says that if he would have foreseen how much time hunting would take his sons away from home, he would never have gotten them started.

HAGERSTOWN The number of travelers on area roads is expected to be high this Memorial Day weekend despite an increase in gas prices. In order to conserve, travelers might not drive as far, but they still are expected to drive, according to AAA. The average price of regular gasoline in Hagerstown on Monday was $2.88 - down 3 cents from last month's average, and an increase of 81 cents over last year's average price, according to AAA...

julieg@herald-mail.com Gas isn't as cheap as it was a year ago, when a gallon of regular cost $1.34, but Thanksgiving Day travelers will find it is considerably less than it was just three months ago, according to AAA. That could be why nine out of 10 Thanksgiving Day travelers are expected to drive this holiday weekend, according to AAA. Gas prices in Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia ranged from an average of $1.49 per...

That drive to the beach this summer will cost about twice as much as it did just five years ago. With gasoline prices averaging around $3 per gallon on the East Coast and about $3.25 per gallon in the West, summer travelers are having to make adjustments to pay for the added costs. And some aren't traveling at all. "For people that are not traveling, the No. 1 reason is high gas prices," AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesman Troy Green said. Among those who are traveling, many are choosing to take shorter trips to closer destinations, Green said.

Rotarians of District 7350 are seeking four business and professional people to visit Central America during February and March 1999. The trip is part of the Group Study Exchange Program of The Rotary Foundation. The program's goal is to improve international understanding by enabling people from different countries to learn from each other on a personal level. Through the program, teams of business and professional people are exchanged for four to six week visits. While abroad, team members stay with Rotarians to observe their way of life and study the nation's economics, and social and cultural characteristics.

Tips for holiday travel The American Automobile Association offers the following tips for air travelers dealing with holiday crowds: Travel with photo identification. Reconfirm your flight with the airline 24 to 48 hours prior to departure. Use public transportation or arrange to have someone drive you to the airport to avoid holiday traffic and parking delays. If you must drive to the airport, consider off-airport, park-and-ride arrangements.

kevinc@herald-mail.com An hour before each Maryland Symphony Orchestra MasterWorks series performance, Music Director Elizabeth Schulze strides onto The Maryland Theatre stage to share insights with a smattering of concertgoers eager to deepen their understanding of the concert. In May, Schulze gets to take her show on the road, sort of, to a trio of European cities, each a hotbed of classical music. Presented by the MSO Guild and Richards World Travel in Hagerstown, the Imperial Cities Tour to Budapest, Hungary, Vienna, Austria, and Prague, Czech Republic, will expose up to 47 travelers to the richness of European culture.

erinc@herald-mail.com TRI-STATE - Micah Tinkler did not visit his family in Hagerstown last Christmas or the one before that. But on Wednesday, his mother was waiting for his flight to arrive at Hagerstown Regional Airport. Tinkler's home in Gulfport, Miss., was destroyed when Hurricane Katrina tore through the Gulf Coast this summer. He has been staying in a recreational vehicle near the frame of the home in which he once lived. Tinkler told his family he was coming home this year, in the wake of Katrina, because he needed a "big family hug," his mother, Linda Sappington, said.