CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Memorial Day travel period closes out Monday as millions of people get on the road or take to the skies.
From May 27 through May 31, AAA predicted more than 37 million Americans would travel 50 miles or more from home, with 2.5 million of those expected to fly.
Memorial Day weekend marked the first major holiday weekend in North Carolina since states leaders lifted COVID-19 capacity and social distancing restrictions.
“It’s good to feel now like things are really easing up,” said Greg Fitzgerald, who visited the Carolinas over the weekend. “It feels like things are on the up and up and getting better, and I sure hope that lasts cause it’s nice to be able to see people again.”
Brandon and Rachel Engle flew to Charlotte from Lancaster, Pennsylvania for the weekend to visit friends and see the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
“It was fun. We love it,” said Rachel. “We’ve been here a few times before, but this was my first NASCAR race so that was a lot of fun to watch, and we had a good time.”
The Engles said it felt different to be back out among so many people, and they’re still getting used to not wearing masks in many circumstances.
“We’ve vaccinated so we feel better about being out,” said Rachel, “and the weather was nice so we were outside a lot, so it was cool to be around people again.”
Contact Kendall Morris at kmorris2@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.