It's almost the 4th of July and this year, many people are hitting the road.
With travel restrictions lifting but social distancing recommended, 97% of summer trips are road trips, according to AAA. That's up from an average of 87% over the last five years.
Many people are turning to RV camping this Independence Day weekend. The Paso Robles RV Ranch is sold out and the phones are still ringing.
"We have a full park," said Tina Rizzo, Paso Robles RV Ranch Manager. "We've made sure everybody understands that we're doing the social distancing and the pool will be open."
For the second weekend in a row, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are booked at the Paso Robles RV Ranch.
"People are really getting back into camping," Rizzo said. "We've had a few cancellations because of people that are afraid of the COVID-19 but we've filled those in also, so we've got 32 spots that are full."
She said some campers booked their spot six months in advance for the holiday weekend.
Others got lucky.
"We made our reservations here just about two weeks ago and there were some vacancies," said Casey Hansen of Sanger.
According to AAA, the majority of summer travelers are making plans 48 hours to seven days before departure.
"We figured that we'd probably have a better time camping than sitting at home since everything has been canceled," Hansen explained.
It's also an opportunity to enjoy the simpler things in life.
"And seeing them come back together as a family, watching the children ride their bikes is just an amazing gift. To watch them giggle, to watch them have fun," Rizzo said.
"We're grateful we can camp because it's one of the few things that we can still do," Hansen added.
This summer, AAA expects Americans to take 700 million trips based on reopenings. That number is down nearly 15% compared to last July through September.
