Boston Herald:

It looks like a bummer kickoff to summer, with gas prices still near record highs and a persistent economic downturn keeping weary motorists at home over the Memorial Day weekend.
“We’ll probably do a family cookout in the neighborhood,” Southie resident Mary Pena said of her plans for Memorial Day weekend.
Brian Cawley of South Boston, who recently lost his job as a bar manager, said he plans to stay in the city over the holiday with his family. “We’ll go to the Boston Common, somewhere downtown or head to (Castle) island,” he said.
While gas prices fell to an average of $3.92 per gallon yesterday, down 6 cents from a week ago, automobile travel from New England is projected to fall by about 1 percent over Memorial Day compared to 2010, according to AAA. Gas prices are $1.07 higher than a year ago.
“People are tapped out and there’s no question gasoline prices have impacted people’s travel plans,” said Mary Maguire, a AAA Southern New England spokeswoman. “Unemployment remains relatively high and many homeowners are upside down on their mortgages, so they’ve cut back.”
Pat Moscaritolo, CEO of the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, said hotel bookings in Boston and Cambridge are up 2.5 percent compared to last year, driven by discounted air fares and hotel value packs that include free parking and passes to the New England Aquarium, Duck Tours and the Museum of Fine Arts.
Still, while this year’s numbers look better, Moscaritolo said the industry remains down from a few years ago. “We’re still behind by about 8 percent compared to where we were at the peak in 2007,” he said.

The rest here.

I was wondering how much people were cutting back as I was in Orlando for a family reunion of sorts over the weekend and pretty angry about spending $100 on gas for the round trip, or $25 per person in the car. Can President Obama’s fantasy high-speed train get me from Miami to Orlando for less than that, even with gas prices as high as they are? Of course not is the answer to my rhetorical question.