Holiday and family, near and far

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Larry Lang is a retired teacher, who is a happy guy this holiday weekend, especially since he's not shelling out a lot of money.

"My plans for the Fourth of July is to be with my family, do some fireworks, eat some good food," he told 24 Hour News 8. "I'm sort of making a point not to travel because economic wise, and because of the traffic too."

About 1 million Michigan residents will travel this weekend, about 931,000 by car. That's down about 3.5% from last year. But 37,000 will fly, an uptick of 7.5%.

The cost of airfare is down about 16%, and hotel rates are down about 12%.

AAA said gas prices are averaging a little less than $2.75 per gallon, about $1.42 less than last year at this time.

You can count Cathy Cardosa of Grand Rapids, her husband and three girls to be on the road this year. "We go up and see the family on Hess Lake."

Though the cheaper gas is a bonus for travellers, many West Michigan families are going nowhere at all. For thousands, they'll travel downtown for the free fireworks show -- tents are already in place, port-o-potties are set up, and the Grand Rapids police expect bigger crowds this year.

For most, though, Lang summed up the whole holiday.

"Enjoy the festivities that are here, but also enjoy the fact I'm going to be with my family the most."