Going away for the Fourth?

Nick and Rachel Balestri tied the knot on Memorial Day weekend but couldn’t immediately leave for their honeymoon — too many family commitments until the school year let out.

The Utica newlyweds finally leave next weekend for Hawaii. They’re spending their belated honeymoon on the island of Kauai, by the way, as the Big Island is awash in lava flows.

“We decided on July so we could finish watching the kids play their summer sports,” Nick said. “We believed at the time we booked it was going to be the best deal we could find.”

Mr. and Mrs. Balestri chose better than they knew. Clearing security on Sunday, July 8 should be a cinch because plenty of other travelers — a projected record 3.8 million air travelers — will be deplaning, clearing customs and picking up their luggage as Nick and Rachel are boarding.

A brisk economy has many Americans indulging in summer getaways, and local travel agents agree many in the Illinois Valley are taking advantage of the long weekend created when Independence Day fell midweek.

Travel Connections in Peru already were having a terrific year thanks to low unemployment and cheap international fares; but manager Erin Foster said the big surprise this summer has been last-minute bookings. Many of her clients have called to book Fourth of July getaways with only a few days’ notice.

“There’s less pause before booking,” Foster observed. “We’re even doing a lot of last-minute Europe — London and Paris, for example — and not just long trips, sometimes five- and six-night stays.

“I just can’t get over how much last-minute Europe we’re doing these days.”

While airfares have been steady and competitive, particular overseas, another travel agent thinks the summer travel season has been abetted by a roaring stock market. Sure, talk of trade wars has led to market volatility recently; but the Dow Jones Industrial Average remains up more than 3,000 points since Memorial Day 2017.

“When the stock market is good, travel is good,” said Anna Lijewski, owner of La Salle County Travel Agency, Inc. “I’ve been doing this for 30 years and they’ve always been hand in hand.”

Throw in competitive air fares and the skies will be full as we set off our fireworks. AAA reports travelers taking to the skies will pay an average $171 for a round-trip flight along the top 40 domestic routes. That is the lowest Independence Day airfare in five years, and 9 percent less than last year. Another 39.7 million Americans will drive to their destinations while trains, buses and cruise ships anticipate a 5.8-percent spike over last year.

Fourth of July getaways have grown so popular that AAA is warning of “Terrible Tuesday,” anticipating especially bad traffic jams on Tuesday, July 3 — and Chicago, unfortunately, has cracked the list of 10 worst cities to be avoided. Traffic in and around the Windy City is expected to increase 170 percent 4-6 p.m. Tuesday.

So where is everybody going? Though the Illinois Valley is warming up — temperatures will hover at or near 90 degrees most of the next 10 days — warm-weather destinations seem to be a draw. Besides the Caribbean, travel agents report strong bookings for California and Florida, especially Disneyland and Disney World. Those seeking to beat the heat are headed for Europe, particularly river cruises, and Alaska.

Car travel is too diffuse to point to a few top destinations for local residents on the move; but bookings suggest other Illinoisans are headed to Starved Rock.

As travel agents have observed, Starved Rock Lodge’s marketing director confirmed that a midweek Fourth of July is an automatic draw for tourists. Kathy Casstevens said the lodge stands to benefit from a new marketing campaign that now includes the Quad Cities.

“Our concern is the parking lots are free from flooding and open for the Fourth of July,” Casstevens said, fingers crossed. “Our hope is it will have receded and accommodate all the cars that will come and our biggest concern is for hiking safety.”

The spike in car travel comes despite relatively high fuel prices. GasBuddy.com reports the nationwide average gas price has fallen four straight weeks to $2.83. That’s down from $3.04 last month but also up significantly from $2.32 a year ago — and maybe going higher.

“The threat of an escalating trade war with China and others took a back seat to one of the most anticipated OPEC meetings last week: OPEC agreed to increase oil production by just 600 thousand barrels a day, well short of expectations amidst a hot global and U.S. economy,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

“I’m optimistic that we can avoid a $3 per gallon national average,” DeHaan said, “but if gas prices were to mirror the gains in oil prices, a 5 percent gain would theoretically put us back at nearly $2.99 per gallon — not what you like to see any time, much less prior to the summer’s most popular holiday.”