The Loop

These videos offer proof that traveling during the holidays is a death sentence

November 22, 2017

Going home for the holidays is a wonderful idea, in theory and in practice. It's getting there that's the stuff of nightmares.

Sure, we all want to be with our families on Thanksgiving, gathered round the dinner table, enjoying a feast, sharing some laughs and reminiscing. But at what cost? For most Americans, the cost is a trek that makes the Oregon Trail look like a stroll through Central Park.

Take for example this video from Mikaya Thurmond, a reporter from North Carolina who went to the Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Wednesday morning to scope out the Thanksgiving week travel scene:

Just to get to security!? No thanks! Thanksgiving Eve is the rare time when your dad's advice to get to the airport 12 hours before your flight makes sense. Goodness gracious. And this is just one airport. The TSA projects 24 million will travel through airports this week, a six percent increase from last year.

Then there's this video of the traffic in Los Angeles:

And these people are getting a "head start" by getting on the road Tuesday. Head start... good one! AAA is projecting that 50.9 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this Thanksgiving, the highest travel volume since 2005. If you wanted a true head start, hopefully you got on the road last Tuesday.

But hey, it's the most wonderful time of the year, provided you don't blow your brains out before it even gets started.