U.S. travelers are celebrating independence this weekend from 1776’s oppressive British monarchy as well as the tyranny of the 2020-21 pandemic.

Nearly 48 million Americans are expected to travel for the Fourth of July weekend, according to AAA, another indication that summer travel is roaring back and that COVID is eagerly being relegated to the rearview mirror. Officials with the American Automobile Association expect 43.5 million of those travelers to hit the highways in the cars. AAA said 3.5 million are expected to fly, bringing airlines back to 90% of pre-pandemic traffic.

Last summer -- as the pandemic was beginning to rage across the nation -- about 34 million Americans traveled over the Fourth of July.

"Travel is in full swing this summer, as Americans eagerly pursue travel opportunities they've deferred for the last year-and-a-half," according to a statement from Paula Twidale, a Triple A senior vice president. 

She said the usual summertime increase in demand for gasoline started around Memorial Day and has continued.

Many people had feared that the Memorial Day travel surge and lingering effects of the Colonial Pipeline shutdown in mid-May would fuel more stations with no gasoline to sell, and long lines for customers to wait in if the store did have gas. But supplies appear to be adequate in the Carolinas, despite the occasional shut-down pump.

Tiffany Wright, director of public affairs for AAA Carolinas, said the group doesn't track supplies but that any shortages at a station likely would be temporary.

Wright said that gas prices in the Carolinas are seeing slight increases leading up to Independence Day, as 1.2 million North Carolinians and 635,800 South Carolinians are expected to hit the road. Tar Heels are paying an average of $2.87 per gallon for regular, while our neighbors to the south are averaging $2.81.

Those prices are almost a dollar more than last year, when low demand because of the pandemic saw prices drop close to $2 a gallon.

In the Fayetteville metro area, the average price for a gallon of unleaded Thursday was $2.86. That compares to $2.86 a month ago and $2.07 a year ago. Raleigh has the highest average price in the state at $2.91 with Wilmington a close second at $2.90. Friday’s national average was $3.12.

“Although motorists will pay the most to fill up for the holiday since 2014, gas prices in the Carolinas are seeing minimal changes,” Wright said. “It’s typical to see prices increase ahead of a holiday, but as of now increases are slight.”