Philadelphia-area families hit the road early for Labor Day weekend

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBS) — The unofficial end to the summer is quickly approaching. Drivers made a pit stop at Farley Service Plaza along the Atlantic City Expressway in Hammonton as they headed down the shore to squeeze in one more visit before summer ends.

"Going down to Cape May, New Jersey to go to the beach," Maher Kholi said. "I live in the Lehigh Valley in Allentown, so we left after rush hour Philly traffic ... I got a carload of kids, so they can fall asleep on the way down."

Kholi said he's happy he's beating the weekend traffic.

"And we try to get out of there Sunday afternoon so we beat the Monday traffic," he added.

Ed McKnight flew in from California and was headed to a 95th birthday party.

"Going to Margate right now," he said.

While it wasn't planned, he, too, will just miss the anticipated traffic.

"That's OK; I'll be where I have to be," McKnight said.

AAA said Thursday and Friday are expected to be the busiest days on the road. They said drivers should consider traveling before 7 a.m. or after 8 p.m. on those days.

They said Labor Day weekend is typically the least traveled compared to Memorial Day and 4th of July, especially because many students are already back to school.

"That said, AAA does anticipate that we will see an increase in travel volume this Labor Day weekend compared to last Labor Day weekend and that will be about 9%," Jana Tidwell, from AAA, said.

She said gas prices are also in good shape, sitting at about $3.40 per gallon in the Philadelphia five-county area, which is down 50 cents per gallon compared to last year.

"Gas prices are significantly lower than they were this time last year, which is welcome news for those planning that last-minute summer road trip," she said.