Their plush, wood-paneled ride guzzles a gallon of gas every eight miles or so, but it's worth it, she said. They might save a few hundred dollars if they went by car, but then they'd have to pay for hotels and restaurants. It just wouldn't be the same.

"That's the one thing that's enjoyment for us, just getting out and enjoying the RV," she said.

Sarah Puffer, 23, also felt the pinch this year, but she said she's still determined to have an adventure this summer.

Instead of a monthlong meander through a dozen states, the teacher from Alaska said she and two friends will pile into her dad's Ford Focus and dash around the country, hoping to cover the same territory in half the time.

"We really want to get out there and see just everything," she said. "Because of the bad economy, we don't know if everything is possible."

Janice Croze, 35, of British Columbia, said she'd love to fly to Hawaii like she did when her son was 3. Instead, she and her husband will pack the kids in their Dodge Grand Caravan and head for their mother's cabin in the interior of the province, six hours away.

Gas is cheaper than plane tickets this year, she said. And there are other perks to driving.

"When you're in your car, you're in control," Croze said. "And when you have little kids, it's far more convenient. It's easier to change a baby in a car, I find, than in an airplane."

As for the Eagles, Ricky said he plans to spend the summer in his wood shop, building coffee tables and other furniture fit for the interior of his RV.

"Of course, I'd rather be out on the road," he said. "But I'm just apprehensive about my job and the viability of the company that I work for. Obviously, that tempers a lot of the excitement you feel when you think of summer."

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