When gas prices hit $4 a gallon last summer, Joyce and Ricky Eagle of Warrenton simply padded their travel budget a little before tooling around the Midwest in their motor home. This year, gas is considerably cheaper. But the Eagles’ 36-foot Holiday Rambler will stay in the driveway. The reason? The software company Ricky works for sliced 20 percent off his paycheck.

Retail gasoline prices continued to climb yesterday ahead of the Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of America’s summer driving season. The national average pump price increased nearly 3 cents overnight to $2.39 a gallon, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. Gasoline prices have ticked higher every day this month.

We dress them up. We feed them gourmet foods. We treat them like members of the family. So when we have to fly, whether it be on a beach vacation or to grandma’s house, our pets are often a first-class priority. Taking animals on flights has become more commonplace in recent years, but some airlines now have strict regulations—and even stricter prices—to pack a pooch or carry a cat.

Bird lovers paradise Nan Archer of Richmond traveled to New Mexico in January to visit her sister, a fellow birder. Every November, sandhill cranes migrate from Alaska and even Russia to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge along the Rio Grande near Socorro, N.M., Archer said. “The birds winter in this pristine habitat until late February to early March. The bird counts over the two days we were there were 36,000 ducks, 41,000 snow geese and 12,000 sandhill cranes.“

Passenger traffic fell 13.3 percent at Richmond International Airport in March compared to the same month last year, but April could see improvement from recent double-digit declines, airport officials said. “We don’t have final numbers for April, but right now it is holding its own versus a year ago,“ airport spokesman Troy Bell said.

Fear of swine flu has begun to trickle down to some Virginians’ plans to travel to Mexico. “We’re getting some cancellations and . . . changes,“ said Dan Smith, co-owner of Richmond’s Crossroads Travel Advisors. Yesterday, the federal Centers for Disease Control—“out of an abundance of caution”—issued a travel advisory recommending that nonessential travel to Mexico be avoided.

YOUR BEST A sea of spring color On a visit to a tulip farm in Holland, Robert Sharp of Prince George County captured this scene of acres and acres of tulips in bloom.

Casino pit bosses will tell you the best way to make your table action pay dividends is to sign up for a players card that is used to record points based on how much money you put down and how long you play. You can often get freebies on food, hotels and merchandise. The same holds true for flying. If you don’t have a frequent-flier number or card when you buy your next ticket, get one.

Last fall, Hal Tyler of Richmond was at the Assateague Island National Seashore with his wife to see the annual bird migration. “It was just in time to watch a large number of snow geese arrive,“ he said. “We stayed around for about an hour watching more arrive.

LONDON The house has everything an Agatha Christie fan could want—except a body in the library. The stuccoed Georgian villa where the writer spent her vacations is open to the public after a $7.8 million restoration. Visitors can see the bedroom where Christie slept, the dining room where she entertained, and the drawing room where she thrilled friends with readings from her latest whodunit.

The Capital Region Airport Commission is planning more than $28 million in improvements for airfield operations at Richmond International Airport

PHILADELPHIA Each year my Philly-born-and-bred husband and I make pilgrimages to the City of Brotherly Love. He loves everything about Philadelphia, from the sticky buns at Reading Terminal Market to the legendary eagle in what used to be Wanamaker’s department store (now Macy’s). There is a lot to love about Philly. The Philadelphia Flower Show is one of the countless reasons. The world’s oldest and largest indoor flower show will run this year from March 1-8 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. This year’s theme, “Bella Italia,“ celebrates the natural beauty, art, food, music and people of Italy.

Richmond International Airport is resisting the national trend of declining airline passengers—sort of. The airport’s passenger traffic was down in 2008, but not as far as at most U.S. airports. A total of 3,490,356 people used the airport.

Two lodgings and one restaurant in Virginia have received five-star awards in the 2009 Mobil Travel Guide, including The Jefferson Hotel in downtown Richmond. The Jefferson earned Mobil’s top award for the ninth straight year.

If you’re hitting the road, make sure the road doesn’t hit you back. “Those headed to the historic inauguration will need to take an attitude of adventure and excitement as the journey will be long, creature comforts may be limited, and security will be tight,“ said Martha Mitchell Meade, spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic. AAA’s Fredericksburg office advises anyone traveling northeast through Thursday to avoid Interstate 95 and the Capital Beltway. If possible, take Interstate 81 north and head east when appropriate. And it might be wise to stay away from U.S. 301 because many people will see this as a main alternate.