Andrew Thomas, a mailroom worker for a Washington, DC, law firm, had hoped to take his two children to see his grandmother in North Carolina. But with Christmas around the corner, Thomas concluded he needed to save money.
"We're just going to eat real good and stay home for this year," he said.
But George Gorham and his fiancé, Patricia Horner weren't deterred. They flew to Washington, DC, from the West Coast and planned to rent a car to drive to Fort Bragg, N.C., to visit Gorham's son, an Army sergeant. They used frequent-flier miles and planned to use their trip to see the tourist attractions in the nation's capital.
Gorham said he still would have made the trip without his frequent-flier miles, but "it would have been more painful."
Thanksgiving travelers were also at the mercy of the weather. Forecasters warned of rain and scattered thunderstorms in much of the Northeast, with a mixture of snow and freezing rain expected in upstate New York and northern New England. Mountainous areas could see 4 to 8 inches of snow.
In Juneau, Alaska, the Rev. George Silides and his wife will bring turkey to a church potluck, but not much more. Like millions of others, Silides said, the couple was "feeling the economic pinch."
Juneau, Alaska's capital, is an expensive place to live. The only way in or out is by air or boat. Silides' wife now works as an English teacher to support their family of six.
In previous years, Stacy Hansen would either host a large Thanksgiving meal or fly from her Florida home to be with family in Minnesota. Not this year.
Hansen and her teenage son are staying home in Tarpon Springs, Fla., near Tampa. They picked out a 10-pound turkey and two frozen, buy-one-get-one-free pies at the supermarket. She can't afford to fly herself and her son north, and her two grown children can't afford to fly back to Florida.
"It's going to be a quiet Thanksgiving," she said. "We're going to be thankful for what we do have."
Galinis plans a similar holiday using whatever she can find.
"Even if I only had two nickels to rub together, I'd do something," she said. "I don't have much to give, but I'll be cooking and the door will be open."