That extra 24 hours of free time must set off some kind of instinctual travel response in humans, because many of us will be filling the car and the gas tank and hitting the road this weekend.
Yes, the economy is bad, and North Carolina's unemployment rate is a gut-wrenching 11 percent, although most places in the Triangle are a few points less.
Still, there is a "pent-up desire to travel" that will manifest itself this weekend, according to AAA Carolinas CEO David Parsons.
Where do most of us go? As you would expect, with Durham's proximity to mountains and ocean, most folks pick one of the two. Myrtle Beach and Charleston, S.C., are popular choices, as is Asheville. But lots of folks also like to visit Washington, D.C., according to AAA.
At an average of around $2.58 a gallon in Durham, gas prices are up more than 15 cents over Memorial Day. But since we remember gas at $4 a gallon, that really doesn't seem so bad.
But the roads will be busy, so remember to take it easy and be careful so that everyone comes home safely. And no texting while driving!
n What's that spot in American Tobacco's Strickland Building with the easy chairs, the coffee table and the books?
It's the latest "Book Nook," created through a partnership with the Durham County Library, the Friends of the Library and American Tobacco.
It provides a place for visitors to sit and relax, buy a used book for a low price ($1 for paperbacks and $3 for hardbacks) or donate used books to the library.
There are five other book nooks, but they are located in the main library or one of the branches. This is the first public-private partnership book nook, with the space provided by American Tobacco.
For such a low cost for the books, the book nooks have done surprisingly well. Taken together, they have raised between $25,000 and $30,000 for the Friends of the Library.
So if you're in American Tobacco, relax, have a seat and enjoy a good book.
n The winner of this week's Durham Grit Award really earned it by helping to uncover a man's long-lost past.
The elderly man was suffering from dementia, had no money and only a few memories, and couldn't speak English. He was referred by El Centro Hispano to LATCH -- Local Access to Coordinated Healthcare -- at Duke Medical Center.
"He was homeless, no family, friends, no connections at all," said Maria Jaramillo, a social worker at LATCH. "We think he had been wandering around this country for years. There was nobody to help him."
Jaramillo decided to change that. It took an impressive piece of detective work, but Jaramillo worked the phones to the U.S. Immigration Service and the Social Security Administration to retrieve the man's Social Security number, obtain a green card and Medicaid.
At the same time, she worked with Lincoln Community Health Service and Adult Protective Services to find Eno Pointe Assisted Living, which offered the man a place to live.
And, almost unbelievably, she found family members of the man who live in San Luis Potosi, a city in Mexico. They had been looking for their brother for 30 years.
Putting together the lost pieces of the man's life seemed almost miraculous, but it took a dedicated person to work the miracle. Maria Jaramillo, this Durham Grit Award is for you.
