Mirroring the national trend, the number of Virginians traveling during the July Fourth holiday is expected to drop when compared to the 2007 holiday.

Slightly more than 1 million Virginians will travel 50 miles or more from home this holiday weekend, a decrease of nearly 3 percent compared to the 2007 July Fourth holiday, AAA Mid-Atlantic said this morning.

This is the second consecutive travel holiday in 2008 where a year-to-year decrease was projected.

Fuel costs remain a large obstacle to many for long-distance travel nationwide and in Virginia. AAA Mid-Atlantic said that as of this morning, the average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline was $3.98 in Virginia and Richmond, and $4.09 nationwide.