The only road Norma Rodriguez plans to travel in her Nissan pickup this summer is between her home and Hargill Elementary, where she's a teacher's aide.

"It's all because of gas prices," the Edinburg resident said. "It makes you not want to drive at all."

As the summer travel season heats up, Rio Grande Valley drivers are cooling down their vacation plans - mostly because of record high gas prices.

The price for regular unleaded gasoline hit $3.83 at many Upper Valley gas stations Friday.

Leaving the Valley will only hit local travelers more - the average price for regular unleaded nationwide is $3.93 a gallon, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Summer is typically the beginning of the driving season, starting with Memorial Day weekend.

However, a survey from MasterCard Advisors showed a 5.5-percent drop in gas purchases over the holiday last week, compared to the same week last year.

Even so, gas prices continue to rise fed by the record high prices for crude oil.

Just accounting for gas, someone driving a 2007 Chevy Silverado pickup will pay $18 more for a roundtrip to San Antonio.

South Padre Island is $7 more for a round trip.

Though few people thought the $2.93 a gallon around this time last year was a steal either, tourism industry officials think travelers will really modify their travel plans this year.

"We are anticipating that there will be quite a bit more traveling closer to home," said Nancy Millar, vice president of the McAllen Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Aside from the Island, area attractions include the World Birding Centers in Mission and Weslaco, and the outlet mall in Mercedes.

Following in the vein of sticking close to home, Millar expects few visitors from anywhere north of San Antonio either.

In fact, Skipper Ray, who guides fishing tours in Laguna Madre, says his business is down 10 to 15 percent from 2007.

"The fishing is real good," Ray said. "But gas prices are hurting us."

To add to the trouble, he's had to raise prices on his fishing day boat trips by $25 this year to pay for the increase in fuel prices.

For those who do choose to travel, they're opting to go compact.

More people are heading into car rental agencies to trade in their SUVs and vans for vacation travel, said Patty Hernandez, who works at Action Car Rentals in McAllen.

Renting a compact car with better fuel economy instead of an SUV can save a driver about 15 miles to the gallon.

"People are traveling to San Antonio or Austin and just want to save money," Hernandez said.

High gas prices or not, people's hanker for fun will never wane.

Allen Gooding, owner of Gooding RV Center in Mission, says people are still buying RVs and trailers though, despite their fuel inefficiency.

"People still need a place to stay when they go camping or go to the beach," he said.

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Kyle Arnold covers business, the economy and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4410.