Summertime is here and since we're coming out of the pandemic, people are ready to take a trip, get out with friends and enjoy all those summer activities that we missed out on last year. Recently New York State was ranked the best for this popular summertime activity.

Once the warmer temperatures hit, and school is out, people are ready to hit the road. Especially since we were in the middle of the pandemic and lost out on all of our favorite things to do during these months of the year. Road trips are always fun, and this year I'm sure tons of people will be hitting the roads just to escape for a short period of time to clear their heads.

Picking a destination is always the hardest part of planning a road trip. Gas prices have skyrocketed over the past few months, so that's a huge factor. Having lodging accommodations, activities for the kids, and dining. There's a lot to consider, I'm tired already.

A recent study was conducted recently that compared all the states to determine what states are the best and worst for road trips. The states were compared based on 33 key metrics to find the most fun, scenic, and wallet-friendly road-trip destinations.

According to this study, New York was ranked as the best state to take a road trip, whoop, whoop. Texas and Louisiana came in at second and third, with Maine and North Carolina finishing the top five.

Our neighbors weren't as high on the list as us. New Jersey was ranked 41st, and rightfully so, who actually wants to drive in New Jersey? Connecticut was 48th, and Pennsylvania was 18th. Just another sign that New York is better.

See the Must-Drive Roads in Every State

LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving

To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.

Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.

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