DUBUQUE - Record prices at the pump are keeping travelers close to home. The trend has even created a new phrase. They are called staycations. It's when vacationers visit local attractions instead of traveling across country to enjoy time off.

Whatever they can see, whatever they can do that they've never done before, the Carey family is here to do.

8-year-old Joey Carey said, "We are here for a few days we're just here for vacation, six days, five nights."

They're spending almost a whole week, just a few hours from home.

Joe Carey said, "We probably would have gone further but the prices were too steep to keep going too far."

Because Dubuque sits in the middle of many major metropolitan areas, like Milwaukee, Chicago, Saint Louis, Omaha, the Twin Cities, a lot people are meeting in the middle for their staycations.

Tourist Dom Lipka said, "we've just been visiting old friends we've known for years and years and decided to stay in the area because it is very expensive to travel."

On this Monday afternoon attendance at the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium is almost double what it was last year at this time. Dozens of these visitors are from Dubuque.

Museum Marketing Director John Sutter said, "a lot more members came in this summer and a lot more memberships were purchased this summer and I think it has to do with people wanting to stay closer to home."

On a staycation drivers don't have to fill up as often, and they are not watching that painful price pile up.

Lipka said, "It’s about quality time. It's more about spending time with the family interacting, no matter where you're at."

And isn't that what it’s really all about? Whether it’s a vacation or, a staycation.

It can be good idea to check for deals at your nearby chamber of commerce.

A lot of cities offer discounts to local people who want to visit tourist attractions.