A year of consistently lower gasoline prices allowed Kimberly Stephens, her husband and three young sons to pile into the family minivan earlier this year to drive to Walt Disney World in Florida from their home outside Des Moines, Iowa. The Stephenses typically take one road trip—a summer visit to family outside of Detroit—but this year they turned that into a two-week vacation, visiting Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Wisconsin. And, in addition to the Disney trip, they’re taking a third excursion this Labor Day to Iowa City for a vintage farm-equipment fair. “We were just looking for a good summer this year,” said the 34-year-old full-time parent, whose husband retired from the military this year. “With my husband retiring, we had time, and then having the money as well.” The sharp and sustained fall in gas prices that began last summer has altered American life in ways large and […]