Everything You Need to Know for Thanksgiving, Holiday Travel and Black Friday

We have everything you need to know for your Thanksgiving Holiday. From help cooking your turkey, to which roads to avoid, and your where to go for Black Friday Deals. It's all right here!

South Carolina Highway Patrol is out in full force for the Thanksgiving weekend. "Our goal is to have zero fatalities," Trooper Bryan McDougald said.

AAA of the Carolinas predicts about 570 thousand people will drive more than 50 miles this weekend in the Carolinas. Their prediction is about 17 thousand more than last year.

Air travel is expected to be down. AAA expects about 25 hundred less people to fly over Thanksgiving.

Julie Werner is driving to Columbia from Knoxville. She says it's not a bad ride even with the rockslide detour. "The entire family gets together for the four day event and then we get up early to go to the mall to watch the people panic with their shopping," she said.

Highway Patrol recommends making a list before taking a road trip. They say it's important to get your car checked out, map out a route, and get plenty of rest before driving.

Travel
Some Holiday travelers say the economy has improved since last Thanksgiving, but things are still tight. Experts think that's why many are deciding to travel by car.

The South Carolina Highway Patrol is putting more troopers on the road this year. The patrol is bringing in troopers who normally work administrative jobs to help on the highways from Wednesday to Sunday. Emphasis will be on the busiest holiday travel days, which are the day before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after the holiday. AAA Carolinas predicts 569,000 South Carolinians will travel more than 50 miles from home this year, and increase of about 2% from 2008.

In North Carolina, the rush home to family for the holiday is picking up. AAA Carolinas estimates about 1 in 8 North Carolina residents are hitting the road. AAA says trips more than 50 miles from home are expected to rise about 2% from last year. That's despite Gas being More expensive from last year. The North Carolina Department of Transportation is suspending work on most road projects through the hoidays. One bottleneck could be the detour for Interstate 40 traffic heading into Tennessee. An October rockslide about two miles from the border closed the road in both directions.

Gas Prices
Prices for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline:
Current Avg. $2.64
North Carolina $2.60
South Carolina $2.48
Tennessee $2.50
Georgia $2.51

Check gas prices here.

If you are flying you can check out arrival and departure status for GSP here.

Grocery Store Hours for Thursday

Bi-Lo stores will be open until 7p.m.

Food Lion will be open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Ingles and Walmart will be open normal hours.

Publix will be closed.

Weather
Check your live VIPIR Forecast here

NC Links
North Carolina Department of Transportation

SC Links
South Carolina Highway Patrol

Thanksgiving Meals

Butterball Turkey Hotline
Phone Number: 1-800-BUTTERBALL
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (AP) - Turkey producer Butterball says it will have 55 experts to field an estimated 12,000 calls Thanksgiving Day on its annual live Turkey Talk-Line. The hot line functions year-round, mainly as an automated tip line. The goal is to position the nation's best-selling turkey brand as the expert in the field. The phones are manned by trained professionals with degrees in nutrition, food science or home economics. And they're backed up by thick binders covering everything from thawing to cooking times. Some of the tips, based on previous calls: Don't thaw our turkey in the bathtub while washing the kids -- Don't use the oven's clean setting to rush cooking.

Help for the Needy this Thanksgiving
Click here for more information on Free Meals.

Soldiers Celebrate Thanksgiving
FORT JACKSON, S.C. (AP) - Food service workers at the Army's largest training installation are putting together a Thanksgiving feast of 7,000 pounds of turkey for soldiers at Fort Jackson. Army officials say the first soldiers will begin celebrations with a meal Wednesday evening at the site outside Columbia. Through Thanksgiving Day, a total of 15,000 soldiers will be served at the post's 10 dining halls. The menu also includes almost 4,000 pounds of ham, nearly 1,500 pounds of shrimp and more than 3,100 pounds of beef. The meal will be washed down with more than 600 containers of eggnog and topped off with more than 1,500 assorted pies. Following tradition, the meal is served by installation commanders, their staffs and senior noncommissioned officers. Read more here.

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