Many Americans will spend next Thursday surrounded by family and friends around a table full of turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce (or whatever your family favorites are). Because traveling for Thanksgiving can be stressful, we looked at historical Google Maps traffic data to identify the best and worst times for your Thanksgiving road trips. And just for fun, we took a peek at the places Google Maps users are most often getting directions to during the holiday week. To look at this a bit more closely, we’ve created an interactive experience where you can explore Thanksgiving trends in your area.

Tips for a traffic-free Turkey Day

Because many of us can’t or don’t take off extra days leading up to Thanksgiving, we looked at last year’s traffic trends the day before Thanksgiving through the Sunday after. As you might expect, Wednesday late afternoon is the busiest time to hit the road, but it’s pretty much smooth sailing the morning of Thanksgiving. So if you can wait until Turkey Day, you might be able to avoid the crowds on the road.

To make your travels as efficient as possible, don’t forget to share your trip with the in-laws so they’ll know exactly when you’ll arrive. And if you forgot the stuffing you promised to bring to the potluck, just search for an open supermarket along your route to quickly pick it up without adding a long detour—you can even see how much time you can expect to spend in the checkout line with our new wait times feature (now available on Google Maps for Android).

When the eating is all over and it’s time to head home, early morning on Saturday or Sunday are your best bets (just make sure to avoid the road when traffic heats up on Friday and Saturday in the late afternoon).

Trending places over Thanksgiving  

Every family has their unique holiday traditions—like Dad’s dash to the tree lot the day after Thanksgiving. According to historical Google Maps search data, the most popular destinations over the Thanksgiving holiday period are ham shops, outlet malls, tree farms, natural features (think outdoor experiences), and electronics stores.

When you’re not digging into your food, dig into the Turkey Day traffic and Google Maps search trends for your city in our interactive experience. Happy Thanksgiving!

The unofficial kick-off to summer is just around the corner. To give you some travel planning inspiration this year, we looked at historical Google Maps data to find the top trending places of the season throughout the U.S. Follow our summer lists below to head to the hot spots or avoid the crowds–the choice is yours. Already know where you’re going? Then create your own lists and share them with friends via your favorite messaging and social apps.

Drinks with a view

When the weather is warm, bars with outdoor patios, views of the water, rooftops, and creative cocktails draw the biggest crowds. This summer bars list is NYC-heavy so if you’re thinking about the Big Apple this summer–this one’s for you.

Education + entertainment = edutainment

Who says learning isn’t fun? Definitely not summer travelers. Whether you’re a parent trying to infuse education into summer break or a young adult squeezing in some culture between beach days, our edutainment list highlights the museums, aquariums, and zoos you can’t miss.

Summer grubbin’

Seeing the sights can work up an appetite and there’s an obvious formula for what makes a restaurant a good summer choice–seafood and waterfront seating (and bonus points if it’s an iconic location). Our restaurants list covers eateries from fast casual to seafood buffets to pizzerias that are sure to satisfy your appetite wherever you are.

Surf’s up

Summer isn’t complete until you’ve walked through the sand, soaked up the sun, and waded in the surf. This list of trending summer beaches includes the sandy shores of the Pacific, Atlantic and even the Great Lakes.

Places to go and things to see are only half of the summer equation–the company we keep is the other (maybe even better) half. This summer it’s easy to meet up with friends while on the go using Location Sharing in Google Maps. Here are a few more Google Maps features to help you navigate your summer without any headaches.

• Save an area of the map for use while offline. Just download the region to your offline maps so when you don’t have Wi-Fi or ample data, you can still search for places, get directions, and use turn-by-turn navigation.

• Reviews on Google Maps are automatically translated into your preferred language so when you’re looking for the perfect tapas place or sake bar, you can choose a spot with confidence when traveling internationally.

• Know whether parking will be hard to find wherever you go with parking difficulty icons, and save where you parked on the map so you never forget where you left your car.

Take Google Maps with you this summer to find places to go and things to see, meet up with friends, and get where you’re going.

Summer just isn’t complete without a road trip. Whether you cruise Route 66 from coast to coast or take a short drive out of the city, there are plenty of quirky attractions along the way. We looked at Google Maps data from the past few years to uncover which weird and wonderful roadside attractions are searched for more during the summer months than during the rest of the year. Here’s a curated list of some trending roadside gems across the country.

Roadtrippers leaving California for the beautiful Oregon landscape shouldn’t miss the Trees of Mystery attraction just 36 miles south of the Oregon border. Despite the name, the true showstoppers are the 49-foot-tall statue of Paul Bunyan and the 35-foot-tall Babe the Blue Ox – both of which are visible from Highway 101.

Downtown Seattle sports a notoriously sticky tourist attraction: a wall covered in gum. Although the wall was scrubbed clean back in 2015, it returned to all its glory in no time. Road trippers who find themselves at the famous Pike Place Market need only wander downstairs to Post Alley to behold the man-made (or chewed) marvel.

Just off Route 66, weary travelers can take a break to picnic, swim, or fish at the small lake that’s home to a big Blue Whale. To cool off from their long drives visitors fling themselves off his tail, slide down his fins and pose for photos in his open jaws.

Fewer than 30 minutes from Atlantic City, travelers can take in another larger than life creation – Lucy the Elephant. Lucy is a 132-year-old elephant-shaped building that towers six-stories tall. Visitors can enter the structure and climb up to the howdah (the carriage positioned on the back of an elephant) for a picturesque view of the beach below.

Take a short detour off I-95 in Connecticut to take a trip back in time to the Jurassic period. Northeastern roadtrippers will find 40 life-sized dinosaur figures on a 1.5-mile nature trail in The Dinosaur Place. And the best part is that they don’t have to worry about any real-life velociraptors.

Next time you’re on a road trip, remember to take a break and explore the roadside attractions along your route. Google Maps can help you do just that with a variety of features like offline maps, the ability to search for places along your route, and the option to create multi-stop trips (now available on Android and iOS). After all, the journey can be just as much fun as the destination.