With the Thanksgiving holiday upon us here in the U.S., the roads, rails, and skies are jam-packed with 39 million travelers. This year, I’m giving thanks that I’m not one of them. The U:TB home office will be taking the next few days off, to recover from the tryptophan low that excessive turkey consumption is bound to bring.

(Incidentally, in the spirit of the Gerald Ford flashback photo, the presidentially “pardoned” turkey nowadays flies to Disneyland or Disney World to live out its days at a petting zoo. And the bird flies… typically in first class. I’m not making this up.)

So for those who ARE traveling this holiday, good luck. The tips I posted a year ago for holiday travel are just as valid today, if not more so.

If you’re heading to one of the major airports, you might want to check Travelocity’s live-blogging from the terminals. Or test-drive Orbitz Traveler Update (look on the right side of the screen, under “Orbitz TLC,” to find it), for live passenger reports from the field (background here.)

But good luck, and a safe journey, no matter how you travel.

At the same time, let me take this opportunity to thank YOU, the readers of this site. Thanks for reading, thanks for commenting, thanks for e-mailing in your tips and questions, and thanks for making online travel-related purchases through the “support” page. I appreciate the time you spend on Upgrade: Travel Better, and I hope you’ll continue to point your browser (or feed reader) this way.

Happy Thanksgiving!