GAITHERSBURG, Md. - Memorial Day weekend kicks off the summer travel season and drivers will find a little relief at the pump this weekend, the Associated Press reports. The national average for unleaded regular gasoline fell to $3.81 on Thursday ?" a whole 9 cents cheaper than last week, according to AAA, the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) and Wright Express.

Many gasoline stations posted prices even less than that ?" around $3.70 per gallon, a dime less than Wednesday??s prices, said Fred Rozell, OPIS retail pricing director.

Travel this weekend will be up from last year, with close to 34 million U.S. drivers hitting the roads to travel 50 miles or more from home, according to AAA. Motorists in eight states, including California, Illinois and Washington, shell out the most for gasoline, paying between $3.91 and $4.28 a gallon. Parts of the South and Midwest, plus Arizona and Wyoming had the lowest prices of between $3.57 and $3.69 per gallon.

Prices at the pump should continue a downward trend over the weekend because decreases in crude oil prices. "There's a lot of room between what the retailers are charging and wholesale prices so we should see that continue to creep down," said Rozell.