Even before the midnight opening of Toys R Us this morning, the line of eager shoppers searching for bargains wrapped around the store and out of the parking lot.

Friends Carrie Blake and Jody La Rocque arrived about midnight and didn't get inside the store until two hours later. At 5 a.m. they were finally done. Pushing a shopping cart loaded to their car, parked on the second level at the çAiea shopping center parking lot they were in high spirits after their adventure.
"We're just now done," said Blake, a Wahiawa resident. "It was worth the long lines. We got some good deals and we got time with each other and no kids."
Merchants around the state were holding their breath in hopes that door buster deals would lure recession weary shoppers in on so-called Black Friday, named for the day after Thanksgiving, which usually marks the start of the holiday shopping.
The National Retail Federation has predicted that nationally this year's holiday sales will see a decline in spending over last year what with consumers deciding to scale back purchases, use more coupons, or buy more practical gifts.

Tonja Dreke pulled out her index cards of prices and stores this morning outside of Sears at Pearlridge Shopping Center. She was one of a throng of people crowding into the department store in search of early morning bargains. She consulted her list after leaving the store and headed out to her next store.
Like a player before the big game, Dreke knew what she wanted and where she wanted to buy it. She's spent a better part of a month searching both online and in the newspaper ads for the best price.
"I think I will spend more this year," said Dreke, of Wahiawa. "Everything I bought today was 50 percent off. I saved $160. All it cost me was my time. It was worth it.
"I'm already done with my shopping."