A busy, busy Black Friday

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) -- There were plenty of parking spots - a plethora of spots - a sea of open spots.  Of course, that was Thursday. And then theres Black Friday.

"We tried to park, like, what, 20 minutes right," said Elyse Stevenson.

There are always big smiles when the wallet stays healthy, as so-called once-in-a-lifetime deals are too hard to pass up for millions of Americans.

"We're looking for toys for Christmas," said Caitlin Cunningham. "Barbies. And the WII U."

You wouldn't figure Connecticut's unemployment is at nine percent gaging from the packed parking lots. It's busy.  According to a Gallup poll, Americans will spend an average of $770 dollars this year, matching the $764 estimate a year ago.

"I got most of the stuff that I want," Susan Hopkins said, "now I gotta shop for everybody else."

According to the National Retail Federation, about 147 million people will fight for a parking spot and brave Black Friday shopping. That's down from 152 million Americans last year.  And for those that don't want to deal with all of this, of course, we still have Cyber Monday, where folks shop online.

The open spots - the plethora of spots - the sea of spots will return - sometime in January usually.  But for now the only fiscal cliff folks are worrying about is saving money and staying on the holiday budget.

"This is my first time shopping on Black Friday," Stevenson said, and she's ready to do it again.