The Boston Marathon bombing was not far from the minds of several folks camped out in chairs overnight. Debbie Schinker from Ohio was the first in line, as she often is year after year.
"There's just nowhere else to be but Boston on the Fourth," she said. "We're not going to let people who have bad intentions keep us away. Not now or any other year."
But for Bill Todd of Everett the enhanced security precautions cast a shadow over this year’s July 4th celebration.
"This is my 30th year, I've been coming for 30 years," he said. " … The security got a little bit overboard, but I guess we can live with it."
Security was beefed up in the wake of the deadly bombings on April 15. After alleged bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was captured by police, he reportedly told the FBI that he and his brother Tamerlan had first planned to set pressure-cooker bombs off during the July Fourth celebration.
This is something she no longer worries about, says Carol Hunt of Boston.
"Not at all," she said. "We couldn't be any more secure. Did you see this place? It's hopping with police departments. This is my take on that: One's dead, the other's in jail. We're golden."
Debra Keenan and her daughter Abigail have arrived early at each Fourth of July celebration for 36 years, and this one is no different.
"There's concerns every year, everything in any area is always a risk," Debra said. "They're doing a great job of making us as secure as possible, so we trust they're doing the right thing."
"I think there's a lot to handle, but I definitely think Boston is a strong city," Abigail said. "We can definitely deal with it. We'll get over it and get stronger. We're good with this."
