People in line a week early for Black Friday at St. Pete Best Buy

A check of the calendar shows the day after Thanksgiving, known as "Black Friday," is still a week away. But don't tell that to Lorie and Ryan Davenport of St. Petersburg.

On Wednesday, they set up a large blue tent at the Best Buy store near the Tyrone Square Mall in St. Petersburg, prepared to camp out for more than a week to snag some electronic deals.

They've already been rewarded. Today, Best Buy presented Lorie and her friend, Tina Thain, with two iPads while recognizing them as the "first family of Black Friday." The store usually gives the first people in line gift cards, but say they believe this group is the first campers in the nation.

"We're so thankful for the iPads, but we'll probably only go on them when we're alone waiting," Thain said. "The whole purpose is to get caught up, so we do things together like talk, play chess and play cards."

After getting an OK from Best Buy management, the Davenports are now in it for the long haul.

"We've been doing this for six years now and we got beat out by the same guy for the last 6 years," said Lorie Davenport, who met Thain when their daughters went to high school together. "So this year, we said, this might be our last year, it might be our last hurrah, so we're coming extra early if we have to because we are gonna be first if it kills us."

Although the couple say they're not sure what they'll buy when the doors open at 5 a.m. next Friday, they are hoping for a good deal on a large-screen TV or perhaps something from the Apple Mac line.

From past experience, they know some items will be in short supply, and that means they have to be on guard for people who stretch the rules.

"You don't know how many friends at the last minute that are gonna come in and squeeze in the line," Lorie Davenport said.

Lest you think the families plan to stay every hour of the day, there is a small detail you should know. The Davenports stay in line by day, but Thain and her husband spell them at night. The families are saving spots for a total of 10 people.

It appears stretching the rules may be open to interpretation