Port Charlotte resident Hazel Smith wasn’t planning to hit the road for some long-distance travel this Fourth of July, but that hasn’t stopped her from watching gas prices steadily drop over the last few weeks.

Smith was gassing up her minivan at the 7-Eleven on Kings Highway and U.S. 41 — where a gallon of regular gas ran $3.09 Tuesday — more out of convenience than anything else. Smith said she was planning to spend the Fourth of July locally with friends, but she was doing so with a full tank of gas, which she felt was at a decent price per gallon.