G-8 leaders attend a working session at the G-8 Summit at the Deerhurst Resort on Saturday. (Francis Vachon/G-8/G-20 Host Photo/Canadian Press)

By CBC News

Huntsville residents are breathing a sigh of relief as the G8 summit wraps up, after two years spent preparing and bracing for major protests.

"I know people really expected a lot more. It never really came and it's probably for the best," resident Randy Pielsticker told CBC News on Saturday.

"Many left town. I decided to stay to see what I could see," Pielsticker said.

But Pielsticker and other residents are a little disappointed.

Not one world leader visited the town or set foot outside the heavily fortified Deerhurst Resort east of town during the 24-hour summit, with the exception of Russian Prime Minister Dimitri Medvedev, who dined at a restaurant on the main street on Thursday night.

The closest glimpse any residents got of the visiting dignitaries were of helicopters flying overhead and then touching down at the summit site.