I recently attended a meeting in Mobile, Alabama, where I got to lose my Mardi Gras virginity. I was staying at a hotel directly on the parade route and couldn't wait for it to begin. At 4:30 the streets were deserted-- except for three other photographers, apparently all as ready for the parade to begin as I was.
I amused myself with some local color-- in this case, a funnel cake stand-- and waited for the sun to set.
Mobile, Alabama. 6 February 2009.