Thin crowds greet Mardi Gras Day

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - THIN CROWDS

Even the floats got a late start Tuesday, rolling through nearly empty streets to get lined for the parades. Ten-year Mardi Gras veterans Matt Chester and Bobby Rock were the first ones to set up their tent in Bienville Square Tuesday morning and they didn’t get there until nearly 8 o’clock.

"Usually there’s at least a couple of other people setting, and we were the first ones down here and we were like, man that’s usually late for us,” Chester said.

”Never this empty,” Rock said. “The fear of the rain we guess everyone is scared off.”

BIENVILLE SQUARE EMPTY

Just an hour before the parades Bienville Square, on of the most popular spots to set up camp, was nearly empty.

Undeterred, Carol Lee brought her visiting grandkids out early. She didn’t want them to miss Mardi Gras.

"You’ve got to see it at least once!" she said.

Others just made the best of the extra elbow room, setting up where they pleased and marking off big chunks of territory. For these hard-core revelers, a little rain is nothing to worry about.

"We’re going to be here until the end," Peggy Wilson said. "We did Sunday. Rain or shine, we’ll stay all day."

"We’re set up. Rain, shine, we got tents," Rock said.

"We’re too mean to melt!" another lady shouted.

That’s the Mardi Gras spirit shining through the overcast skies.