I'm not really freaking out over it, but I have the day off and a couple planned locations. We'll evaluate the weather this weekend and make a final decision. We're close enough that we don't need to plan for lodging - we will probably go early. When I drove to the last one, totality was kind of crazy. You heard an almost immediate switch in the types of noises; it was like all of the birds and squirrels made the transition to "night" - squirrels stopped making noise entirely, some birds shut up, other birds started up, some of them changed to their "evening" calls. It was like a really accelerated nightfall. Then the sun came back out and all the normal day noises resumed.
I'm just north of totality so we are planning to drive down to my uncle's house in Ohio to see it. I bought a bunch of sticker books/flap books and other car activities for the small gremlin when it inevitably takes ages to get there, but we also are planning to take back roads so worst case scenario we bail and see an *almost* total eclipse. What I won't be doing is getting stuck on 23/75S for eternity while my toddler yells "MAMA WHY AREN"T WE GOING?" because that is definitely one of the circles of hell.
We're directly in the path of totality (and where "X marks the spot" from last time). Local school district closed due to travel issues with busses, several counties declared states of emergency weeks ago. Local businesses are literally selling parking spaces in their lots. It's absolute insanity. Of course, the weather forecast has recently changed to pissing rain, so all these people who airbnb'd houses for $1k+ are about to be SOL. Though it is Texas, so while it currently says 70% chance of rain, there's also a strong likelihood that it's clear skies and perfect weather.
They kept us in the lunch room when I was in elementary school. Only one class got to look because a dad brought welding glasses. I was pissed. Not great news weather went from partly cloudy yesterday to overcast with 40% chance of rain near me today. May be taking a trip up north. Is the Detroit to buffalo trip through Canada an easy or complicated trip for Americans? May just have to drive to ….. Cleveland.
My brother is flying into Dallas for the event. Him and I are very open about money but he won't tell me how much he spent on airfare and hotel which tells me it's a LOT.
I'm just South of totality, and North of the population centers, so I'll prob hit the road early to get a jump on the crowd, post up in a spot with a book and a Nintendo Switch, and then wait a few hours afterward before heading back.
I think we'll have about 75% mid-afternoon? I've still got my glasses from the 2017. I think I was in the 90+% path then. Two pics I took with my cell phone:
I was still in Nashville back in 2017 for totality. It was awesome. This year Nebraska’s in like…70% and it’s my wife’s birthday. She’s not as into it as I am, so we’ll just see what we see.
I think the DC area is in 80/85% totality. We made zero special plans, If it's not overcast and I remember it's going on, I might peak outside. A buddy of mine is flying to Illinois with his middle kid to see it. If I did that, it would guarantee a solid overcast for that area.
I still don't understand what the big deal is beyond "that looks pretty cool." I mean... that's it, right?
Can anyone give me a reasonable explanation for canceling school, declaring states of emergency, etc? I have never seen such chaos around an eclipse before, and I’ve lived through a bunch of them. Unless this time Our Glorious Leader Donald Trump is bringing us all to Rapture. If that’s the case I’m looking forward to less traffic, so bring it on.
Seeing the mysterious Black Sun move across the face of the small and local Sun, darkening the Flat Earth underneath the Firmament that holds back the Waters Above? What’s not to enjoy about that?
Best I can describe from the 2 and a quarter I’ve seen even though the sun is small in our sky and moon during it slightly smaller, it really gave me a sense of their enormity and the minuscule nature of ur existence. Maybe I’m a little more poetic about it but I grew up with a dad that would skip school to watch the Apollo lift offs on tv. Raised watching Star Trek. Lot of built in wonderment for the cosmos. Plus it’s one of those collective once in a lifetime thing. Next one in the US is 20 years and the nearest one to me will be when I’m 95. Again small boat in infinite pond. Hale-Bopp which my dad photographed won’t be back until the 4000s.
My town was ground zero for the one in 2017 and all I remember is the birds started freaking the fuck out. Like just nothing but birds making pissed off noises as soon as it got completely dark.
The path of totality is occurring in rural or semi-rural places that are pretty close to urban areas that aren't in totality. That means a ton of people driving on roads that don't have the infrastructure to move that many people. This is further compounded by the fact that there is expected to be a big snowstorm just a few days in advance, plus we're in melt season, so the chances of cars driving in conditions that either the car or the driver aren't prepared for is high. It's going to be next to impossible to drive in these towns as they normally would, so a lot of them are saying "fuck it" and letting everyone stay home for the day. A lot of people want to hike to a good viewing spot, but at this time of year the trails are still dangerous, and if temps drop the cold can kill at altitude, so search and rescue is planning to be overwhelmed, and a lot of places are closing the trailheads to try to head off the problem.
It looks... really cool. The difference between 98% totality and 100% totality is crazy. The whole day disappears in a matter of a minute. So yes, that's it, but it's pretty awesome. The problem is that a lot of people think it's really awesome so they swarm in to the nearest location of totality which may or may not be equipped to support an influx of people.
Around here part of the reason for cancelling schools was that the totality is supposed to happen at roughly the time the kids are all going home. So small children with little to no adult supervision and something cool looking in the sky that can blind them. Also as mentioned above add in crowded roads. I suspect that someone somewhere did a little liability calculation and decided it would be much cheaper to leave the kids in the care of their parents for the day.