Totality
About two seconds after totality
Our tiny town was in the path of totality for the Great American Solar Eclipse. For months before the big day (how have we been here months already?!), we were warned by every neighbor, every store employee, and even our postal worker to prepare for the invasion of thousands of tourists. There were town hall meetings to cover safety, our rights, and how to protect our properties (anyone else think of Gilmore Girls at the mention of town hall meeting?). Most people we spoke with planned on leaving the week before the event to escape the madness that was predicted. One man was even fearing mass destruction so he planned on taking all of the important insurance documents for his house with him. To say it was utter mayhem here just before last week seems quite fitting. So, my family and I followed the advice we were given. We stocked up on food and anything else we would need and just stayed put at our house waiting for it all to pass.
They predicted the rush to begin the Friday before and to carry on until the Tuesday afterwards. Friday came and went. Nothing. Saturday came and went. Nothing. We considered ourselves brave and went out on Sunday to attend church. There was actually less traffic and less people at church than we had ever experienced. Huh. Same for the day of the eclipse and the day after. It was like Y2K all over again! Ha! Oh well. The funny thing is, we went to get groceries the following Wednesday and the grocery stores were packed. Apparently all of us locals refused to leave our houses the whole time and then all came out the same day. A bit ironic, don't you think?
The eclipse was incredible, though. Something that we will never forget. I am so glad we were able to experience it as a family. We were all so surprised by just how dark and quiet it became at the moment of totality. Sweet Baby F began doing the sign for sleep, almost questioning if it was bedtime. Then as soon as the sun started to come back out he said, "Uh-oh!" over and over again. Talk about confusing a baby! After seeing the eclipse ourselves I totally get why people would travel for it. I find myself now daydreaming about a family trip for the next one. Who knows? Maybe we'll be the people another small town is talking about!
p.s. - I do not have the right lens for faraway photography but you can still see the tiny sun, right?
