Eclipse Trip

"That was the coolest thing I ever saw!"

"It almost made me cry!"

That's what Austin and Karissa said right after we saw the total eclipse on Monday. I have to agree with both of them. I did almost cry watching that amazing phenomenon that we were so lucky to witness! It really was about the coolest thing I ever saw. I couldn't fall asleep that night, I kept picturing the "diamond ring" right before the total eclipse and right after.

It was in that amazing moment that I knew it was totally worth the effort to go. The cheering, the excitement of our kids and everyone around us, the darkness in the middle of the day, the 360 degree horizon that looked like the sun was setting, the crickets, the planet we saw (probably Venus), and the shadow snakes just before totality.

Honestly, watching the whole process, it's those last few minutes that really make it so extraordinary. There wasn't much difference between 70%, let's say, and 95%, except a little more of the sun was covered. It's the last minute before totality and of course during it, that really made it.

We had to miss many events over the weekend to be there. A bestie birthday party, cheer showcase, first football game to cheer at, library program party, and ward camp out. We will have another eclipse in 7 years and Toledo Ohio is one of the places to see the full, though who knows where Victoria will be then. We have invited everyone to come visit us then, but hopefully it won't be cloudy! Being in April, and in Toledo, it could be. We were very blessed to have been able to see this one without cloud cover (there was some off and on before the totality) and we had a perfect place that wasn't too crowded to view it. We did take about twice as long to get back to our campground afterwards, but like I said, it was totally worth it!!

Mammoth Caves, a couple of days before the eclipse.

"Fat man's misery"

This is not even the most narrow part of "Fat man's misery".

Pool at the campground.

Playing "Cover Your Assets", our favorite game lately. 

At the park where we saw the eclipse.

Playing in between peeks at the eclipse during the initial phases.

Playing catch during a cloudy part.

Starting to get exciting!

The horizon during the eclipse. This is from my phone, which I learned doesn't take the good pictures that Jason's does. My flash was on here, so it doesn't look as dark as it was. 

Horizon on the other side.

Eclipse from Jason's phone, mine just looked like the sun shining, even still no pictures or videos from us can do it justice!

Park sign as we left.