2024 Eclipse Trip

TL;DR version:

Planned in advance, changed plans, had some clouds, few pictures, lots of memories.

Longer version:

The same friend of mine that went on the Oregon trip in 2017 also was a part of this effort.  We had planned a big road trip to TX - got reservations 16 months in advance at a cool looking hip camp in the hill country north of Uvalde.  Looked to be pretty good.  Then I answered a question of "where are you going" while at GSSP and pretty soon it snowballed and what started as just 2 people camping became a little more than a dozen possible people.  After some time, the people started dropping away as life plans changed.

In Feb, Scott and I planned the full road trip including stops and how long we wanted to spend in different areas.  Used paper maps to plan it out and then built a google map with route.  I reserved my vacation time and was preparing myself for the culture shock of TX.  My experiences of culture shock in NC were still fresh from when I was there with my father.  I was expecting to hide behind a camera to document the billboards, people, and other expressions of politic.

When the weather turned bad, we had less than a week to make changes and we chose to go to Cleveland OH.  Luckily, the Hipcamp site was able to return the deposits and the expected budget of the trip was about the same for the out-and-back airplane tix.  Traveled very light - just a bag for clothing - big binoculars to view the eclipse and cell phones for documentation.  

Caught the redeye to get to TX, then to Cleveland by mid-day.  Had enough time to check out potential spot at the airport itself then decided to take the light rail one stop closer. 

Walked about a mile, had some BBQ for lunch, fixed pinholes in the solar filters while eating and answering questions from the public, returned to the train station to wait out the time before the show.  There were a few clouds slowly getting thicker as time went on.  We were in the flight path for the airport and the stream of small planes and passenger jets was pretty thick, then stopped completely about an hour before totality. 

The light rail trains were packed with people going to the edge of Lake Erie for a baseball game and the big party center at the lake.  The culdesac where we set up was quiet and peaceful.  Eventually some locals showed up walking on foot and a police officer watched as well.

During the actual totality, a freight train stopped on the tracks for the duration as well.  Pretty interesting how everything came to a standstill.  People and animals.

I shared the binoculars that I had with the locals in the expectation that they would enjoy the view as well.

Near the end of totality, locals started shooting off fireworks in the neighborhood - something that I had not expected but found exciting and fun to hear.

After totality, as we packed up stuff to leave, there was a guy that showed up on his bike with fishing poles - he said that he was going to take advantage of the fish biting for the "second morning."  We chuckled and wished him luck.

The sight of the eclipse through the binoculars and through the cloud haze was good.  Could see the giant plume of the prominence with the naked eye and the binoculars made it even more spectacular.  Having seen other details in 2017 like shadow bands and such, I was not driven to capture the moment except to be happy and enjoy the conditions.  After the whirlwind of plans changing in the final days, I was not upset about the weather and was satisfied with the experience.

After totality, we started the long trek back.  Waiting in line at the airport to get through security was slow.  Got on a plane from Cleveland to Las Vegas and spent the night there.  Was finally back home the next day by 10 am.  Away from home for less than 2 days.