Like many of you, Rick and I enjoyed this year's eclipse. It may not be a once in a lifetime event for many of you but for me it probably is, so we maxed it out!
We left in the morning to drive two hours to Toledo where Rick's Aunt Carol lives. Totality was supposed to be 99 percent there, better than Lansing.
Taking the back roads was the best thing we did. This photo doesn't show how crowded our roads were (a lot of the cars in this photo are over the hill already, there's a gap from a stop light and many behind), but traffic slacked off when there was a division in the routes. On FB I saw photos of US 23, which we would normally take, and it was like a parking lot, backed up for miles. (Plus, back roads are prettier!)
We took a patio picnic lunch to Carol's and as eclipse time came closer ventured to the side of her condo where we had a tree-free view of the sky. We donned our "designer" glasses and waited -- and then it started!
It was fun watching the changes, at first incremental and then, it seemed, more rapid.
We kept looking up, watching as the moon filled more and more of the sun's surface.
It took a long while for the light to dim but it did significantly, though it never got fully dark. But the streetlights did come on!
What also noticed that as the light grew more dim, a chill came over us (I wished I had grabbed my sweater.) The birds seemed much quieter, too. We did hear them throughout but they had been very loud prior to the eclipse and we heard only a feww chirps after the eclipse was well under way.
All in all, it was a wonderful experience!
In other news....
I made a wonderful dinner on Sunday -- Jenna's delicious corn/ham dish. (You could easily substitute another protein or even veggies for this.) The ingredients are ham, frozen corn, red pepper, onion, green chilies, cheese and hash browns for the crust. SO good and highly recommended! Check it out here.
And, I got the final proof copy of my family history book -- about 309 pages! I'm reading it through carefully (yes, there is always a typo, in this case more than a few!) and hopefully will have the final copies soon.
I can't wait!
Sharing with: Share Your Style / Rain's Art & Dinner Date / Friday Face Off
Your eclipse was darker and bigger than here, but any amount is very moving. I'm glad you caught it
ReplyDelete...we sat in our backyard with our glasses in hand, but did need them. It was an overcast day, we saw darkness some and go!
ReplyDeleteCelestial movie star! Those are some fancy solar glasses! Nice shots of the the sun and moon- we are so far off the chart that it was just dark all day. Nothing unusual for the PNW.
ReplyDeleteI love your stylish designer glasses!
ReplyDeleteWe folks down here in SW GA pretty much had squat on the eclipse but then again, where my family still is up in Ohio and Buffalo, they had pretty much total cloud cover. Oh well. Anyways, I bet you are really excited about the family history book proof! Nice!!
ReplyDeleteDawn P. Albany, GA
Hello Jeanie :=) You look great in those solar glasses. I didn't notice a thing. I don't know what time the eclipse happened but it went unnoticed by me. I like all the photos you caught on camera, and that delicious looking pie you made which looks so good.
ReplyDeleteAll the best
Sonjia.
My in-laws drove 8 hours to and from to see the eclipse in New Hampshire. Not my thing, but it was worth it to them. That ham and corn dish looks so delicious. I'll give it a try.
ReplyDeleteHow lovely to see the eclipse. I saw one here some years ago when I was still teaching, it was so fascinating. Glad you have your book, well done!
ReplyDeleteAnd the star of the day for me today is your food, yummy, my hungry tummy is screaming for a portion! Hugs, Valerie
Wow, you made a party out of it. We didn't really see anything different up here, but years ago near my hometown, we saw a drastic change in the sky. That's a lovely photo of the eclipse, and isn't that something that the birds became quiet at that moment? Nature seems to know and understand more than we do. Your ham-corn dish looks delicious. And so glad to hear you got your family history book in final proof.
ReplyDeleteHave a terrific week, Jeanie.
~Sheri
It was so cloudy and dark here to begin with that there was no noticeable change with what would have been a partial eclipse here. McFamily saw the total eclipse, though, in Ohio. Sent me pictures!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the cookbook! :)
I was just thinking how I forgot to take photos of either myself or my husband in our eclipse glasses. So glad you were smart enough to do that. It looks like you a fantastic day for viewing it also. And fun to have few people around too. Glad you were able to enjoy it. hugs-Erika
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the book in editing, Jeanie. You're almost there! And the eclipse photos are grand. We didn't have totality, but it did darken a bit and our birds were quiet for a little while. How exciting that you made a great day adventure of the event. I agree the back roads are the best way to travel!
ReplyDeleteYou seem to have had a perfect spot for this event. Nice photos and description. I saw something similar here in Europe some years ago, but don't know whether is was a full eclipse. It gives a strange light though. I am sure the birds were singing a little bit less during the eclips.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on getting that final proof copy! How does that feel? I'm glad that you were able to enjoy the eclipse. I still remember both solar eclipses I was lucky to enjoy in my life, both at totality, plus the couple annular and partial ones. It's really a big event. Your dinner looks delicious!
ReplyDelete