The Great American Eclipse 2017

We finished up our summer vacation this week, by taking a road trip down to SC.  No, we didn't go to the beach, although that would have been fun.  We went to see the solar eclipse in an area of totality, and that was awesome!

Since we left the house at 5:30 on Sunday morning, we were ready to turn in early that night.  We met up with JP's niece at our hotel, and she spent the night with us.

Around noon on Monday, we went to the local library, and sat in the air conditioning to read until around 2 PM.  Then we went outside to their good sized yard, where we found a spot near a tree so we could have a bit of shade (it's HOT in SC!)  We laid on a blanket and watched the earth's shadow slowly cover the sun.  It was amazing that we still had a decent amount of light, even though the sun was 95% or more covered.  The light was eerily flat, and the shadows were unusual.  The crickets began chirping as the darkness increased, and stopped again once the event was over.

 

JP took some really good photos...I'm just going to post them in sequential order.

After we got our fill of eclipse (although we are already planning for April, 2024), we headed north 3 hours to visit with JP's sister and family for a couple of days.  The girls got their cousin fix, and it was enjoyable to see their home and get our Carolina BBQ fix.

On the way home, we drove through Mt. Airy, and decided to stop at the Andy Griffith Museum.

 

 

We had a nice vacation, but it's good to be home.

Today we braved the crowds at the Outlets, and finished our back-to-school shopping.  J has a home soccer game tomorrow, and school starts for reals on Monday.

Whew...welcome to the real world!