The Great American Eclipse

Did you watch the eclipse on August 21st?  Did you travel because you were super excited to see the view from the path of totality?  Did you stay home because you figured that even a partial solar eclipse was still a pretty amazing sight to behold?  Did you have to work and miss it?  Maybe your boss was kind enough to let you head outside for a little while and enjoy the view.

Heading to Columbia for the Eclipse

For us, a voyage to the path of totality was on the horizon.  We headed to Columbia, South Carolina, Sunday afternoon, and we were absolutely going to be enjoying the days there.  Surprisingly, very little traffic was on the road on the way to Columbia.  When we arrived, we found ourselves at the home of some kind folks who welcomed us to stay with them.  Their home was very different from ours.  We went from a suburban neighborhood to a little farm in the middle of the woods, which was a treat for my family!

A Glimpse of Our Visit

A Glimpse of Tyneford Farm

We spent Sunday chatting, visiting the farm animals, eating, and playing board games.  Then we all settled in for the night with excitement for Monday’s big event.  The next morning we woke up and had a hearty breakfast of green eggs and ham.  Actually, it was green eggs and bacon, but that is not the point.  The point is, aside of those plastic things that people fill with candy in the springtime, have you ever seen green eggs outside of a Dr. Seuss book?

Just about when the time came for the sky to start eliciting oohs and aahs, another family arrived with a telescope that made viewing the eclipse even more of a thrill.  While everyone got a turn peering through the it, here is a picture that I snapped of Boy that shows the size of the telescope.  Pretty neat, eh?

The moon and sun grew closer and closer to crossing paths, and it became a fun task for several of us to take pictures through the telescope.  That was not as easy as it may seem.

Then it was happening.  The solar eclipse was almost complete.  The sky kept getting darker.  The sunset was on the horizon.  We saw the diamond ring.

Solar Eclipse

Then the excitement swept through the group as we saw it.  There it was.  It was…TOTALITY!  Cheers and applause!

Right photo taken by Carlos Iglesias

A few minutes later, the sun was peeking out of the other side of the moon.  Seemingly as quickly as the total eclipse happened, it was ending.  We grabbed a quick bite to eat for the road.  We said good-byes to our friends.

…and we were off.  Happy Eclipse Day, Everyone, and thank you for your South Carolina hospitality.  Soon we shall start making plans for 2024!

11 Replies to “The Great American Eclipse”

  1. We had such a great time meeting, getting to know you, and departing as friends! Keep in touch please!!

  2. What a wonderful event and to do it at that beautiful farm must have been icing on the cake! I have seen many colors for eggs but never green, how weird.
    I really loved the pics which I assume were off the lens of the telescope. Weren’t you worried about using such a high powered scope on your eyes though?

  3. We enjoyed the eclipse from Texas. It sure made for some crazy colors in the sky here. I homeschool my kids so we took some time out of the day to check it out.

  4. Wow, what an amazing experience for you and your family! I love that you got to experience a little bit of farm life and make some new friends too. What great memories you’ve made!

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