Did you hear there was a total eclipse that swept across the entire United States? Wink, wink. The Great American Eclipse, as I heard it called, was talked about so much that I had a slight fear that it wouldn’t live up to the hype. Lucky for us, a 3 hour trip to be in the path of totality was very much so worth it and I hope the girls remember it, much like I will, for a long time to come!
The celebration started for us on Saturday at home with some baking.
Hailey is quite interested in space and we’ve been talking about the basic concept of the eclipse for some time. To further drive the point home with Kaitlyn, we decided to bake cookies depicting the moon’s coverage of the sun.
Did it work? Maybe? …but at the very least we all enjoyed a very donut-like treat! We used this recipe for the cookies but made our own icing from powdered sugar, milk, and cocoa powder.
On Sunday, the girls and I took off southbound for Mema and Grandpa’s house, which is near Clemson University in South Carolina and was in the middle of the path of totality.
Since the girls are still on a very summery schedule, they stayed up late to soak up an evening boat ride and watch the sunset as the adult conversation turned to excited discussion about the next day’s event.
After a good night’s sleep (have I mentioned they are able to sleep in the same room now?!) we played the morning away.
The girls took a ride on the “tractor” then we set up shop on the porch to play games
(the girls loved this wooden block game!)
and decorate eclipse viewing masks.
The masks ended up being really useful, as I was a bit of a nut about making sure the girls didn’t even look slightly towards the sky without it.
As the time crept closer to 1:00 (the start time) the buzz of anticipation began to fill the air. Slowly, but surely, the sky began to dim. The best was I can describe it was that the air started to appear hazy. It felt very surreal, as the temperature also began to drop.
Finally at 2:37 pm, the total eclipse began.
For two glorious minutes, we could look directly at the moon covering the sun and the view did not disappoint.
The air was cooler, the crickets started singing, and we saw a bat fly by. There were fireworks going off in the distance and the whole feel was completely unlike anything I had ever experienced. We could see Venus shining brightly in the sky and were grateful that the clouds that had been teasing us stayed away for us to experience totality in all its glory.
As the two minutes came to an end, we all started to look away and slowly, the grass beneath our feet illuminated as the moon moved past the sun. The crescent shadows appeared on the ground and the crickets kept chirping for a bit in confusion.
Hailey facetimed with David to tell him all about it, and I was excited that the girls thought it was just as neat as the rest of us.
We stayed another night because, as predicted, the highways in the area turned into parking lots with the mass exodus of eclipse chasers that were headed home. The girls kayaked and swam and were worn completely out by that evening.
The quick trip was all totally worth it. It was such a unique experience and one that I think would be worth traveling to again in 2024. Mark your calendars!
If you are in the US, did you experience the eclipse?
If so, what did you think?!
Erica says
Wow! You were lucky to have such an easy trip to view the totality! Your girl’s masks are cute. My older son just turned 2 so I decided he was still too young, plus it was during nap time ;-). The 98% in Charlotte was pretty impressive, but it didn’t get nearly as dark – still lighter than twilight I would say. It’s amazing how much light 2% gives us!
Brittany Dixon says
Yes, I was so surprised how late it stayed until totality! It’s crazy to realize just how bright the sun is. And yes, I agree, 2 years old would make me nervous too, especially since I was already a bit crazy with Kaitlyn who is 3! Glad you enjoyed the 98%!
Melissa says
How fun!!! Here in toronto it was a partial eclipse and still kind of neat to see.
Brittany Dixon says
Did the air get hazy?? It was such a bizarre sensation!
Melissa says
It did. At first it felt like a big storm was rolling in.. my kids are too young to appreciate/understand it still. But what great memories for your girls.
Kim says
Looks like a great time! We have family in SC and they loved it. In 2024 we in Ohio will be in the path of totaility so we are excited for it!
Kathy says
So much fun!!! You got great pictures of the eclipse!!
Liz says
We live in Charleston, so we experienced totality too. It was SO cloudy though and I was certain we wouldn’t actually be able to see anything. But with the glasses on, we could see the sliver of the sun through the clouds and then thankfully, there were no clouds blocking the sun during the actual eclipse. It was really pretty awesome, but then we went right back inside and had to clean up the lunch that we rushed through after nap time to get outside to see the eclipse! I’m glad we didn’t have to travel for it, though!
Kelli H says
It looks so cool from where you were! It got dark where I am but we had a very cloudy/foggy day on Monday and couldn’t see anything in the sky. 🙁 It looked so cool from others pictures though!
Brynn says
Love the cookies! Sweets make every event more exciting in my humble opinion.
Heather says
Alas, we had rain and cloudy skies, so while the sky did indeed get darker, I didn’t see much of anything. Haha!
Laura says
I had found out about the total eclipse 5 years ago, and started making plans back in April (and submitted the time off request early since the school year already started for us). Needless to say, I was pretty excited! It was over 13 hours in the car for us round trip with a 1 and 3 year old, but still totally worth it! We were in a gorgeous area in the prairies of Nebraska with not a cloud in sight. It really was perfect and a powerful bonding experience for my family. We stayed in our spot for about an hour afterwards (and even popped open a bottle of champagne!), and just talked about our experience. The diamond ring was simply stunning, as was the 360 degree sunrise.
Maria says
What a wonderful excuse to go see the grandparents! Your kids are at great ages too to experience this. Consider it your first homeschool lesson, huh? 🙂
Our closest totality path was in Oregon and obviously, we didn’t make the trek up there. Instead, we stood in our back yard sans glasses and checked out the shadows. It was a eery feeling for sure though. The temperature dropped and it looked like it was about to storm (which never happens in CA!). And that was that.
The baby slept through it. 😉 What exciting lives we lead!
Chris says
We went too, it was beautiful and my 5 and 3 year olds loved it! The planet on the right of the sun was actually Mars. And apparently Mercury was on the left, but I never saw it!
Brittany Dixon says
Oh really? haha! I should have double checked 😉