Even though I won’t have to travel anywhere to see the Eclipse, I won’t get to act like a tourist in my town here in Missouri either. Since we are right in the middle of the path of totality, there are pre-eclipse parties the day before–selling out like crazy. There’s the Foodstock Solar Eclipse Festival at Corporate Lake which will celebrate the Eclipse with live music, food trucks, beer tents, crafts, games, kids activities, and fireworks. There are even Solar Eclipse Chaser Groups formed, prepared, and ready to go.
I get it, this is going to be it for the next 40 years. The last Eclipse was in 1979. This Eclipse is kind of a big deal and should be something really cool to experience. If I had my way I’d be doing it all–the pre-party, the festival, maybe chasing it down, maybe not. There’s a good chance I won’t be around for the next one, so I wouldn’t want to miss out on a thing. It sounds like an astronomical event that I would love to celebrate.
But, alas, the closest I’ll come is from the office of my day job. Our office is located right next to where the Foodstock Festival will be. I believe, if I actually make it through the traffic and to the office, I will be able to see Foodstock from our building no matter which set of windows I look out of. We are going to be allowed to take a long lunch in order to head over to Foodstock to experience the few minutes of Totality and grab some lunch, and I have already assembled my pinhole projector. But, to truly celebrate–check out the bands playing or take a hot air balloon ride? Naw, I’ll be watching from my window. Drop me a line and let me know if you are working or off for the Eclipse.
Think of me when you click or hear the song below:
Bonnie Tyler–Total Eclipse of the Heart
Eclipse Frenzy–2017
I guess I’m one of the lucky few who will not need to travel ANYWHERE to see the Eclipse. Apparently, I live right in The Path of Totality (sounds ominous, right?). Since I live right smack in the middle of Missouri (we call it Mid-Mo) right smack in the middle of the US and we’ll have something like 2 1/2 minutes in the shadow, it seems ALL of the general public is expected to travel to us. Really?
“They” say we are to expect 400,000 people to descend on our big, little city of 120,000. “They” say we are to expect congested roads and traffic delays for the weekend proceeding and the hours following. I’ve even heard some of “them” say, “I have a friend who is renting out rooms in his home (at $500/room) for the eclipse.” “They” are even warning us to gas the cars up and get groceries prior to the weekend. It drives me nuts when I don’t have a clue who “they” are.
Of course, since Missouri is the Show-Me State, I turned to the tools I am familiar with so I could see for myself what the expectation should be. A quick check of Expedia
So, it looks like “they” are right. A huge amount of people are coming to our town. I’ll be prepared though! I’ll have the car gassed up, and groceries bought. I already have my Solar Eclipse Glasses – CE and ISO Certified Safe and a back up pair.
Now I just have to decide–TO LOOK OR NOT TO LOOK? Drop me a comment and let me know if you will be looking at the Eclipse where you are.