Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

We made it safely home.  It took 8-9 hours a day of driving.  Although we had great weather, the traffic was horrendous - going down was bad, probably because of the number of cars going south to see the eclipse.  And we were traveling on Saturday and Sunday.  The return was tough because of road construction.  It does get depressing when you are driving on a red road, stopping and starting, and Siri says, "The left lane is closed three miles ahead.  You are still on the fastest route."

I think we'll stay put for a while.

"Where are the food pictures?" you may wonder.  Good question.  Thinking that food might be a problem, we had packed quite a bit of provender:  homemade whole-wheat rolls, homemade altoids, cheese, crackers, several kinds of pâté, soups, bananas, tuna, canned chicken (from Aldis, and it's surprisingly good), soda, pretzels, popcorn.

On our list of things to do was a BBQ restaurant, but we were too tired to stop on Sunday.  Again, traffic was terrible.  It was the last hour of driving on the second day, and we still had that hour of twisty-turny single lane road to the BnB.  We thought about going down the mountain on Monday, but the fear of not returning in time because of traffic made us rethink that. . . - combined with the fact that the restaurant is closed on Mondays.  So Tuesday, we ventured off the mountain, down the twisty-turny single lane road.  We only had to pull over twice and to back up once.  Traffic, surprisingly, was worse.  We could see no reason for the traffic, but we were looking forward to BBQ.  We got to the restaurant early and sat in the parking lot for 15 minutes before opening time.  D walked around back and talked to someone.  "What time do you open? he asked.   "11 o'clock on Wednesday," she answered.  He figured she was confused about the day, since it was Tuesday.  We waited until 11 and someone came out and told the waiting folks that they were not going to open because they had opened on Monday for the eclipse.

So we are home safe, having had an awesome experience, but with no food pictures. . .

Hiking the Appalachian Trail

We left the house fairly early this morning, after the fog lifted, to find the Appalachian Trail.  Google Maps shows a trailhead not too far from here.  We saw it on Sunday, but the parking lot was completely full and people were parking on the side of the narrow road!  Today, however, there was plenty of parking.

Can't get this far without hiking the Appalachian Trail!

 And how far will she go?

Notice the long sox and summer weight clothing.

Wish I had brought a walking stick!

After hiking, it was good to rest.

This trail marker makes a fine spot to relax.

Hot and tiring, this hiking!!!

But now we can say I hiked the Appalachian Trail.

The Total Eclipse

TEMPERATURE:
It became a steamy, hot day.
Before totality, it was 82.9º at 2:07
The temperature dropped as low as 76.9º at 2:48
It rose to 84.4º by the end of the eclipse at 4:01

The eclipse begins at 1:07, is maximum from 2:36-2:39, and ends at 4:02.

Temperatures are in red:

Start of partial eclipse 1:07
                                     2:07  82.9º

Start of total eclipse 2:36:49 77.9º

Maximum eclipse (MAX) :2:38
                                            2:48  76.9º

End of total eclipse 2:39:24
                                2:54 77.3º

End of partial eclipse 4:02  84.4º

WIND
There was very little wind today.  We had hoped to see changes, but we did not notice change in wind speed or direction.

ANIMALS:
D found a mud dauber this morning.  He kept returning to the same spot to gather some mud.  The soil was moist from the heavy, foggy dew.

 He disappeared midday, but returned during the shade of the eclipse to get some more.

 My guess is that this cricket bit the dust for non-eclipse-related reasons.

He's hanging out on the step.

SUN and SHADOWS
We enjoyed looking at the crescent suns in the dappled shade.

2:18 PM

2:19 PM

2:49 PM

We did try to see the crescent suns in the shadows of the grill on the chair:

(I missed hearing about the colander trick - there may be disadvantages to getting rid of TV.)

LIGHT AND DARKNESS:
It was fascinating as the light changed.  For a while it felt like we should remove sunglasses (but we were not wearing sunglasses!)

Alas, the iPhone compensated for the changing light, so I don't have much to show.
This was in totality:

It was too dark to read a newspaper.  The birds got quiet.  The midges came out and swarmed around.   (The dog is sitting with his back to me but close to D.)

Eclipse Day

We're in Georgia waiting for the eclipse, in a lovely cabin in the mountains in Hiawassee, GA, in the northeast corner of the state, where Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee meet.

Photo taken from email from the Washington Post.  Thanks, guys.

Woke up at the regular time - 6AM - and it's pitch-black out.  The sun won't be up for another hour.

7:00 AM  

Monday, August 21, 2017 (EDT)

Sunrise in Hiawassee, GA                         that's 6:16AM in Norwich, NY

8:16 PMd

Monday, August 21, 2017 (EDT)

Sunset in Hiawassee, GA                          that's 7:54PM in Norwich, NY

the eclipse begins at 1:07, is maximum from 2:36-2:39, and ends at 4:02.

Start of partial eclipse (C1) : 17:07:59.1 1:07

Start of total eclipse (C2) :  18:36:49.4 2:36:49

Maximum eclipse (MAX) :  18:38:07.0

End of total eclipse (C3) :  18:39:24.5 2:39:24

End of partial eclipse (C4) :  20:02:17.9 4:02

Hooray - it's starting!

You may be able to see the crescent sun in dappled shadows.  Or you could make a lattice pattern of your fingers and look at the shadow they make on the ground.

Driving to Georgia

We were able to get up and out by 7:20.  Traffic was light(ish) and weather was clear and pleasant.



There was only one spot of truly stop and start, and we were largely able to maintain good speed.  We were amused to see the electric signs that are usually used for amber alerts or traffic alerts had a different message, warning us that during the eclipse we were not to park on the shoulders or to stop at all except for emergencies.  (I wonder if that will work. . . )

During the last hour of the trip we were in the area that will experience the total eclipse.  There were lots of home-made signs offering eclipse parking or camping (no facilities) for $20.

With brief stops to stretch or have lunch or a snack, we arrived at our AirBnB, truly exhausted, at 4:30.  Long day.

The cabin is lovely.  The site is in the mountains, and it is about impossible to get here.  Very winding one-lane roads for miles on the sides of hills.  A little scary at the end of a tiring day.

There is a large back deck with hot-tub and rocking chairs.  It faces south southwest, and photos may be better in the morning. (The pic was also taken with an ancient iPad. . . )

I saw a newt on the porch and an eight-spotted forrester, but was too slow with the camera.

(In 2008, we were introduced to the 8 spotted forrester:  http://muddleaged.com/8spottedforester.html.  Love the hairy knees.)

Tomorrow the eclipse begins at 1:07, is maximum from 2:36-2:39, and ends at 4:02.

Start of partial eclipse (C1) : 17:07:59.1 1:07

Start of total eclipse (C2) :  18:36:49.4 2:36:49

Maximum eclipse (MAX) :  18:38:07.0

End of total eclipse (C3) :  18:39:24.5 2:39:24

End of partial eclipse (C4) :  20:02:17.9 4:02

I find the weather forecast graph for eclipse day fascinating

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=34.95&lon=-83.7584&unit=0&lg=english&FcstType=graphical

Notice the temperature drop around 3PM.  Looks like about 6 degree drop in temperature and a slight increase in wind from about 2-3MPH to 5MPH - not a huge difference, so we'll see if we notice it.

Driving to Virginia

Would you ever think two people and a dog would need this much stuff???

We loaded the trunk of the KIA we had rented from Hertz for the week.

It started out to be a lovely day.  There was fog in the valley, but otherwise clear and comfortable.








The car drives well.  D began the trip. First stop was the bagel place on Front Street in Binghamton.  I got two bagels with cream cheese and immediately ate one!!!

I took a turn driving once we reached Pennsylvania.

The first part of the trip went smoothly, but then traffic picked up.  At times it was stop and go.

 
Siri recommended a couple of re-routes because of traffic, so we got off 81 and got to see some of the countryside.

 We arrived at the Residence Inn in Waynesboro, Virginia, at 5:30.  That was about 90 minutes later than we expected.  The space is a one-bedroom with a living/dining/kitchen room and bathroom.

Very comfortable, and we will enjoy relaxing.  We brought food for dinner, and we enjoyed roast pork, hash-brown potatoes, coleslaw, rolls, mango slices.

Tommy is ready to relax!

We will have breakfast in the hotel tomorrow, and I brought lunch and snacks for the road.  We hope to stop at a BBQ place near our BnB.  (If not, we have tuna, chicken, homemade wheat rolls, and lots of other snacks.)

Next stop - Hiawassee, Georgia.

Beginning the Eclipse Adventure

In 1996 we saw our first total solar eclipse.  It was an awesome experience.  We were in Curaçao, and we watched from the pool area.  (I had originally worried that we needed to find a place with a clear view, but then, duh, it's almost straight up.  Anywhere will work!)  There was an open air restaurant off the pool deck.  The lead up to the eclipse is kind of long and rather boring, but you do get afraid of missing something, so it was great having lunch in the covered patio and being able to slip out for a peek every so often.

We did take pictures, in the pre-digital era.  They are mostly quite boring:

 Eclipsed Sun through Palm Tree

 The other ones make this look exciting - since they are just like that but without the tree!

~:~:~

We began making plans for our 2017 eclipse adventure in November, when we booked a house on AirBNB.  We like privacy, and we chose a whole-house, rather than share space with people we don't know.  And we also needed a place where Tommy would fit in.  We liked this one, and made our reservation and paid for it at that time.  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/6887339  It's in Hiawassee, GA, in the northeast corner of the state.  There is a nice yard that will be great for viewing.  Let's hope the weather cooperates!

In December we ordered our eclipse glasses.  Apparently, it's a good thing we did. . . The local library plans an eclipse watching party, but they have already given out all their glasses.

In June we made hotel reservations for the trip down and back.  We'll stay at a Residence Inn in Waynesboro, VA, about half way there.  And we reserved a rental car for our trip.  Had a bit of a panic when Hertz said they were cancelling reservations, even prepaid ones, during the eclipse, because they had not planned for the need for cars.  Turns out it was only Portland, Oregon.  We got an email reminder of our reservation, so we're hoping all will go well when we pick up the rental car on Friday.

Now it's time to make lists and get excited.

One of the photos I am hoping for is shadows.  In 1996 we took this one:



You are looking at the pool deck (see the square tiles?) in the shade of a palm tree during the partial eclipse.  Notice the crescent suns in the shadows.  I know, it's not easy to see what you are seeing!














Check back to see if I get the shadow pics.

~::~:~:~:~

I have removed a rather funny but perhaps politically inappropriate poster.  If you would like to see it, email me. 

You can reach me at my regular email addresses or at muddleaged at gmail dot com.