Back in 2017 Noa and I went to Columbia, South Carolina for the total solar eclipse. It was Owen's first day of middle school, and we decided that was too important for him to miss, so Owen and Elaine missed out. Fortunately the eclipse cycle was going to bring another total solar eclipse to the U.S. seven years later in April of 2024.
With a path of totality sweeping from Austin to Maine it was tempting to make a trip to Texas for this eclipse, but school schedules meant that we were better off sticking somewhere closer to home. We decided to visit Joe & Cate in Pittsburgh for the weekend, then drive up to a field in Greenville, PA for the main event.
Sunday in Pittsburgh was a stunningly gorgeous day. We went for a walk in the park by the river, roasted marshmallows by the fire, and played a late night game of hide & seek in the Mettenburg woods. The forecast for Monday though had been trending cloudy, and when we woke up to rain falling on the skylights, I'll admit I was nervous. We pressed ahead though and drove up to the path of totality, stopping to pick up lunch in Hermitage. The rain stopped and we started to see the sun peaking through the clouds on the drive. By the time we reached our field there was enough blue sky to feel cautiously optimistic.
When we reached C1 – first contact – the clouds were thin enough that you could generally make out the moon taking the first bight out of the sun with our eclipse glasses on. Everyone's excitement built as we gradually moved towards totality. The light felt strange, darker than it should be, and the shadows became eerily sharp. The temperature began to fall, and the clouds began to clear. Owen, Noa, Gigi, Hugh, and the Mettenburg's French exchange student Nya paused their game of ultimate frisbee to give their full attention to the eclipse as we approached C2 and totality. Bailey's beads and then the diamond ring appeared and we took off our eclipse glasses to behold in awe the inky black hole in the sky surrounded the by the gossamer white tendrils of the corona. Unlike the last eclipse we saw, this time there was a red glow on the limb of the sun – a giant solar flare tens of times larger than the earth itself leaping out from behind the moon. For our one minute and thirty seven seconds of totality we stood in wonder – awed by an experience that has inspired humanity since time immemorial.
After totality ended we shared stories with the others in our field and texted with friends that saw the eclipse from other places along the path of totality. Steve and Megan sent a picture from Indiana where their friends set up a telescope and saw the solar flare in all its glory. We quickly hit the road, weary of eclipse traffic, and headed home so the kids could be back in school on Tuesday. The next eclipse that will be easily reachable in the U.S. won't come until 2045 – though if we really can't wait the next total solar eclipse will sweep through Iceland and Spain just two years from now...
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