Since it had been 12 years from his last visit, we took him to downtown Greenville. Our little one had to get a photo with her favorite statue.
After we got home, we tested out the eclipse glasses right away. Check!
About 30 minutes before the majestic show, we reclined in the yard for our front row seat of the spectacular event we would witness.
We watched the moon take a small bite out of the sun, then gradually cover a quarter, then half, then three-fourths.
At this point, the crescent sun cast neat images on the ground from trees and other small holes. The animals also started to make noises. Cows were acting wierd and mooing. The temperature became noticably cooler, although the daylight was quite bright outside. I was amazed how this much of the sun could be covered and yet give off so much sunlight.
At almost 90% covered the cows stopped, but the birds were going crazy along with gnats and other flying pests. The temps contintued to drop and the air became still.
Just before the total eclipse, and I mean literally 30 seconds prior, we saw dark wavy lines dance across the pavement. No picture or video adequately captured this, eventhough we tried. It happened again immediately after the eclispse was over.
And then the climax....https://youtu.be/5z41SdEvTYQ. We gave applause, then paused with silence and awe to absorb the moment, well except for the crickets and locusts. We took off our glasses and observed the sun with our naked eyes. At no other time is it safe to do this!
There was a 360 degree sunset, the streetlamps came on, and the sun's corona was completely visable for 2.5 minutes. Temps continued to drop for another 10 min or so because even after the eclipse was over, the sun's rays took time to arrive on Earth's surface.
It was truly an experience that can't be captured by camera! If our spring break in 2024 concides with the next eclispe in Texas, we're definitely going to try to make it. San Gabriel, here we come!
