Total Eclipse Was a Total Blast!
Been so busy, I neglected to give my astronomy loving friends a report on how I celebrated the Total Eclipse 2017.
Actually, it almost didn't happen! My original plan was to watch the Eclipse 2017 from Charleston, South Carolina. When that fell through, I resigned myself to watching a partial eclipse from right here in Atlanta. Not that a partial eclipse is a bad thing. It is remarkable unto itself. But who am I kidding? I wanted the full experience of a total eclipse!
At the last minute, a wonderful cousin living just up the road in Greenville, SC, scored us tickets to the hottest venue in the entire South for watching the Total Eclipse: the Roper Mountain Science Center, which houses the Hooper Planetarium and Daniel Observatory.
I threw my kids in the car and raced up I-85 early that morning (August 21), scooped up my cousin and her kids, and headed for the Roper Mountain Eclipse Extravaganza 2017.
It was perfect! Beautiful, lush grounds! Science exhibits abound! Free solar eclipse glasses! And live music!
For fun, I went totally retro and put together a couple of pinhole projectors with cereal boxes and aluminum foil. They were a huge hit with the kids!
The best part, however, was watching my kids experience the total eclipse and just hanging with family. I even captured video footage of my son while he and I were staring at the eclipse, which I will add it to this post later. In the meantime, here are some pics of my family:
Unfortunately, getting back home was a bit of a grind as I-85 was a parking lot! But luckily my brother knows which back roads are safe in Northest Georgia. I called him and he guided me home the back way.
Can't wait until the next Total Eclipse in 2024!
In the meantime, I'll be visiting Roper Mountain again in the Spring, this time to do a reading from my book LANA & THE WATER CARRIER. So stay tuned for details on that!
