Are you traveling to see the eclipse?

[Keli]

I have been hearing about this eclipse from hubby for a year and a half. We are in the line for totality but not for as long as hubby wants so we are driving and hour and a half and camping out (in the hottest part of summer?! In KY?!). Yikes, totally not my thing but I love hubby. Grandkids are coming too so that part should be fun. They love swimming so we might see the eclipse from the pool while hubby goes to the prime viewing spot, haha!

 

[design_mom]

No. We'd have to drive pretty far to see totality and the kids will be in school. As someone else suggested, as soon as I planned a trip around something like this, it'd be cloudy/stormy that day. I would love to see it, but not willing to plan a trip and pull the kids out of school for something that relies so much on the weather.

I hope everyone who is going gets a good show though. We were in Grand Teton NP and they were hyping it quite a bit there. It looked like they were expecting eclipse tourists.

 

[mmouse37]

My DD lives in Bend, Oregon and recently told us what happened in relation to the eclipse. She works in a retail store and on July 21st this frantic couple came running in asking for the special eclipse glasses they sell. My DD told them that they were out right now but would get some in a few days. The couple, visibly upset, stormed out of the store yelling "what good will that do us....it starts in a few minutes!". They obviously thought the eclipse was that day and not in August. She didn't even get a chance to tell them as they were in and out so fast.

Imagine planning your vacation (speculating here) around an event and then booking the wrong month? She didn't think they were local as all the locals know the date as they have been gearing up for months for this event.

MJ

 

[SC Minnie]

No. Columbia SC is supposed to be in the direct path and we are 1 hour north. We won't see 100% but they are predicting around 98% here.

 

[fly girl]

Nope.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

So who needs to stock up on food prior to the eclipse due to extra traffic for lack of batter word

 

[MSLRAC]

We live in the line of totality so we don't have to go anywhere but we do plan to go about 30 minutes away to the viewing event at Clemson University. But we know how to get there via secondary roads so we can stay off of the primary roads and hopefully avoid a good majority of the traffic.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

No the police are not shutting it down but they are expecting people to just stop on the freeway to watch the eclipse. Madras in eastern Oregon, a town of 6,000 people is expecting a million people to come to watch the eclipse. Oregon State emergency management has sent out notices notify residents that they may not be able to move for several days around the eclipse and to have two weeks of food on hand.

I thought the state is expecting an additional 1 million visitors; not any individual town. The article I read said the state of Oregon has just under 5 million people, so 1 million is a huge increase even state-wide.

Eastern Oregon is less likely to be cloudy than the coast, but there are also not that many highways in eastern Oregon. Hopefully people are VERY CAREFUL to not start a fire. The whole region is a tinderbox and will be even more dry and crispy by late August.


I'm in the 96% zone. I didn't realize until recently the substantial difference between 96% and 100% when it comes to an eclipse, so I didn't make any plans. My plan is to watch it live from home. I've already ordered and received glasses from Amazon. NASA is also live-streaming the event online; so I'll watch the other 4% online to see the corona. It won't be as cool as live, but I don't want to deal with the predicted traffic nightmare.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

I am only in 75 percent so I doubt people well be traveling to my home down to see it more then likely I well see a empty classroom

 

[katie01]

So who needs to stock up on food prior to the eclipse due to extra traffic for lack of batter word

Somewhere I saw that very suggestion--that people may need to stock up on food and gas. I'm hoping it's not going to be as bad as that!

 

[hereyago]

No, I'm good. I have no interest in it.

 

[usnuzuloose]

So who needs to stock up on food prior to the eclipse due to extra traffic for lack of batter word

I love your question, we are not traveling to see it, but it does help remind me I need to grocery shop. I sure like you very much tink!

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

We're going to get over two minutes of totality here. If I drive 45 minutes to the centerline, I'll get 20 more seconds of totality. Big whoop.

I expect that if towns are having big celebrations, you might see a lot of traffic. A town across the lake from us is having a huge celebration. Our town is not. I plan to travel about oh 15 yards to my bbq pit. Also if areas near a big city are going to get totality vs areas that don't, you might see a lot of traffic. For example St. Louis. Parts of the metro area aren't going to see totality. Other parts are. I expect heavy traffic. The same is true of the Kansas city Area. Columbia is fairly well between them and closer to the centerline so you might see heavy heavy traffic along I-70. The I-5 corridor in Oregon may be busy as people come down from Portland and Seattle. But keep in mind, even Portland is going to get 99% eclipsed. Seattle, 92%. Even way down in Sacramento, they're going to get 82%. The lowest percentage in the US will be 57% up in Maine. So everyone is going to get at least a decent partial. It will be interesting to see how many from Chicago travel all the way to extreme downstate Illinois to see it. Also national parks or state parks in the path of totality may be busy. The Smokies are partially in, partially out. So there may be huge traffic nearby there as people decide to go for that. Knoxville, Pigeon forge, severeville, and Gatlinburg are all out of totality. But clingman's dome, cades cove, and townsend are all in.

Also if it is cloudy somewhere and known to be sunny 50 miles away, you might see some traffic day of.

 

[monorailsilver]

Nope. I live in I think 79%. That is good enough for me.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My front yard is right in the path, and according to this interactive map I would experience 99.98% totality.

But I've read that the difference between totality and near-totality, even in the .02% range, is worth the effort to see 100% totality. So I'm going about 80 miles east, to an historic town (Ste. Genevieve MO), to have lunch at a winery and see it with 100% totality.

I don't believe in any deity, but I am [metaphorically] praying for a clear day that day.

Very cool. Did you have to do a reservation?

We are probably going to have an eclipse party here at home, which will experience 2min14s. Good enough for me.

 

[donac]

My friends are driving to SC to see it. My son and his wife are flying to Atlanta but they are also going to visit friends who live there.

 

[rastahomie]

Very cool. Did you have to do a reservation?

We are probably going to have an eclipse party here at home, which will experience 2min14s. Good enough for me.

They're not taking reservations, they said they're not expecting huge crowds.

Truthfully, I imagine the busiest places will be the national parks in the path.

 

[Bilberry]

I don't have any special travel plans to see it. I remember the last summer eclipse I saw well. It was interesting for a little bit, then it turned cool and it was time to head back indoors to work.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My DD lives in Bend, Oregon and recently told us what happened in relation to the eclipse. She works in a retail store and on July 21st this frantic couple came running in asking for the special eclipse glasses they sell. My DD told them that they were out right now but would get some in a few days. The couple, visibly upset, stormed out of the store yelling "what good will that do us....it starts in a few minutes!". They obviously thought the eclipse was that day and not in August. She didn't even get a chance to tell them as they were in and out so fast.

Imagine planning your vacation (speculating here) around an event and then booking the wrong month? She didn't think they were local as all the locals know the date as they have been gearing up for months for this event.

MJ

My dad called me and thought it was that day as well. Understandably since that is the summer solstice.

 

[bigbabyblues]

No. 8/21 is our first day of school and DS has a soccer game that evening.