Our Total Solar Eclipse Experience

It’s been one week since our family was standing in a large field behind a drive-in movie theater in Franklin, Kentucky. Why, you ask. The total solar eclipse. Totality lasted two minutes and 37 seconds there, but our family has memories to last a lifetime.

We made the decision a little over a year ago to travel for the total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. Very early this year we booked a hotel room in Bowling Green, Kentucky for three nights. I wanted to see some other things during the trip, mostly Mammoth Cave National Park, so we started our trip on Friday. We spent all of Saturday at Mammoth Cave. Sunday was spent hiking in some other locations and deciding on an area to view the eclipse.

The first of those places was Garden of the Gods in the Shawnee National Forest. We quickly realized this wasn’t the place for us. There is a small road leading to the main parking lot that was so congested on SUNDAY that they stopped allowing visitors. Up on the rock formations alarms started beeping at 1:22 p.m., within a second or two of the start of totality. People were using the alarms to help create a strategy for locations and pictures on Monday. While it was a great place for a hike, logistically it wasn’t a good place to view eclipse.

The second place was Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. Officials there were getting a large, clear spot of land ready that could accommodate approximately 500 cars. Other than that it didn’t sound like there were lots of promising areas. We still enjoyed a drive through the elk and bison prairie and a drive to the south bison range. I wish we had more time to explore, but we needed to start heading back to the hotel.

We also, mostly for fun, drove through Hopkinsville or Eclipseville as its residents have been referring to it. Hopkinsville was “the point of greatest eclipse.” Small businesses were charging around $20 for a 12′ x 12′ pad and the local university was charging $50. Most of these spots had already been reserved. Logistically, all three of these places weren’t going to work. They all required at least an hour drive west the morning of and no promises of a good spot.

So we decided to drive south. Our hotel in Bowling Green was in the path of totality but would only see totality for approximately 47 seconds. A 30-45 minute drive south could add approximately 1.5 minutes more of totality. As we drove south on the interstate I couldn’t help but laugh. My legs were sore from the two days prior (most of it spent hiking) and I was tired from waking up at 5 a.m. I laughed because I imagined every other person on the highway was driving to a city working their way towards more seconds of totality, and I get slap happy when I’m tired. With every mile towards center line, more seconds.

We hadn’t eaten since we left the hotel eager to hit the road. We spotted two things along the highway. The first was one of those construction style message signs. Tune to 1220 AM for eclipse information. So we did. At first we thought we had the wrong station but then…public viewing in Franklin, Kentucky at either Kentucky Downs or the Franklin Drive-in! The second thing was a sign for restaurants ahead.

We took that exit and found a Burger King. As we waited for our food in the drive-thru (~7:30 a.m.) I checked my phone. The drive-in was 2 miles east so we ate quickly and started down the road. Up ahead was the line for the drive-in. Located in the center turn lane of a 4-lane highway with cars zipping past. The speed limit in that area is 55 miles per hour. Oh my God…we’re gonna die! Luckily the drive-in must have realized this was a bad idea and opened the gates early. We slowly made our way to the ticket booth and paid our $10.

We’re in!

We were directed to a spot in a grassy field located towards the back of the drive-in. Apparently actually sitting in the parking spots for the drive-in required reservations.

In our opinion the drive-in was an excellent spot for viewing the eclipse for these reasons:

• They had restrooms, and we have three young kids with tiny bladders.
• They sold Dippin’ Dots, and kids apparently “need” Dippin’ Dots.
• The drive-in also sold salty popcorn. Haha. Well they had salty popcorn but we didn’t order any. Like I needed one more way to become dehydrated that day.
• It would be dark. It is a movie theater. We didn’t have to worry about lights coming on during totality.
• It’s close to the interstate.
• It’s full of crazy people just like us!

Since we had at least two hours before partial eclipse started we alternated between sitting in the air-conditioned car and standing outside in the shade the car provided. It was really hot out and I was worried how the kids would tolerate the wait. We made a solar eclipse fort in the car. Basically we just took any blankets, sweatshirts or pillows we had to block out the sun and hopefully keep it a little cooler. While I was doing that Kris was planning the photos he wanted to take. He also downloaded a solar eclipse app for his smartphone. It made me feel like I was in a NASA command center.

One minute til first contact. Imagine a computerized voice saying that last sentence. See what I mean? NASA command center.

Partial eclipse had started. I made a point to get the girls out of the car about every 10-15 minutes to view (with glasses on) the progress. Every time they looked up we could tell they thought it was cool. I also got enjoyment from watching Kris take pictures and chat with our neighbors. He had been so excited about planning this trip that it was like watching a kid on Christmas morning. In fact, this is my favorite picture of him from that day.

I was mostly excited about totality. That was the whole point of driving to Kentucky. As we were nearing totality I was watching with my glasses on as the last little bit of sun vanished.

Glasses off.

Wow! Totality was amazing, and I wish it could have lasted longer. It really is hard to explain what it feels like to see it. I didn’t cry or get choked up, but I had goosebumps for sure. We all still managed to listen for animals and look at the surrounding sky, but I was almost afraid to take my eyes off of the moon. No one wanted to miss a second. I had this desire to keep looking but a nervousness about getting my glasses back on. When would I need to look away? Oh yeah…the app.

30 seconds til glasses on.

20 seconds til glasses on.

10 seconds til glasses on.

Glasses on. “Oh my God! Girls put your glasses on so you don’t go blind!!!!” No. I’m serious. Those crazy ophthalmologists with their Facebook rants in the days before the eclipse had me freaked out.

The second half was just like the first half. The kids and I looked up every 10-15 minutes while we waited for Kris to finish taking his pictures. Cars were slowly leaving at this point and we could see that the traffic on the main road was at a stand-still. We enjoyed talking with our neighbors and exchanging email addresses so we could share pictures later. It was almost as if we had this strange bond with Corvette couple with huge cameras and lady from Chicago as Kris and I were initially and privately referring to them as.

We started the long drive back home shortly after fourth contact. We totally underestimated the length of time it would take to get back home. My mom thought Kris was the only person excited about the eclipse. The occupants of all those idle cars on the interstate would disagree. A stop at McDonald’s required a 30 minute wait just to order, and we had to drive through three rest areas before we found one with a safe place to park our car just to get out and use the restroom. Cars were lining the entrance and exit ramps of the rest areas, cars were double parked, and people were parking on the grass. It was nuts!

We needed to stop because Kris and I were getting too tired to continue driving, and a hotel would be impossible to find. At the fourth attempt we found a spot to park in a rest area. We slept for three hours. Not comfortably, but we slept. I try to remember that kids don’t see things the same way parents do. While my back was aching the kids woke up excited because they camped in the car. Pictures of me from that morning didn’t make the cut for the blog. I looked like hell!

Despite a sore back and achy legs I was happy the five of us got to share the whole experience together. We’ve already talked about where we’ll go in 2024 when the eclipse passes over some cities we’re very familiar with. I think we’ve inspired some of our friends and relatives to go to a city within the path of totality for the next one.

A special thanks to our neighbors who cut our grass in the weeks leading up to the eclipse. Kris was too busy making solar filters for our cameras and binoculars. Thanks to Kris for knowing enough about our camera and Lightroom to give us some wonderful pictures. Another thanks to Kris for convincing me that my burning, fatigued eyes were just that and not the start of the eclipse burning my eyeballs! Finally, thanks to three awesome little girls that are up for anything. I hope they never forget our crazy adventures. I know I won’t.

Did you catch the solar eclipse? Share your experience in the comments!