The Eclipse!!

On Monday, August 21st, the US was going to experience it's first total solar eclipse since the 1970s.  I was excited to share this cool experience with the kids, but I wanted to make sure we were doing everything properly.

First up, glasses.  I researched and found a pack of adult and children glasses a few months prior.  I ordered them and they arrived within a few days.  It was a good thing too, because there was a run on glasses and many people discovered that there were even fake glasses, which would not protect eyes from the sun.  Fortunately, our glasses were good and we were ready!

The eclipse was not scheduled to hit the East Coast until 1:15 pm, so we decided to take the kids to the go-kart park, in Ocean City first.  Grammy, MeeMaw, Aunt Sarah, Quinnie, Lauren, Charlie, and I all spent the morning riding bumper boats, watching the kids ride some kiddie rides, and driving go-karts.  As expected, the bumper boats and go-kart rides got a little competitive, and at the end of the day, I think Lauren and Aunt Sarah came out the victors (thanks to good positioning and a faulty go-kart for MeeMaw).  =)

           

           

It was a fun way to spend the morning, but we had to quickly get back to Salisbury so we would not miss any of the eclipse fun!!  We ordered some pizzas for lunch, watched some of the news coverage of the eclipse in different parts of the country, and ran outside to get a glimpse.  We were not in the path of totality, so the sun was only 80% covered, but it was still really neat to watch.  And the glasses worked perfectly!!

I tried to watch as much as possible, but I spent most of my time taking pictures and making sure that Lauren and Charlie did not try to look at the sun without their glasses on.  Don't want to take any chances when it comes to their eye sight!!  

           

I am glad we made it a point to watch the partial eclipse, and now I really want to go to the path of totality for the next eclipse.  That will not be for another 7 years, and we will have to travel to get inside the path, but I am absolutely up for that trip!  Niagra Falls 2024, here we come!!