I almost didn’t go. I certainly didn’t make a big planned production of it like back in 2017. That was not for lack of anyone asking. We had an amazing invite to see family and hang out all weekend in the Shawnee forest at a private campground.
I couldn’t be sure about my plans. I just did that thing… That wishy-washy thing. I didn’t know what I wanted to do… So I will do nothing? At the last second on Sunday night… I asked Aiden if he had anyone to go with him, as he wanted to go. He said all of his friends had backed out. The only reason he was still at our house on a Sunday during the school year was to get to the eclipse. Literally… at 9:30 Sunday night, I committed. I told him we could make a run down to Centralia. It’s a small town North of Carbondale, but still in the totality for a few minutes.
I told myself that Summer would demand we go. But I also felt like I was being a bit frivolous, as I was at the 2017 event… I wouldn’t be missing much. Fortunately, my new hyper-sensitive awareness (I don’t live with much guilt as a parent, but I feel like Summer is pressing a button when I am “waffling”) kicked me in the ass.
If your son asks to spend time together on a road trip… It should not be a question of “Should I?”… It’s a question of “When do we take off?”.
It was a fun day.
We stopped at a junk shop along the way… Aiden got some nun-chucks for 5 bucks (unpadded, so somebody is probably going to get hurt on the next game night)… We stopped at the Burger Barn and had some killer smash burgers. Burgers that we ate in the Centraila lake park in the middle of town.
We were surrounded by hundreds of similar-intentioned strangers sitting on lawn chairs or blankets on the ground. Staring up in the air.
The weather was perfect.
When the sun was down to its last sliver, I picked up my glasses and looked at the sun. I’m an idiot. I had that glowing spot on my eye for 30 seconds afterward… I had to look at the totality with a little side eye!
I could see a solar flare breaking away from the bottom of the totality.
My neck began to hurt from being engaged in such a great view.
I did regret not making a big deal out of the trip. In 2017 we were surrounded by friends and family and the eclipse culminated with a celebration and a concert from Tam and April.
I didn’t bother bringing my good Canon Camera… I did not allow time for setup and I knew Ken Chiu and Keith Cotton (Photographer friends) were probably taking amazing photos that I could look at later. Let the experts use their expertise. Or, Artists create Art. I look forward to marveling at their skills.
I wore the same orange shirt that I wore in 2017… I knew that morning when I was getting dressed that I wanted to be reminded of the last trip down south with Summer and Aiden.
When I got back to work on Tuesday… A few people asked me if it was worth the drive to see “Shade” for 2 minutes??? Probably a bit of an understatement of the event… But, Yes, it was worth it.
I do find it ironic that Summer ended up going to school in Carbondale. We had a great weekend here in 2017… And Summer never factored her love for the outdoors when selecting a school.
Blog photo of the eclipse from Esteban. Good dude who taught me that there is always time to stop the caravan and take pictures of the rigs on the trail!
♥️
So glad that Summer pressed your button!!! “When do we take off” was the answer that Aiden was waiting for. Actually, Summer would almost always give you and Aiden the perfect answers.