Cougar of Simmer
Aug. 24th, 2017 09:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ismoI don't think I can even begin to describe the last few days. It's been so densely packed with everything: joy, love, stressful arrangements, endless moments, poignancy, the sorrow of farewells. Oh, and a total eclipse of the sun. We flew to Kansas City on Sunday. We rented a house there, and most of the family joined us there for the eclipse. I guess I should begin this description with the news that no, we did not see the totality. : ( Our plan was to head for a nature park in St. Joseph, within the path of totality. It's almost always sunny on the Kansas/Missouri border in August. Thunderstorms, when they come, are brief. Often, the sky is blinding blue for weeks at a time. We know this because we used to live in Lawrence.
We started out early, so the traffic wasn't too bad. Still, just a few minutes after the park opened at 10, it was completely parked up. But that was okay, because we were directed to a ballpark a quarter of a mile away, where there was plenty of room, plus a playground for Raptor, and a concession stand with bathrooms. They were REALLY prepared. They had police directing traffic and a team of EMTs on duty in case anyone needed medical assistance. We were all so excited and happy, especially the Diva. Our plan was working! The Diva had provided us all with eclipse glasses. The sky was ominously overcast, but the clouds came and went, and soon we were watching the shadow of the moon take bigger and bigger bites out of the sun. Oh dear, but then it started to rain! We refused to be daunted. We huddled under an umbrella and believed with all our hearts that by the time totality came, the clouds would pass us by again. No such luck. We couldn't see anything. Somewhere behind the clouds, the corona flared, and the sunlight died. We experienced the moment when everything went dark and the wind died. We saw a single star shine through a gap in the clouds. The Diva and her brothers and sister huddled together, hugging and crying. It was a tragic moment.
What really bit was that our alternative sites, Columbia MO and Hiawatha KS, both experienced that momentary cloud break at totality that we'd been hoping for. If we'd chosen one of those places instead, we would have seen it. We rolled the dice and lost. The drive home was grueling, too, as we made our way south with many of the other 100,000 people who had come to see the eclipse. The highways were jammed with cars crawling along. And then there was a tremendous thunderstorm with torrential rain that made it almost impossible to see anything. But we made it back to the house at last, smoothed our ruffled feathers, and climbed back into the cars again for a brief drive to Anton's Taproom, where you can eat some of the most delicious steak in the world. The day ended with happiness.
We started out early, so the traffic wasn't too bad. Still, just a few minutes after the park opened at 10, it was completely parked up. But that was okay, because we were directed to a ballpark a quarter of a mile away, where there was plenty of room, plus a playground for Raptor, and a concession stand with bathrooms. They were REALLY prepared. They had police directing traffic and a team of EMTs on duty in case anyone needed medical assistance. We were all so excited and happy, especially the Diva. Our plan was working! The Diva had provided us all with eclipse glasses. The sky was ominously overcast, but the clouds came and went, and soon we were watching the shadow of the moon take bigger and bigger bites out of the sun. Oh dear, but then it started to rain! We refused to be daunted. We huddled under an umbrella and believed with all our hearts that by the time totality came, the clouds would pass us by again. No such luck. We couldn't see anything. Somewhere behind the clouds, the corona flared, and the sunlight died. We experienced the moment when everything went dark and the wind died. We saw a single star shine through a gap in the clouds. The Diva and her brothers and sister huddled together, hugging and crying. It was a tragic moment.
What really bit was that our alternative sites, Columbia MO and Hiawatha KS, both experienced that momentary cloud break at totality that we'd been hoping for. If we'd chosen one of those places instead, we would have seen it. We rolled the dice and lost. The drive home was grueling, too, as we made our way south with many of the other 100,000 people who had come to see the eclipse. The highways were jammed with cars crawling along. And then there was a tremendous thunderstorm with torrential rain that made it almost impossible to see anything. But we made it back to the house at last, smoothed our ruffled feathers, and climbed back into the cars again for a brief drive to Anton's Taproom, where you can eat some of the most delicious steak in the world. The day ended with happiness.
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Date: 2017-08-25 01:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-08-26 01:13 am (UTC)