E-clips

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We have e-mail, and e-books, so why not e-clips? That’s the way John jokingly spoke of the impressive celestial event. Brother Bob and Beth came over, and we drove about 20 miles to the area of total eclipse. Our day was fantastic.

Bob ordered the special glasses for viewing the sun, and John explored maps to find a good place to wait. No one said anything, but we were all concerned when we got on the highway. The traffic was stop and go, because so many people were streaming toward the area of total eclipse. We began to breathe again when the cars moved. We turned off before getting to Sylva, not wanting to get involved in that town’s big celebration. There were many places we could have waited along that road, but we all voted for the parking lot of a Baptist church. It was bordered by a gurgling mountain stream with railroad tracks nearby. Waiting was easy with fun people around.

082117 Eclipse Beth N JC Bob.jpg

We ate sandwiches we’d made for ourselves at home, and Beth handed round the most appropriate snack – Moon Pies. We became more informal as time passed. Between times when we gazed at the sun, we sat in the van which was in the shade.

082117 Eclipse Beth N JC B.jpg

Two were on the ground when the light began to fade. We noticed the quality of the light was unusual, not quite like a cloudy day or normal dusk. Bob was standing in the sunlight and noted that it wasn’t hot. The temperature dropped. As the moon totally covered the sun, John saw one star, and Bob pointed to a planet. We took our protective glasses off for a minute and saw the moon totally covering the sun. News media will cover that, and you’ll know what we saw.

 

082117 Eclipse JC N on ground Bob.jpg
We had a lovely setting for eclipse-watching.

 

We didn’t stay long after the moon moved on, figuring we’d see the end at home. One last peek in the driveway, and we were ready to feast on Nathaniel’s eclipse cake. I realize now it was best viewed from above. The chocolate frosting represented the shadow, and the yellow was the corona. The only shot of the top was Nathaniel’s weighing the cake. It was eight pounds, but we’ll have to subtract the weight of the cake stand once it is empty.

 

082117 Eclipse Nate weighs cake.jpg
His foot is that long; the sock is not floppy.

 

The celebrants are pictured with the cake before we sat down to demolish a quarter of it.

 

082117 Eclipse dessert Bob Beth JC N.jpg
A bat has not nested in John’s hair.  That’s the furniture behind him.

 

Beth and Bob were caught in a massive traffic jam on the way home. They think it was caused by a collision of several tractor trailers.

Published by Anne Mehrling

I'm a retiree who loves to write about life in the mountains of North Carolina.

Published

24 thoughts on “E-clips”

  1. So glad you were close enough to go. Here in Texas it was like nothing happened at all, a small drop in temperature, I never saw even a partial eclipse. You are too funny with that bat comment. Nathaniels cake was lovely, hope it was delicious too!

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  2. Anne
    Beautiful photos and description that went along with it. It is the first time I read about an actual live solar eclipse seen and described by someone who saw it with her own eyes. Imagine the temperature dropping too.
    I wish I had a slice of Nathaniel’s lemon chocolate cake.
    Susie

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    1. The eclipse was marvelous. We are so glad we made the effort to see it. How I wish I could send you a piece of cake! Nathaniel is taking the rest of it to work to share with his co-workers.

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    2. Both grandsons brought love and laughter for the whole summer. Today is Nathaniel’s last day to work at the restaurant. Our son (Nate’s uncle) and we hope to go to Tennessee tomorrow to wander through some shops. Both younger men would like to look at knives, cast iron, and kitchenware. Knowing us, we won’t buy anything, but we’ll have fun looking.

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  8. Love the moon pies! We were at a doctors appointment for my mother and it had rained pretty hard right before the sky started getting dark for the eclipse. So we didn’t see it, but we did see it go from light to dark to light.

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