So the eclipse itself was AMAZING. Mi madre and I got in the car at 7:15 and drove as far into Totality as we could reasonably get, which turned out to be Dallas (Oregon, not the Big D  ;)). We only hit one bit of bad traffic on the way down:

But after that, it was smooth sailing. We found a friendly Starbucks, for a bathroom + caffeine refill break, and then we scored an AWESOME viewing location, purely by chance — a dead-end street at the top of a hill, with nearly 360 degree views:

We got there after the partial had already begun:

And then it started getting darker, until, bam! We were in Totality:

It was so incredible — peaceful, no crowds, just us and three other cars, plus one or two people who lived in the neighborhood. I sat on the hood of the car and drank my iced tea (see “Starbucks” above  ;)) and literally soaked it all in. Truly a once in a lifetime experience!

As was the drive home. This is the line on Wheaton Ferry Road, which we inched-along in for over an hour:

[Side note: Did you know that SOMETIMES a “(insert name) Ferry Road” actually DOES end in a ferry? I didn’t! We have so many “Ferry Roads” around here that now lead to bridges, or long-dried/filled-in creeks, that it was a surprise to find this one leading to a real-live active ferry boat.]

Unfortunately, Wheaton Ferry is a “9-car ferry”, not a “post-eclipse madness 10,000-car ferry”, hence the wait. But it was so cool to ride across, even if it was a super short trip:

Still, after the 2.25 hour drive down, it took us double that — over 4.5 hours — to get home. It was a LOT of riding in the car for one day! I managed to take the dogs for a walk after I got back, and that was about it.

But it was an amazing day, one I’ll never forget. What about you? Did you make it to Totality, Partiality, or…?