Well, I'm working on putting the family caravan together; I'm figuring 3 cars, 14 people, including 4 generations and three grandkids ages 5, 7, and 10. First totality for all of us, contingent, of course, on the weather. Since we're near Pittsburgh, I figure somewhere along Lake Erie, or near it, between Loraine and Erie, though I've pretty much ruled out Presque Isle as they are expecting around 250,000 people in Erie and Presque Isle will probably sink
. I want us to be completely self-sufficient as to food, chairs, and viewing instruments.
Has anybody found any information on plans that localities are making? I figure every school football stadium, parks, all that stuff - I don't know how they'll control access to Erie's beachfront. I really want this to go as smoothly as possible. an dyes, I'll be off googling myself.
And of course, if anybody in the area of totality wants a few extra cars in their driveway and people tromping about, you can PM me! We'll be gracous and considerate!
Nothing specific to your area, but some general advice (and expectations) for you to consider.
First though, I think it's awesome that you are making a multi-generational family outing of it....good on ya.
Accommodations are going to be very tricky...especially for a group that size. You will likely find absolutely no hotel rooms and such available, and if you do they are going to be unbelievably expensive. Think like $600-$1200 a night per room at places like Super 8 and such. Easily into the thousands for "nice" places. I'm not kidding. Air BnB's are pretty much the same story....but even more expensive. Even campgrounds and state parks, even if you can find an opening which is unlikely, are going to cost $100-$500 in most cases. The last time (2017 in Idaho) my best option was a private person who rented out camp spaces on their property. Lots of people will be doing this. Some will provide things like a porta-pottie and water. "Cheap" for something like this is about $60-$100, and some will charge up to $300 or so. The trick here is to find the folks who are doing it....lots of internet surfing, looking on social media and stuff like Craigslist, "asking around", and following leads will be required, but if you stick with it, you should find something suitable. Do it NOW. Right now. Every moment between now and April 8 it will get tighter and harder.
This time around I found someone near Waco Texas doing this (only about 13 hours driving for me ...... "normally" (see below)). Looks like a nice flat open area, far enough away from a city for my purposes, and lots of "big sky" above.................just right. She's charging $150 for a tent space and providing water and porta-potty. Seems pricey yes, but honestly it's massively cheaper than most other options, and well worth it to me given the circumstances.
Your idea of looking for spaces like school stadiums or parks or such to park and view is a good one.....lots of places will be offering this....but again at a cost just for parking. And a lot of them are charging more than you might expect. But even so, a lot of them are going to fully booked already, and you still have to get in and out of there (if you aren't camping on the spot), which brings me, again, to the following consideration.
Next is driving time. Plan on this taking at least twice as long to get anywhere as you expect. Now double that. Now accept that it will likely take longer on the actual day. Traffic is going to be unbelievable, so prepare and accept it ahead of time. Case in point....the last time I had a 6 hour drive back home (heading south on interstates from near Rexburg Idaho). It took almost 15. The first 100 miles was stop and go for hours and hours and hours......like 2-3 hours to go 25 miles. Keep in mind this was not really near any major cities or huge population areas, and it was not coming or going from any "special destination" areas, and it was on wide open big highways. I knew folks who tried to take routes that used smaller roads in an attempt to avoid the interstate...some of them took as much as 24 hours to get home. It's completely nuts. Have lots of food & water in the car, a good amount of spare gas, some entertainment, and LOTS and LOTS of patience. You do NOT want to have to stop to get gas....this might cost you hours and big dollars. Again, I'm not kidding.
The trick to "avoid" most of this hassle is to "get there".....and by "there" I mean exactly at the point where you will be staying and viewing.....a full day or more ahead of time, and to plan on not leaving to drive back home for at least a few hours after the event. Better yet stay another night, and drive home the next day. But this of course means more planning, trouble, and cost to stay another night or two.
The next trick is to simply accept that this is going to be the case. Don't even try to avoid it. Getting in and out is plain straight just going to suck. A lot. It's actually still worth it to see totality.
Location.......DON'T plan on going to someplace "special". Everyone....and everyone they ever knew or will know....will be going there to. And all the hassles and expenses mentioned above will multiply exponentially in accordance. The thing is, you don't need any grand location, to see what there is to see. No amount of natural beauty, gorgeous landscapes, and such will add anything to the experience. In fact it might detract from it. What you DO need is wide open sky....as much of it as you can get. Big wide open flat spaces where you can see far into the distance are great. Big open country with not a whole lot going on, that don't attract crowds, and that most folks would think of as kind of boring are actually ideal. Try to stay away from cities and national parks and attractions as much as you can. Think of places that most folks would characterize as "the middle of nowhere"...that's what to shoot for.
You mentioned viewing instruments. Good thinking.
The first is glasses......you will NEED these to view any of the times other than during actual totality. The good news is that, quite honestly, those cheapie cardboard ones you can pick up at very low cost will work just fine. Get a few extra pair, as they can scratch easily (which can be dangerous), and you never know when an extra pair or two will come in handy. You can find them all over the place, but get them WELL ahead of time. If you want to spend more (sometimes a LOT more) on some really good quality ones, they can be nice to have, and they are better, but just remember that you don't need to spend big money on this (especially if you have like 14 people in your party!).
Next up is binoculars. VERY well worth it to have, but these two will need to be "protected". Get some of the film, and make cups that you can easily tape onto the binocs (the end pointed toward the sun!). You can purchase this from lots of places (again, get it well ahead of time). You know one source you can get some of that film? ---- those cheapie cardboard glasses! Yep, buy an extra pair, cut the lenses out and use that to make your binocular cups! Works great and, again, it's cheap. Like above, you can certainly buy much higher quality stuff, and it IS nicer to have if you have the time and money....but it's not strictly necessary.
Cameras, video, telescopes and all that.......if you have it, are an enthusiast and know what you are doing, and really like indulging that aspect....go for it. For me, I'm much happier just viewing and experiencing "in person" and not getting distracted by any of all that. And there are tons of folks who do it far better than I ever could, that I can just get a copy of their pic (like the one I use as my wallpaper screen on my laptop). I'd rather not fiddle with any of that during the actual event, but that's me.
By the way, during actual totality, you will not need any of the filters, special glasses, and such.....the naked eye and some decent binoculars is all you need. It's in the minutes just before and after that you need them (and there IS tons of cool things to see then).
Please don't get discouraged by all the dire circumstances I've outlined here. It is all true. But it REALLY is all worth it when you see what you are going to see. It's outright awesome. And the fact that you are sharing that experience with the family and the "young'uns" makes it more so. It's going to be great.
cheers (and clear skies!),
s6
