Marie at 1 Write Way

Playing Peek-A-Boo With the Sun

Many if not most of you in the U.S. might have had the pleasure of viewing a partial solar eclipse. If you were really lucky, you saw the total solar eclipse. We were not lucky.

After successfully viewing a total solar eclipse in Casper, Wyoming, in 2017, we wanted to do it again but this time, we wanted to leave the planning to someone else. A few years ago, my husband signed us up with a tour group that planned to view the total solar eclipse near San Antonio, Texas. Let me say at the outset that Twilight Tours was great. They took care of the hotel arrangements, food, and transportation to and from the viewing site in Uvalde. There were upwards of 400 people on the tour, but it went smoothly. Except for the eclipse itself.

As late as the evening before, we all remained hopeful that the clouds that were predicted to bump up against the Texas coastline would break up, giving us at least some opportunities to view this amazing event.

Blue sky with clouds over low beige buildings and sandy ground.

The viewing site was at the Uvalde County Arena, a fairplex that includes a rodeo arena, pavilion, and RV parking stations. It’s also across from the county jailhouse, pictured above.

Panoramic of sandy ground, cloudy skies, and a man looking up at the sky with binoculars.

As the day progressed, our hopes sank. In the above 180-degree panoramic view, you can see only a patch or two of blue sky.

Sky full of heavy dark clouds.

For the rest of the afternoon, the sky stayed pretty much as it looked in the above photo. The clouds were moving quickly, though, and occasionally–especially right before totality, during totality, and just after–we got glimpses of the eclipse. I didn’t have a solar filter for my iPhone camera, but, in a way, I did get a photo of the total solar eclipse.

Dark landscape with shadowy male figure.

When the moon covered the sun, night fell. Outdoor lights came on, and the landscape became otherworldly. Above is another 180-degree panoramic of the site. Both the above and below photos were taken at 1:30 pm, give or take a few seconds.

Dark gray sky, silhouette of trees, and a few scattered people on sandy soil.

Some might say our trip was a bust. In fact, a few days before we were set to leave, we seriously considered not going because of the dismal weather forecasted for San Antonio.

Our experience in seeing the total solar eclipse in 2017 will never be topped; at least, I can’t imagine a more exceptional experience. It was my first time, it was our wedding anniversary, and my husband got some amazing photos that day. (If you missed it, you can read about that experience in this post.)

While this experience wasn’t exceptional, it was nonetheless interesting, fun, and fascinating. The only thing(s) I really missed were our kitties.

Raji (ginger cat) and Wendy (Tortieco) in front of our windows.

Now, your turn: Did you see any of the eclipse? Would you rate our viewing as a bust or success? Have you ever invested in a trip only to not go, no matter the cost?

Marie A Bailey

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45 responses to “Playing Peek-A-Boo With the Sun”

    • I’m sorry to hear it was a bust for you. That bank of clouds really messed things up for a lot of people. I’m grateful we saw the total solar eclpse in 2017. It was amazing, indeed!

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  2. Oh, the irony! I confided in a friend soon after experiencing the 2017 totality that I meant to take the train across Canada for the next one. She warned about cloudy weather in the NE and said she planned to go to Texas! In the end I think we both stayed home, but it was an extraordinary experience and I am glad to have had it. The news puts so much emphasis on the sun and moon, but I found looking through the special glasses boring. It was the sudden cold, the strange light and colors, the flatness of the sky, the shimmering patterns that move along the ground, and bats that flew out for three minutes and then vanished in a snap! I will never forget it.

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    • Oh, yes, irony. We felt it ;-) The glasses pale to what you can see with a properly fitted telescope, which my husband had brought with us in 2017. This time we settled for our binoculars, although I looked through the glasses most of the time because the filters on my binoculars didn’t fit securely. We experienced more dark and chill this time compared to 2017, likely because of the clouds, and that was thrilling. Still, 2017 was the best for me, in part because it was my first time … hopefully, not my last :-)

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  3. How disappointing! We had a fantastic view of a 90.5% eclipse right from our front stoop. My husband had planned to drive us to the northern part of the state to the the total eclipse, but he changed his mind when the news began predicting gridlock on the roads. No, thank you!

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    • Oh, I’m so glad you were able to see so much from your home! That’s fantastic. Although the viewing was disappointing, it was still interesting, still exciting since the clouds were moving fast and we did get a glimpse here and there. We were able to watch for a while after totality. Still an amazing experience. Interestingly, we didn’t experience any gridlock on our trip. I think our tour leader planned our entrance to and exit from the site very well :-)

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  4. We had about a 54% eclipse here. I had friends who went to Texas to see the total eclipse and managed to avoid the heavy cloud cover. I admit to a bit of FOMO and am now considering booking a trip to Spain in 2025. Even if there are clouds, we’d be in Spain so who cares?!

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  6. Sorry about your eclipse. We are in the Austin area and the clouds hung around right until the total eclipse. They broke and we got the full four minutes of the spectacular view. It was so beautiful. The next one is in 2044 which makes me believe I have seen my last.

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  7. It sounds like you had a fun trip, even though you didn’t see much of the eclipse. We had cloud cover here, too. We saw a tiny bit through our glasses before the clouds covered everything, but it did get very dark and the temperature dropped. After everything was over the sky cleared! (Of course.) 🙂

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    • Thanks, Merril, we did have fun … and that was the most important part of the trip. It was interesting to see how a tour actually worked (and I really have to give kudos to Twilight Tours), and we still got to walk around San Antonio and eat out and play. I’m glad you got to see something :-)

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  8. We had the 100% eclipse in clear skies in Montreal. What a sight, that was. I did manage to get a photo with my phone, when I asked a young girl to tell me when it was at 100% (I didn’t have any glasses, stupid me). 

    I think it’s wonderful you guys made it into a trip (for the second time). The clouds may not have been on their best behaviour but it sounds like you had fun anyway!

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    • Thanks, Dale. You know, originally we thought of going to NY since I have family there, but I was skeptical about the weather. Although I haven’t lived there since 1978, I always think of April as overcast. Well, the joke was on me since it was Uvalde that was overcast. If we had really thought it through, it would have been fun to have viewed the eclipse in Canada. But, yes, as it was, we had fun anyway!

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  9. 100% totality in 2017 was just 45 minutes down the road from us and we experienced that ‘other worldliness’ you mention. From the dusky clear darkness to the temperature dip to the birds in fast motion/frantic singing prepping for the dead quiet during the event…this time around, a partial which I thoroughly enjoyed poking around outside planting and absorbing the copper-y glow beauty surrounding me!
    Your trip? An adventure all its own, not limited to the stereotypical experience expectation for a Totality – but still felt deep in your bones. I vote for ‘success’!

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    • Thank you, Laura, and I do love the lyrical way you describe your experiences. I agree our trip was a success. It was still a special experience, and we were smart enough to only bring our binoculars and iPhones, no fancy equipment to waste lugging around ;-)

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  10. Did you see any of the eclipse? We saw evidence of the eclipse. We were inside and the world got dark, street lights came on, then it got light again. Rather cool.

    Would you rate our viewing as a bust or success? Maybe both? You didn’t see what you anticipated but you tried.

    Have you ever invested in a trip only to not go, no matter the cost? Yes, once. I paid for non-refundable airfare and conference fees to go to a conference, then couldn’t follow through and go to the conference. Lost a lot of money, but learned to never book that way again.

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    • Thanks, Ally. Indeed, our tickets were non-refundable, and we weren’t prepared to change our tickets to a different time and destination (which probably would have cost more money, too).

      Because it was so cloudy, we experience the eclipse “night” more intensely than when we viewed it in Wyoming. So that was very cool.

      Your point that we tried is what I think is the most important aspect of this trip. You can’t control the weather, but you can control how you respond to it. We went with the flow and, as a result, felt satisfied with the experience.

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  11. The eclipse was so overhyped I tried to ignore the whole event. But SURPRISE ! With the breaking of the rain craziness, the clouds parted and with my special glasses I viewed the moon maneuvering its way over the sun So spectacular! I watched for an hour outside with neighbors and strangers and we celebrated together. Sweeet!

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    • Don’t be sorry! I’m glad you saw it. Hey, if 2017 turns out to be the last time I saw an eclipse, I’ll be okay with that because it was, yes, amazing :-)

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  14. I watched the eclipse online, because I didn’t have the glasses. One of my sisters-in-law made a video. Downstate Illinois is where totality could be seen, rather than where I live. Friends in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area sent videos of the eclipse, though the sky was overcast.

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  15. Marie, I had no idea! What an effort and such a disappointment! That’s such a shame. We made pinholes in cardboard, but nothing showed up here in Arizona. So funny since I got such cool pix from my patio at the October 14, 2023 annular solar eclipse. Your kitties are so adorable. Did you see that funny video on social media of the two cats making an eclipse? The orange kitty gets “eclipsed” by the black kitty who moves in front of him. hahaha

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    • Oh, it’s okay. We still had fun (and some good food). It was our first time on a tour so that was interesting. My neighbors shared the kitty eclipse video with me. Hilarious!

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  16. Our eclipse this year was much the same. We were in a 97% area and had been forecast clear skies. Mother Nature did not agree and between clouds and trees, I saw nothing but some gray skies. It was entertaining to watch people scurry around looking for special glasses and deciding where to try to observe from. It’s okay. I hope your trip was enjoyable anyway. Some of the photos have been amazing and isn’t that they way of the internet? A wonderful venue of virtual travel.

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    • There you go! Even if you missed the eclipse, you can still see some amazing shots on the net. We did enjoy ourselves despite the weather. We were also glad we didn’t try and lug a bunch of equipment with us :-)

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  18. I think the attitude is what makes it a bust or a good time, you went with a positive attitude and it sounds like you had a good trip. We saw totality under some cloud cover, but what was happening on the ground was just as interesting. I got my whole family together for it, and even if we had seen nothing, the time we had together made the trip for me.

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    • Thank you for visiting and commenting, Kevin. Yes, indeed, what happened on the ground was very interesting. All in all, it was a good trip. How wonderful you had your whole family together for it!

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