Sojama Road: The Great Solar Eclipse of 2017!

Ryan has known about this eclipse since he took an astronomy class in 1994. So we were always going to go see it. As the date approached, I considered staying behind because I heard reports of insane traffic. I hate traffic. Anyway, I am glad I did not do that. I would have missed a great deal.

I didn't understand why so many people wanted to see it. Now I do. However, I cannot explain it. It's one of those experiences that cannot be captured in words or even photos. You have to experience the total eclipse to get it. We all loved it.

We journeyed first to Hood River and stayed at the house of some friends who were not home. The drive was easy and as usual, we listened to Harry Potter (book 6 this time). We woke up early Sunday and headed to Corvalis. We ate lunch in a park then visited their amazing aquatic center (complete with giant slides). We ate dinner at a place called Caves that had at least 100 different types of beer. Then spent the night with friends of friends. These friends of friends were also not there when we arrived.

We woke up early on August 21 to get coffee and find a good spot at a park. It turns out all spots were good spots. The sky was clear. Ryan created a giant pin-hole camera with the hope of filming the eclipse using his phone (it didn't work). The sky gradually got darker, street lights came on, and the temperature dropped. At the last minute, Jack had to go to the bathroom. Luckily there was one nearby but he stayed in there so long, he almost missed the complete eclipse. We rushed back to our spot and used our glasses to watch the moon slowly cover the sun completely.

When it happened, it really was amazing. We no longer needed the glasses. We could see stars. People whooped and shouted and shot off fireworks. Again, I cannot explain why it was so remarkable.. but I will never forget it. Ryan and I agreed we'd try to see another one.

We visited the pool again rather than immediately brave the traffic. We took back roads back to Hood River and arrived by dinner time to go to a great pizza place there called Solstice. Everyone was abuzz with talk of the eclipse. It seemed to be a collective religious experience.