Little Sister Adventures: Meet-up

I'm trying to catch up. AT&T informed me that I was using a lot of my hotspot data, plus there have been long days of driving, so I need to catch up now that I have wifi and a sofa!

But first, a few more notes about the eclipse.

This 2024 eclipse was definitely different than 2017 in Wyoming. That one, which we experienced out on the plains, was incredibly amazing. This one, with the clouds and extra humidity in the air, we did not have the Purkinje effect that was so striking and other-worldly that we experienced so magically in 2017. With the landscape around us, we did not see as much of the sunrise/sunset colors, nor the moon's shadow approaching. But totality was sill amazing and very moving.

One thing I don’t remember last time: The sun's plasma clouds, which appeared as little red dots around the edge. It was stunning!

I was able to visualize Venus, but did not see any other planets, and there were too many clouds to see the comet. It would’ve taken away from the experience to try to find the comet anyway. Maybe there are photos out there?

The 4 1/2 minutes of totality went by in a flash.

Last time I audio recorded and Trish video recorded our experience, which I edited into a movie. This time, I did turn on the audio but really only captured 4 1/2 minutes of "Wow!" and "Oh my God!"

Here are just a few photos to share. I'm sure my readers have seen (or captured!) plenty of excellent photographs.

This one was from one of the fellow Travatoans at the meet-up:

Photo by Tom, a Travato owner

I saw this one on Facebook, taken by an amateur photographer. What a shot! See the Facebook post here, with links to her media coverage as well as her store.

Photo by Kendall Rust

And here is one that my friend Sue, a high school chum captured. You can find more of her work here.

Photo by Susanna Gross

Here's NASA's coverage of this amazing total solar eclipse.

Winnebago was kind enough to chip in for the meetup, and we had a catered BBQ dinner. Since there weren't many veggies, I helped vegetarians Christine, Tom, and Amanda make a "cowboy caviar" for our catered dinner. We chopped and chopped and made a nice salad, which was a big hit for the crowd!

Christine, Little Sister Adventurer, and Amanda

It was a kick meeting other Travatoans – there were about 40 Travatos and 70+ people at the meetup! Big shout-out to Marilyn for organizing the event. She made it great!

Here we all are:

We came from all over!

A drone shot of a portion of our venue, shot by Duke, another member of our Travato group:

I don't think Poppy is visible in this pic.

The venue was expansive. It hosts weddings, so it had all we needed, from a kitchen to a restroom, covered and uncovered gathering spaces, and friends such as these:

Mama was protective of her baby (the black guy behind her)

"I moooooved so you can get my cute face!"

Coming up: we move on down the road. More time in Texas, then we head east. Stay tuned.

Trish, Poppy, and I pulled into the InfinityX2 wedding venue in Lampasas, Texas by mid-afternoon on Sunday April 7, met by dozens of Travatos and some wonderful Travato owners.

We found a sweet, flat spot where we could set up with clear views of the Southern sky for the eclipse.

Looking North on Sunday, day before eclipse

It was a relaxing, laid back time. We chatted with some of the other owners and sat with beverages and enjoyed the sunny quiet, all the while checking the weather forecast. Clouds! Will they or won't they?

Turns out a little of both. After a fairly clear morning, clouds started approaching, with occasional breaks. Every time the sun came out again, we got so excited!

Looking South

Looking South, about noon on eclipse day. It was getting exciting!

And suddenly, it was upon us. We donned our glasses.

The clouds were getting a bit more prominent. But we watched as the moon took more and more of a bite from Ms. Sol, until totality. We were lucky to have a break in the clouds at just the right time and saw the diamond ring. Amazing!

Shitty photos, but proof we were there! You should go seek out all the wonderful professional and amateur photographers out there who knew what they were doing! And if you can at all witness a total eclipse, do not miss the chance. There's a reason people move hell and high water to get to them.