All I have heard about for the past month or so is how this solar eclipse was a once in a lifetime experience. I didn’t want Danyella and I to miss out on the experience so I tried my damnest to acquire the glasses that were safe to use during the eclipse but everywhere was out unless I wanted to pay hundreds of dollars just for a couple of pairs… I think NOT!
There were lots of tutorials on how to make eclipse viewers from home that were safe for your eyes so I decided to go with the tutorial using a cereal box, paper, tape and tin foil put out by the National Weather Service. It was super easy especially since we had cereal boxes that I needed to get rid of because my family decided to boycott eating specific cereals. (I hate wasting the food but you can’t force them to eat it.) We had a Star Wars lucky charms viewer, Honeycomb viewer and Boo Berry viewer!
As the eclipse started in Oregon, we watched on my mom’s tv (we have gone without cable for a year now and just run everything off of the internet) as the total eclipse made complete darkness on the West Coast. It was the coolest thing to watch as the total eclipse started and ended in one place and moved onto the next. By the time it reached Missori, I headed home because I wasn’t feeling so great.
The peak of the eclipse in New Jersey was happening at 2:45 EST so I laid down for a while and watched NASA’s livestream on Facebook. At its peak in New Jersey, 87% of the Sun was to be covered by the moon. As the time approached, the clouds rolled in over our area which made it super hard to actually see the eclipse happen.
This is the view I had from inside my viewer: 
One thing I learned from others that experienced the eclipse before me, use your selfie mode on your phone to take a picture without hurting your eyes. This is one of my views from selfie mode at the peak time:
One of the coolest parts of the eclipse was feeling the tempeture drop. I wish it would have dropped the humidity but no such luck. As I stood outside I could feel the nice coolness over my hot skin.
Here is an photo from the eclipse in Missori: 
Here is a better picture someone was able to take through their solar lens telescope from my area: 
I might not have gotten to experience what everyone else expierence but at least I can tell my grandchildren and great grandchildren that we were able to experience at least. What was your experience?
Didn’t get to see it at all but thanks for sharing the pics. Very cool! Glad you got to experience it.
We were in totality for a couple minutes. One of the most amazing things I have ever witnessed!
I’m jealous lol watching the totality on tv was amazing
I lucked into a pair of glasses from a friend only a couple of hours before the eclipse. We were only about 82%, and we watched at the library while the toddlers played in the fountain. It was cool. But those that were in the Path of Totality had a much better experience, I’m sure.
Awesome that you got to experience even a partial eclipse. Yes the pictures I have seen people post from the totality are just amazing!
WHOA!!!!!! That’s what I’m talking about!!! My god this was a serious eclipse, I’m gutted to have missed it.
It was amazing even to see just on my TV for the totality. I do wish we didn’t have so much cloud coverage where I was but still an amazing experience. Sorry you missed it.
Wow, those are really amazing pics – much better than any I was able to get! And I’m also impressed that your homemade eclipse viewer worked better than ours did lol 🙂
Thanks! Lol I was quite impressed I was able to get the viewers to work at all.