April 12, 2024
We returned home Tuesday from a 1200 mile trip to see the full eclipse in Upland, Indiana. Cindy had been planning this for at least years and had made arrangements to stay with her grade school friend in Upland. She was going to make the trip by herself since I had no interest in seeing an eclipse but I decided this would most likely be my last chance and I really didn’t want her to drive all that way alone.
We stopped for two nights in Columbus, Ohio because it was on the way and because we had never been there. It is a strikingly beautiful city with lots of parks and green spaces. There are lots of museums, theaters, and concert venues, all rather close to the Scioto River. The river takes its name from the local native American word for deer and there are three whimsical statues of deer dotting the banks and bridges over the river.
Columbus has a magnificent botanical garden called Franklin Park filled with specialized enclosed spaces for butterflies, tropical gardens, desert gardens and a host of other ecosystems focused on regional gardens. The outdoor space is huge and again filled with plants and trees and also benches for relaxation. We were lucky and hit it on a day that was just perfect - sunny and warm - and all the spring plants were in full flower. We spent about two hours wandering, getting lost, and marveling at the diversity of flora contained in this park.
At the garden gift shop Cindy purchased some cards and the clerk asked where we were from and we told her and mentioned we would only be in Columbus for a day or so. She said that we absolutely had to visit the Topiary Park. No one else had mentioned it, we had not read about it, and it was pure chance (and good luck) that she told us about it. We were intrigued and walked over to the park the next morning. It is a re-creation of Georges Seurat’s painting, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, all done in shaped yew trees, absolutely stunning!
We were not terribly impressed with the food/beverage scene but we really didn’t visit Columbus to eat and drink, just to rest and sightsee. We went out of our way to see their supposedly fabulous indoor market, but it was just some tired looking food stalls with nothing that seemed even remotely fresh. We had a fun lunch at an Irish Pub where we were one of only two couples eating there. The hotel restaurant was, well a hotel restaurant, but convenient for our first night. Our last night was at a Tapa joint which was hit and miss but loud! Enough said.
On Sunday we drove for three hours to Upland Indiana in preparation for the big show on Monday. Cindy and her friend Kari had much to catch up with, and Kari's husband Steve is a pilot so the two of us just started talking flying as pilots are wont to do. The next day we busied ourselves until about two o’clock when we all went over to their son’s home to watch the show. It was a multigenerational event with three generations of their family sitting in the driveway, all of us with our Eclipse Glasses and filled with anticipation. I had read a lot about what to expect and thought the actual event might not be as great as I hoped. I was, once again, WRONG!
As the moon began its steady and ever so slow journey across the sun I could sense things happening around us. First it was the birds who now thought it was approaching dusk; they all started to roost in the trees around the house, chirping their evening songs. Then I noticed the chilled wind picking up as we neared totality. The sky was clear but the horizon seemed to be cast in a haze as it got darker and darker. Finally, I noticed there was no shadow from the tree in front of me and I took off my glasses and looked at a full eclipse with the moon covering the sun and only the bright corona of the sun visible. It was now quite cool and the birds had gone quiet. There were suddenly several stars visible in the sky and the entire horizon was embraced in a shimmering golden/red sunset. It was a truly memorable and moving experience, unlike anything I had anticipated, and a welcome three-minute and three-second respite from the real world.
Prior to the start of the eclipse we had told everyone that we were going to be departing as soon as the moon started to expose the sun. We had read that there was to be a lot of traffic surrounding this event and we wanted to get ahead of it as we made our way to Springfield Ohio for the night. My trusty navigator kept us moving in an East by Southeast direction and we managed to avoid all the traffic and arrived at the hotel at six thirty in time for an Eclipse Cocktail. The next morning we departed at eight twenty, a record for us, and arrived home at three pm with only a stop for gas. The traffic was fine with only a few short delays, and we were delighted to be home and to have had such a marvelous experience.
