# Are you driving to the path of totality to see the eclipse? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 18, 2017, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-driving-to-the-path-of-totality-to-see-the-eclipse/793973 "2017-08-18T13:19:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-driving-to-the-path-of-totality-to-see-the-eclipse/793973/41 "2017-08-19T00:48:50Z")
Just to clarify, my comment about darkness in daytime was sheer smartassery. I would love to experience totality, but it ain’t gonna happen for me this year. I do remember the one in 1970 when I was living in Baltimore. It wasn’t total, but it was pretty close, and my mom made a pinhole viewer for us. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-driving-to-the-path-of-totality-to-see-the-eclipse/793973/42 "2017-08-19T00:49:23Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yep. We’re driving to Evanstville, IN tomorrow, then will make our way to Clarksville early Monday morning. There’s no point in driving to the “almost” totality band. It’s totality or might as well stay home. It’s like getting to 99% of the way to an orgasm. Some astronomer opined that the difference between seeing a 99% eclipse and Totality is as big a difference as between seeing no eclipse and a 99% eclipse. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-driving-to-the-path-of-totality-to-see-the-eclipse/793973/43 "2017-08-19T00:57:09Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > No. I can’t _not_ hear about it right now, and regardless of my own interest level, the moment it begins there are going to be endless pictures and videos posted by literally everyone, everywhere, for days, weeks, months, even _years_ afterwards. We’re _all_ about to see it thousands of times over, no matter if we want to or not. I once saw Vermeer’s paintings “A View of Delft” and “Girl With a Pearl Earring” in person in a museum. I was astounded at the difference between even the highest-quality prints and the paintings themselves. No comparison. I think the difference between photos and videos of the eclipse and the real thing will be far, far, greater than the paintings. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-driving-to-the-path-of-totality-to-see-the-eclipse/793973/44 "2017-08-19T01:01:44Z")
I would if I wasn’t working. I saw the 1970 one from Fayetteville NC and really wanted to get a better location for this one but I just don’t have the time off to use. ---
**Author:** ![TheBoltEater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheBoltEater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoltEater)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-driving-to-the-path-of-totality-to-see-the-eclipse/793973/45 "2017-08-19T01:08:03Z")
Well SOMEBODY must be going. I just tried to rent a car in Salt Lake City. At first my company travel agent could only find 1 car - for $230 a day. In the end I got one at a normal price, but I asked at the rental counter what was going on. They told me car rentals had gone crazy - days before the eclipse - and that one company had been renting compacts… FOR $450 A DAY. Please tell me that none of you driving to see the eclipse is renting a compact car for $450 a day. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-driving-to-the-path-of-totality-to-see-the-eclipse/793973/46 "2017-08-19T03:30:48Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Some astronomer opined that the difference between seeing a 99% eclipse and Totality is as big a difference as between seeing no eclipse and a 99% eclipse. This makes me sad; I hope they were just being dramatic. I’m driving eight hours south to go from 76% to 92%, but since I’m only going for the day I can’t go another four hours to totality. Plus I have a free place to stay if I stop where I’m planning to. ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-driving-to-the-path-of-totality-to-see-the-eclipse/793973/47 "2017-08-19T04:20:24Z")
> [@MindsEye\_Watering](#): > > I saw the one in '7o, and seeing it in person is…special. Pictures and videos can’t come close. This and this. It’s been 47 years since my last total eclipse, and I’ve been waiting for this one ever since. Between worrying about weather and traffic, I’m getting frazzled. Wish me luck. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-driving-to-the-path-of-totality-to-see-the-eclipse/793973/48 "2017-08-19T13:42:51Z")
Totality is too far to be a practical drive for me. Were I still living in/near St. Louis I’d be driving to totality for sure. BY 2024 I’ll be retired and there’s no reason not to make advance plans to see that one although it’ll be even farther from my current abode. I’ve seen a couple partials but never a total. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-driving-to-the-path-of-totality-to-see-the-eclipse/793973/49 "2017-08-19T20:28:27Z")
I am staying put. My area is at the 94% line, which seems to me enough of an eclipse to get the experience without having to travel 4 hours north to Wyoming to get the 100% effect. But I am definitely going to take a look at it, with proper equipment of course. It is a once in a lifetime experience for most of us in the USA. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-driving-to-the-path-of-totality-to-see-the-eclipse/793973/50 "2017-08-19T21:18:59Z")
Hell no. I’m on vacation this week but the closest place in the path of totality is 1,000 miles away. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2017, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-driving-to-the-path-of-totality-to-see-the-eclipse/793973/51 "2017-08-20T02:54:36Z")
Done driving as of Saturday night. We’re in Lincoln, Nebraska, a seven-hour drive to get here. Sunday we’re planning to go to Beatrice NE, and Monday we’re barely in totality and had planned on driving maybe another 20-30 miles south. Now we’re watching weather forecasts and deciding whether to drive south or west to improve our cloud cover chances. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2017, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-driving-to-the-path-of-totality-to-see-the-eclipse/793973/52 "2017-08-20T03:38:06Z")
I’d have seriously considered traveling to see the eclipse, except that it’s my older son’s first day of kindergarten. So I plan on bailing out of a dumb-ass work meeting halfway in to see the highest point of the eclipse here in DFW (~75-80% totality). And for the record, fuck the notorious idiot project manager who scheduled a meeting from 1-2 pm CST as well. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2017, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-driving-to-the-path-of-totality-to-see-the-eclipse/793973/53 "2017-08-20T03:59:02Z")
> [@somepumpkin](#): > > Are you driving to the path of totality to see the eclipse? > The news is preaching there’ll be hellfire and destruction on the highways that day. > I’m curious how many of us are planning to travel. (I’m building a poll now, my first) We are leaving Sunday and driving 308 miles. Giving ourselves 12 hours to get there (before dark to find our friends) because we expect the roads to look something like this: [![](https://dev.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KEnTR4n2Aa47kucKwq6XYc.jpg) ](https://dev.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KEnTR4n2Aa47kucKwq6XYc.jpg) We scouted our spot a couple of months ago. It’s in the national forest, not a town, and we don’t mind roughing it. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2017, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-driving-to-the-path-of-totality-to-see-the-eclipse/793973/54 "2017-08-20T13:50:47Z")
I’m figuring on driving from the Houston area to somewhere up in northeast Texas, to get a few more percent of coverage. Totality band is too far to go up and back in one day. I’ll wait for 2024, assuming I’m still above ground by then. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2017, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-driving-to-the-path-of-totality-to-see-the-eclipse/793973/55 "2017-08-20T13:57:34Z")
If my husband was still alive we would have made the effort because that’s the sort of thing he’d really get excited about. Instead, I took Eclipse Day as one of my two days off this week and I’ll probably sit outside with a cool beverage and maybe some nibbly bits and watch the sunlight dim with a partial eclipse, then spend a bit of time with the TV talking heads ooo-ing and ahh-ing over it. Frankly, driving 250 miles for a five minutes phenomena amidst a bajillion people, probably at least half paying more attention to their phones than the road and at least a couple of dumbshits driving with their dark glasses on is not my idea of a good time. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2017, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-driving-to-the-path-of-totality-to-see-the-eclipse/793973/56 "2017-08-20T14:06:06Z")
One of my friends is loading up his car with fellow astrophysicists and driving 2,750 miles (5,500 mile round trip) to view the totality. And yes, clear skies are forecast for his site. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2017, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-driving-to-the-path-of-totality-to-see-the-eclipse/793973/57 "2017-08-20T15:23:29Z")
Wow, 40% of dopers replying to this poll will be on the road towards the totality band. If those numbers are only double the typical US population, minus the people who live in the band, that’s over 50 million people taking to the road for tomorrow’s event! ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2017, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-driving-to-the-path-of-totality-to-see-the-eclipse/793973/58 "2017-08-20T15:38:57Z")
We flew from our home in Connecticut here to St. Louis. I got a hotel about 10 miles inside the zone of totality. I would have preferred to be farther west (like Idaho or Wyoming), but the cost of plane tickets and hotel/rental car availability precluded that. Now I’m worried about cloud cover here, and am considering driving east a bit. I plan to **not** leave the zone of totality, though, in case we hit traffic. I’m also planning to avoid limited access highways, so we can always pull over if necessary. Fingers crossed… P.S. There’s a couple staying at our hotel here in St. Louis who flew in from Japan to see the eclipse! ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2017, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-driving-to-the-path-of-totality-to-see-the-eclipse/793973/59 "2017-08-20T17:39:06Z")
All right, I booked a non-refundable hotel room for tonight, so I guess I’m committed. Here goes nothing… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2017, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-driving-to-the-path-of-totality-to-see-the-eclipse/793973/60 "2017-08-20T17:55:52Z")
There will be 87% coverage here. We’ll be satisfied with that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-driving-to-the-path-of-totality-to-see-the-eclipse/793973.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-driving-to-the-path-of-totality-to-see-the-eclipse/793973.md?page=4)