It’s been one year since our epic eclipse road trip, but since we weren’t really blogging at the time, we never really wrote up our experience aside from sharing a few photos on our personal social media. Plus we really gained some excellent travel tips from the trip that apply to a lot of types of travel that we’d love to share!

Even though Angie remembers making a pinhole solar viewer in grade school, neither of us had ever seen a total eclipse, so we decided to plan our annual fall vacation around it. We usually take a “big trip” sometime around our wedding anniversary each year, so Aug 21 fell right into the time of year that we come out of summer hibernation. (We tend to limit travel during the summer because we hate crowds, and since we mostly travel in the southeast us, it’s so hot that the outdoors are no fun anyway. So since we aren’t limited by school schedules, we usually wait until class is back in session to take our trips. )

With our days off approved, we set to work deciding where to go to view the eclipse. Again, we hate crowds, so for a once in a lifetime event within driving distance of most of the continental US, finding a locale that would give us a great view with minimal crowds was, challenging, to say the least. We were also wanting to make a full week of the trip, but again, feared eclipse tourism would mean a lot of people doing exactly the same thing. So we decided a road trip with multiple stops would be our best bet. We could go somewhere for the eclipse, then keep travelling somewhere else that wouldn’t be affected by eclipse tourists. Angie stumbled on what would turn out to be the absolute perfect option for us for the actual eclipse. A private viewing party at the highest point in Georgia, Brasstown bald. A private ticket event seemed like a great way to help mitigate the crowd situation, we expected a lot of people, but our ticket guaranteed parking and an unobstructed view, so we figured that would at the very least help to ease the anxiety of being where everyone else in the US was headed.

We also settled on Brasstown Bald because it is in an area of the state that isn’t usually a touristy destination, unless you like to hike. And lucky for us, we love the outdoors, so Blairseville, GA seemed like a great place to visit for a few days and do some hiking before the eclipse. We knew other people would probably do the same, but with outdoor destinations and lots of hiking trails, it usually takes a huge influx of people to start feeling crowded. Our speculation turned out right, and although it was probably busier than usual, we went on several hikes and never felt like it was tourist city. Even though the weather was looking kind of iffy, we were starting to feel pretty good about our choice for eclipse day.

Wanting to avoid the crowds as best we could, we arrived early in the day at Brasstown (really, we aren’t anti-social, we just know what makes us happiest, and plan accordingly so our vacations are as stress free as possible lol!). We had never been, so we also wanted to enjoy the park for its normal purpose as the highest point in the state, with 360 degree vistas on the observation deck. And getting there early meant we got to pick out the perfect spot for the eclipse itself. Then we waited. We had packed to make a day of it with snacks and books, but we were grateful for an overcast day, since the spot we chose was exposed to the sun. We noticed more people arriving, but it didn’t seem like what we expected…As it turned out, even though the event was sold out, the planners decided to close attendance so it wouldn’t be too crowded.What?! We could not believe our luck. It was perfect. The park is very large, but only a limited number can be on the observation deck, so they only sold enough tickets that most people could be on the platform if they chose. But a lot of eclipse viewers wanted to bring chairs, so they sat around the building below us or in the parking area. Which meant our spots were, considering, much less crowded than what we had anticipated! Huge score for the introverts!

Since the spot was an official NASA viewing location there was an emcee letting everyone know facts about the eclipse and somewhere there was a t.v. broadcasting other locations as the eclipse made its way across the country, but all we could see were clouds in the hour leading up to totality…then, like some kind of heavenly miracle, the countdown clock hit zero and the clouds magically cleared. No joke. I’m sure seeing the eclipse anywhere in the path of totality was amazing, but to have the clouds literally part just in time for the sun to disappear was an incredibly moving moment. Words really cannot describe it, no wonder our ancestors gave so much reverence to solar eclipses… We have to say it was definitely worth the trip, definitely worth spending the extra for a private viewing party, and definitely worth the research to find the perfect way for introverted travelers to enjoy an event with the masses.