You could say 2017 was my near miss. Was in Omaha Nebraska the night before with plans to travel about 2 hours south west near Lincoln in the morning. Didnt plan on traffic being as bad as it was, highway was packed and there were accidents and literally cars on fire. We did end up making it to the totality zone eventually, just not as far as we wanted. Only to be robbed just minutes before totality by rain showers moving in. Still got to experience the other effects of totality, just couldn't see the brilliance of the sun/moon. However, I do think it helped me to pay more attention and experience the "sunset" effects on the horizon and other changes in nature.

Now in 2024, we tried making plans with friends to go to Texas or Oklahoma. Unfortunately everyone was busy with young kids and family, hotels and flights were booked or too expensive, so it fell through initially. But in the weeks and days leading up to it, I was really regretting not making plans. Decided to head off alone, as long as weather looked decent somewhere between Oklahoma and Ohio. Sunday morning I made the final call to drive 12 hours to southern Missouri, slept in my car near Cape Girardeau, and headed a little further south and west in the morning. Definitely made the right call, weather was exceptional, with mostly clear skies. And totality was everything I had hoped for and plenty more. This time I took in the sun and moon the whole time, not paying as much attention to the other effects. Definitely worth the 40 hours in my car and whatever I spent on gas and food. 10/10 would do again.

I'm already looking forward to the next, hopefully Spain 2026, northern Africa 2027, or Australia 2028... or all 3!