We totally wanted to see a total solar eclipse so after 2017 wasn't close and I knew 2024 would be within driving distance, I started planning. And then April 1, 2024 rolled around so I resumed planning! I totally missed the ball.
I should have booked several hotel rooms in different cities and states along the path of totality throughout the northeast U.S., but instead I went searching for accommodations on April 1. Luckily, I found a tenting campsite in Rumney, NH for $14 per person. This would knock about 2.5 to 3 hours off the drive eclipse-day morning. We set off Sunday afternoon and arrived at the campsite and set up tents by 5:30PM then headed to town for dinner.
After dinner, we drove back and hunkered down for the short, but cold night (30 degrees F). Several times I woke to numb fingers and toes and was happy when everyone else woke around 5:00AM, so we packed up quick and got on the road to Newport, VT, some 2 hours north and as close to the center line as we could get without a passport (Canada).
We arrived in Newport around 7:30AM, got a Dunkin Donuts breakfast and headed to Prouty Beach for the event. We set up a prime spot with a blanket at the corner of a hill overlooking the lake below and facing in a general southwesterly direction - prime viewing spot. We thought we'd be a bit early arriving at 8:30AM, but there was already a growing crowd and a growing line for the port-o-potties!
The event was great, the eclipse was totally mind-blowing, and the traffic home was a total nightmare. We left just after totality and were driving by 4:30PM. What would normally be a 4.5 hour ride turned into a slow crawl which had us arriving home at 2:30AM Tuesday morning.
All-in-all - totally worth it!
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