We drove 10 hours to get into the path of totality. It was totally worth it! It's not possible to appreciate from pics or anecdotes, it's something that just has to be seen in person to fully comprehend. I regret not making an effort to see past eclipses.
We wandered up to Poplar Bluff, MO, and decided to go to a nearby state park while eating breakfast. Thousands of other people had the same idea so there were countless cars parked along the various streets winding through the park. When the totality was achieved, we could hear a gasping cheer roll through the crowd from the SW corner toward the NE, as the specific view of it where each person was standing was "activated." That was as amazing as the actual eclipse. Hearing it manifest across the park over the course of several seconds as a succession of people audibly experienced it together was indescribably cool! Similar to doing the wave at a stadium, but in a whole different realm of the awesomeness of nature.
