Ever since I learned that a total solar eclipse would pass through Northern New York and Vermont on April 8, 2024, I felt compelled to go. I had seen a few partial eclipses, but never experienced totality; it seemed like this might be my best (if not only) chance to see one in my lifetime. So I was determined, considering different options to be in an observational position. We decided on an excursion to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, which lay at the Northern edge of the path, with a plan to drive South and catch it along the centerline near Plattsburgh.
We drove to Montreal on Saturday and spent a lovely 36 hours exploring the city, eating some delicious food, including an obligatory brunch at a traditional Quebec Sugar Shack where everything contains fresh Maple Syrup from the Spring tap, checking out the spectacular Biodome and Parc Olympique, wandering around Vieux-Montreal and the hip neighborhood of our AirBnb, Mile End. It was trés français and I was able to recall some high-school French in my transactions, adding a fun cultural dimension to our travels.
Since I started nervously checking the forecast 10 days out, the indications were, somewhat improbably, a couple days of gorgeous sunshine around our viewing window. But when I began looking in more detail 24 hours out, I saw clouds moving in from the West, covering our planned vantage point! So on Monday morning (we all took off school and work for the occasion), we assessed our options and decided to make a run for the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont; one of the most beautiful areas of New England with the most favorable viewing conditions in our range. We drove around until we found Lake Eden Recreation Area, which seemed to fit our requirements for witnessing the spectacle.
We watched through our glasses as the moon slowly covered the sun, shrouding our local star until it was a tiny crescent sliver. And then it happened! In a moment, the shadow engulfed us on earth and the tiny edge of the sun became a perfect ring around the moon. The gasps and exclamations from the assembled crowd were a perfect soundtrack to this profoundly awesome event and sharing the moment with Ivy, Miles and Alaina was one of my absolute greatest family experiences. Totality lasted just over three minutes, but the memory will certainly last forever. I felt a powerful gratitude in that moment, for being alive on this beautiful planet with my adventurous family; for the life-generating power of the sun and our relatively equivalently sized twin lunar orbit; for the science that determined the exact place in spacetime for perfect alignment; for the ability to take time off and travel for the occasion; and for the weather conditions that made viewing possible. It was an experience of pure awe and wonder, a moment of cosmic circumstance destined for millennia; we were a part of it and it will remain a part of me for the rest of my life.
