Song of the Week, 8/27/2017
So here was my eclipse experience: Come the morning, Arcata was totally socked in with fog, as per usual. So I had decided I would just watch the whole thing online.
Then, about 9:30 — with the start of the show about 45 minutes away — my stepdaughter came in saying that according to her dad, the fog cleared if you went out past Blue Lake. So we jumped into the car, and in my haste I whacked the corner of the car door into my head, causing blood to stream down my forehead as we drove east on 299 in search of clear sky.
We did eventually find some, clear enough anyway that we could make out the moon biting into the sun. We watched through tiny, dark panes of glass as the sun grew dim — the eclipse never achieved totality here, getting to I believe 86% — then brighter again. Then we jumped back into the car to beat the crowd home — about 90% of Humboldt County was lined up along 299 with their eyes to the sky.
I still have the mark on my forehead.