A near total eclipse is very cool. I love the crescent shadows.
I have to say that a totality on a clear day is an almost completely different experience. I was in Jackman, Maine, which turned out to be about the best place possible, and when the last bit of sun goes behind the moon, it's like a light switch was turned off, although it's a light switch in a neighborhood with a lot of street lights; you still have the sky glow from the surrounding area, so it's like dusk, not midnight). The black moon/solar corona effect is not like anything else you ever see.
On the other hand, you pay the price for going places like that--Jackman is near the Canadian border and there's one road south. It took us four hours to go forty miles after we left. We had anticipated that, but it's still no fun.
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