When it comes to totality, you hear comments about it being “life-changing” or “a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

As someone who had never seen a solar eclipse in totality, I thought, “Really?” Maybe it’s the reporter in me, but it just seemed a little bit hyped.

But then a couple of my husband’s co-workers who saw totality in 2017, came back and said it was amazing. The partial eclipse was pretty cool, so we looked up the next one and discovered totality would be clipping Pennsylvania in Erie in 2024. We decided right then that we would go.

I made our hotel reservation in September 2023, bought our ISO approved solar glasses online, and waited.

Finally the weekend of the solar eclipse came and we joined the migrating crowd westward on Pennsylvania’s highways. An SUV passed us with “Totality or Bust” written on its back window. The party had begun.

We checked into our hotel in Meadville, about 40 miles south of Erie, and scoped out our spot for viewing. We thought about going up to Erie, but we heard the crowds were going to be huge and the cloud coverage looked like it might be a problem. Instead, we ventured over to a place where we have gone camping - Pymatuning State Park.

This huge lake straddles Pennsylvania and Ohio with beautiful views of the water, and a fish nursery at the Spillway. The forecast called for cloudiness here, too, but not as much.

Monday morning, we stopped at a grocery store, bought subs, etc., and headed for the spillway to plant our lawn chairs before the crowds got there. When we got there, the parking lot at the Spillway was already full. Fortunately, we found a great spot at a picnic area with a view of the water just a little down the road.

As planned, we planted our lawn chairs in the grass, set up the tripod for the camera, put on some sunscreen, ate lunch, and waited.

We met our eclipse neighbors. To the right was a group from Philadelphia, who had never been out to Western Pennsylvania but stopped in Pittsburgh for a couple days before going north. To the left was a family from Pittsburgh, and a young couple and their dog originally from Chicago but now living in Philly. We were all new to totality.

Over the next couple hours, more people kept filling in and the atmosphere was festive with blankets being spread out on the grassy, and children running around.

The partial eclipse began at 2:02 p.m. with first contact. The moon slowly kept taking nibbles out of the sun over the next hour. I would glance up every now and then through my solar glasses to see the progression. It really was amazing to watch the crescent-shaped of the orange sun get smaller and smaller.

As it got darker and darker, the birds quieted, the people quieted, the air cooled, and we waited for the orange to disappear. Then it happened at 3:16 p.m. - complete darkness. The sun was gone.

We took off our solar glasses and with the naked eye, we could see a thin white line begin to form around the edge. Soon after, the sun’s white corona grew bigger and undulated. The wave flowed around the sun, not away from it.

Wow!

The corona was not a like a haze, but had peaks with points of varying height just like a crown, for which it was named.

It was truly gorgeous and awe-inspiring. It took your breath away.

Then I saw little pink dots pop up sporadically around the edge. I have since learned they are called solar prominences. Prominences are bursts of plasma shooting from the surface of the sun.

I glanced away and looked around me wanting to take in every aspect of this experience.

It was pitch black, but a sunset could be see everywhere on the horizon. It lit the sky just enough to cast beautiful colors across the water. How there was a sunset everywhere, I don’t know.

After nearly three minutes, the moon continued on its path, and the bright light of the sun shot through forming the diamond of the ring. My husband captured it in a photo with his iPhone. The crowd applauded again for nature’s spectacle, just as they had done at totality.

Now, I understand why people say you have to see totality. You really do.

It is just the most amazing thing I have ever experienced and brings my eyes to tears just thinking about it.

Hmm, Spain 2026? Maybe!