I just got back from the festivities at the Blue Sky Winery and I must say that the total solar eclipse did not disappoint.
The social experience was almost as amazing as the astronomical one. There were people from Canada, Brazil, Poland, Japan, and numerous other nations, as well as from all parts of the United States. Everyone was good-natured and in happy spirits during the event, and one incident in particular highlighted the general mood. I was in a 20 minute conversation in the fish vendor line (because what would be such an occasion without fried food
) talking to several people in line from New Orleans, Los Angeles, Poland, and Switzerland. The guy from Switzerland was a blast. Upon seeing the New Orleans guy, who had the shirt from his alma mater (as we found out later), he said something in French (which the guy didn't know). He then tried again in German with the same result. And then Italian, which the other guy knew a little of. Then the Swiss guy spoke in fluent English and said "I was messing with you. It's good to see another alumni here."
As for the eclipse itself, when it got to 90% totality things began to get weird in a way that is hard to describe unless one has personally experienced it. The sky darkened to a far higher degree than the ground, and planets and sky features became visible that are never visible during the day. Moths came out and vultures began to land. Then the temperature declined noticeably. Finally, once totality hit, the corona of the sun was fully visible, casting the black void in the sky with an otherworldly haze, like a black ball shooting muted fire in all directions against a premature night sky. It was incredibly off-putting in an amazing way. I can totally understand why early humans would think the world was ending during such an event. It makes every one of your instincts tell you that "this is very, very wrong."
So overall my sister and I had a blast during this eclipse, and I look forward to attending the one in 2024 as well, which will also pass through Makanda, Illinois.
Crowds at the event
The main building:
An example of the winery's wares:
A sculpture to represent the point of maximum eclipse duration:
The eclipse (corona over-saturates the image):
