For months now, we have been bombarded with information about the total solar eclipse of 2017. An eclipse that began yesterday morning in the Pacific Northwest and crossed the entire country until it reached our coastal state, the last state in its path, in mid-afternoon. An estimated one million people were expected come to our state to view the eclipse somewhere along its path.
Yesterday was THE day. It was like a giant party for our state. We live in the center of the "path of totality" so we didn't have to search for hotel rooms or rent a spot in someone's yard to pitch a tent like hundreds of other folks. Our lake house, with it's unobstructed sky, was the perfect viewing spot. The only search that was bigger than the one to find a hotel room was the search to find eclipse glasses. We bought ours ages ago. But there were still people trying to buy them yesterday.
This was how the lake looked during the couple of minutes of totality. This was about 2:38 in the afternoon. Yes, it really did get dark. Not dark enough to see stars in the sky, but it was definitely dark. In a weird kind of way.
I turned around and looked up the hill at our lake house. Thank goodness I forgot to turn the lights off inside the house. And then in a very few minutes, it was sunny again.
Before darkness descended, we took a spin around the lake to see how many people were set to view the eclipse. The biggest boat gathering was at Camp Fellowship that is just down the lake from us. All 50 camp beds had been rented for the night before and they were expecting 400 people to come to the camp for the day.
How did I know about the camp eclipse plans? Because I was at the camp for a knitting retreat over the weekend. We knitters were leaving on Sunday as others were arriving for the eclipse "party."
Our retreat brought together knitters from three states. It's a weekend of visiting, making new friends and learning new knitting techniques. These colorful triangles are the beginning of a shawl that was this year's retreat project. We all started the same shawl pattern, but we got to choose the color of our yarn. So they will all be the same—but different.
Sometimes I wonder if our gathering is a knitting retreat where we snack, or if it's a snack retreat where we knit! This snack table was a popular spot the entire weekend. I'm sitting here this morning drinking lots of water as I'm in "recovery mode" from over indulging in the nibble food. I'll bet I'm not the only one.
On our last day we were surprised with retreat T-shirts. What a nice way to commemorate our 6th retreat It was an even bigger surprise for me because last year I had asked Jessica to design a logo for our retreat to use on the mailing and name tags. How cool it was to see her logo on the back of the shirt.
It was a weekend for the books. A once-in-a-lifetime eclipse. A wonderful retreat with friend. But goodness. I'm glad it's Tuesday.
Wow! There were quite a few knitters at that retreat! Looks like fun. I recently got invited to one in February 2018, but it includes too many work days for me to take off. Sigh..., but I promised myself and the woman who invited me that I wouls knit along with them through their retreat. I will just have to do it at home in the evenings. And your eclipse viewing looks like a great memory for the books!
ReplyDeleteWish you were closer, Goodnightgram. These retreats run from Friday afternoon through Sunday. Perfect for working folks. It's a good place to develop friendships. Maybe you can find another knitter and have a mini-retreat at your house while the big retreat is happening.
ReplyDeleteThat could happen! My old neighbor that I just recently connected with is a knitter! :-)
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