I like Vermont.

Irony. My wife is having cataract surgery on the 8th. I’ll keep an eye out for her.

I was thinking about going to Carbondale, IL. That's around 300 miles, so less than 5 hours.
But, a southern Illinois DUer told me that hotel rooms were going for 4x to 5x. I won't pay $300 for a room a Red Roof Inn.
I saw a total eclipse in Shanghai in 2009. So, it's not like it's my only chance to see one. If not for Shanghai, I might think differently.
BTW: In '09, I was in a large chemical facility, so there were welding masks available. Allowed a pretty awesome view of the eclipse.

Perhaps closer than Carbondale. I don't know where you are, but lots of folks will be doing that

I have this mental image of Interstate 35 with cars pulled over on the side of the road between 1:00 and 2:30 that afternoon all the way from San Antonio to DFW. Before this opportunity to spend the weekend with a good friend came up, we were going to go to a parking lot. Lots of open sky.

some friends of mine are going to mexico city and a relative and his sigificant other of my heath care worker are going to texas . there . thats better. have a grand time . i may not be able to see it if covered in clouds but hope nasa is doing a broadcast on line .

We are hoping for good weather, but it will also be great to be with our friend.

Do yourself a favor and check out some of the rock shops in the area. Sometimes the small ones have the best selection.

Look for ones that have smooth (natural, not artificially smoothed) faces, and no cloudy faces. No chipping on the faces or along the edges (or close to none). We are not believers in crystal energy, but it is very cool to have one or two of these things in a living room, especially if they are where the sun hits them, and sends a refracted prism of colored light around the room for a brief while every day. Avoid ones with inclusions of rutile or black tourmaline, as these are not native to Arkansas. They will have been bought and imported from Brazil (if they try to tell you they were locally found, say thank you and move on to another shop). I haven't been there in over 40 years, but I still have every one of the couple of rock crystals I bought on my trip through there.

so that would interest all of us. Hot Springs is full of cool little shops.

Have you ever been to Crater of Diamonds State Park? It is near Murfreesboro AR which is north of I-30 about halfway to Texarkana. You can spend the day digging in the diamond field. It's fun especially on a nice spring or fall day. We did it a few years ago and want to work it into a trip to Kentucky sometime..

We will skip it this time due to total unpredictabilty of traffic etc on Monday. In fact, working our way out of the area is going to be very interesting.

I was once there for work in the 1970s, barely 2 years after I started working, and then twice when passing through, the last time being in 1981, when I got my quartz crystals. They are probably more expensive now, and you do have to be a little discerning. The best will cost more, but it is worth it in the end.

We’re serving Black Russians and Guinness in homage to the darkness.

My wife ordered an eclipse t-shirt. As for me, I have plenty of plain black t-shirts. Easy peezy.

darkness zone in Terre Haute. Taking another couple with us that day and eat an early lunch at a local Italian restaurant in Clinton. Then drive south to almost Terre Haute and then off in the country to a remote Fish & Wildlife Area close to the Illinois state line. The eclipse starts around 1:15 and total darkness around 3 pm. Got four pairs of glasses and a plan. Now watch it rain that day.

Will not look at the sun so no special glasses. I will bring white card stock sheets. One w a few spaced, and closer together pin holes to imitate the "pinhole effect" that the trees would normally provide if it was about 2-3 weeks later when the leaves have grown in. Probably leaves will be too small yet. And a sheet for the images to be projected on to.

We're getting about a 90% coverage so I'll have my tablet to take photos in comparison sky/light-wise. I'll be impressed if I see a difference!

I'll catch up with my friend in Texas right in the path afterwards, and DU'rs here. And check YouTube for the NASA video.

Have fun anyone traveling for, or living in the Totality Path! 👍

Seems like there's always a breakthrough comes up that adds another 10 years to our lives

You'll have fun. Some of my kids live in Ohio, others close to DC. They are all going to meet in northern Ohio to see the eclipse. I was invited, but we'll have 95% totality locally, so I'm good. I'm still hanging out with my old cat. I saw the solar eclipse in 1994, several partial solar eclipses, many lunar eclipses, always wonderful.

I ordered a selection of eclipse tee shirts for each one, and they should be here Tuesday. Doubles as Easter gifts lol

Everyone have fun!