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Jill Stone

Your Meeting Matchmaker Fairy Godmother

Totality Awesome! The Great American Eclipse of 2017

in: Travel and Hospitality

Eclipse

Where will you be on August 21, 2017? If you’re lucky you will be somewhere in the band across the United States that will experience a total eclipse of the sun. I’m super excited as I live right in that band! In fact, residents of Jefferson County, Missouri are expecting over 800,000 visitors, making Highway 55 one of the busiest highways in the US on that day.

Here are a few tips on how to get the most from the Eclipse experience!

  • Stare: Don’t do it! Staring directly at the sun can cause eye damage even during an eclipse. Make sure to purchase your Solar Eclipse Glasses.
  • Corona: During the time of totality, which will last about 2 minutes and 40 seconds, the sun’s outer atmosphere, or the corona, becomes visible. It is going to be a beautiful and amazing to experience!
  • Maps: If you need a map, NASA has got you covered. Check out all the maps here.
  • Travel: Expect that travel is going to be very congested to the areas of totality, so plan accordingly. If you are coming my way, make a vacation of it, come in early and/or stay a few days later to experience our area. Be sure to check out the Moonrise Hotel, which is also home to the Eclipse Restaurant.
  • Stay: If you are looking to find a hotel or Airbnb, you better get to it! Rooms are going fast. It’s easy to do a Google search for which properties are in the path as they are full out advertising the fact!
  • Stamp: Sending out invites to your Eclipse party? Be sure to check out the United States Post Office’s very cool, or shall I say heat-sensitive stamps.
  • Serve: At the party, serve your drinks in these fun glasses.
  • Wear: Here is your t-shirt for the day! Of course, search around, there are a lot of options out there.

If you miss this one, then get a head start planning for the next one. Mark your calendars for April, 8, 2024. By then, we can just beam ourselves to the best viewing locations. As for me, I plan on watching it from my shoe-shaped spaceship.

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