See a total eclipse of the sun

not yesterday. And I definitely want to do it again. 2009 or 2010. I will do it again.

Cook Islands
some nice eclipse cruises out there
my passport will still be good

maybe this weekend is the right time to book one

what else is new!

Having had this on the back for a number of weeks, I am leaning toward the Paul Gauguin eclipse cruise. It’s costly, and there is a wait list.

So, time will decide whether it is even an option. Part of me thinks, hey, the money is there, and the money will get spent on something. And of course there is always 2010.

But the 2009 eclipse will be longer. It takes a few minutes for the whole thing to sink in. You don’t want seconds of darkness and then it’s light again – there’s no time for the weird feelings to fool around with your psyche.

and a bit of reflection, I have concluded that a vacation that involved too many hours over the wide ocean in a prop plane and too many hours on the tossing waves in a small ferry would mean about 24 hours of terror and seasickness making the bookends to the eclipse viewing.

On the other hand, there is a 2010 eclipse cruise through the South Seas that is all aboard a luxury vessel and is short rather than long. So, I have put myself on the advance notice list for that cruise, and am passing on the 14 day cruise on the same vessel at the 2009 eclipse.

On the way (isn’t this the way it works?) I found two extraordinary Fiji vacations. One is aboard the Tui Tai, a 140 foot motorized sailing schooner. The other is Lalati Resort, an amazing amazing place among many amazing places. Both affordable, and if you read about them, and check out tripadvisor reviews, spectacular.

So… I think our 2009 trip may be a hybrid of the two – a five day Tui Tai cruise combined with a Lalati resort 5 day stay. Wow. Worth the long trip.

I asked him what fabulous thing he would like to do of my three top choices in 2009.

He chose this. I researched it, and think Fiji would be fun. I located a very cool tour, noted it is ultra expensive, and sent through an inquiry.

If the tour is full, at least I have a sense of where we need to be for good viewing, and can most likely put together something independent of a tour. The tricky part is making sure we are in the path of the totality at the right time…

94? 95? Something. It was pretty neat though. Had the smoked glass and everything, and sat outside and watched the whole process. Verycool.

anyone else up in the wee hours?

One of the girls called at 3:35 am so we wouldn’t miss it. The phone had that purposeful middle of the night ring, and being asleep, I had forgotten about the eclipse. So my heart was feeling heavy and large inside me as I carefully said “hello?” and my daughter’s voice was easy and aware as she informed me the eclipse had reached totality and I might like to look.

And sure enough, there it was in its tantalizing glowingness, hovering up outside the bedroom.

six and a half minutes. China, Japan, some Pacific Islands. I am thinking cruise, baby. Follow the moon shadow. Or maybe Nepal, and get to base camp on the same trip!

But
I am putting it on this list because I really want to go again. I want to see one with my husband, who has never experienced a total eclipse. I have seen both an annular and a full eclipse, and truly, the total eclipse is THE EXPERIENCE. It is an experience of a lifetime—something not to be missed. It is sublime.