Mike's Barbaric Yawp

Narrowing down the choices

OK, so the weather geek in me has been agonizing over cloudcover forecasts for the past few days. Originally the plan was to drive anywhere from Houlton, ME to the OH/IN border, as I’ve got family in both spots. Anywhere in between would be just a long day-trip since I don’t have lodging anywhere else.

One of the websites that my weather-geek friends and I use has a great site to display modeled cloudcover.

It looks like the Northeast will have the best chances of clear skies. For the past 24 hours or so, I’ve actually debated making the journey to Niagra Falls. I think taking in the Eclipse on the Canadian side of the falls would be spectacular. Unfortunately, I think that will probably be the most crowded place along the entire strip of totality. Not only will everybody from the greater-Toronto area be there, but so will many from all over the US. I’ve read that National Geographic has determined Niagra Falls to be the best place to observe this eclipse, and I know that international eclipse-seekers are flocking to this area too.

Whatever scant rooms are left are an absolute fortune, and ideally I’d like to make it back home for Tuesday morning. I envision gridlock along I-90 heading back into New England, not to mention how bad crossing back into the US at the Rainbow Bridge will be.

If I had to make a call right now, I would probably choose somewhere in Northern VT or Southern Quebec, not far from Interstate 91. It’s pretty much a straight shot south to my home. Burlington sounds appealing, but I envision all of the traffic heading out on I-89. It’ll be bad enough with the travelers leaving Burlington, but everyone will be pig-piling onto the highway from Waterbury, Stowe, Barre, Montpelier, etc. No thanks.

I did notice that the Spirit of Ethan Allen is having an Eclipse Cruise, and there are still tickets available at this time. $150ea is appealing, but I won’t be able to set up a tripod on a boat in the middle of Lake Champlain, so I’m not sure it’s ideal for me.

Newport VT seems like a good spot, and I doubt that traffic on 91 North of I-89/93 will be that bad. I think it’ll either be there, or Magog, QC. Magog looks like a pretty cool place to explore for the day, with lots of neat little eateries. One thing I can tell you, once you cross that border into Quebec, the restaurants/bakeries/cafes are on a completely different level.

Also, I’ll be leaving for Bermuda 6 days after the eclipse, so this will have to be a quick trip for me. It’ll be nice though, as I’ll be able to try out some new video equipment that I have picked up. Hopefully I’ll be able to up my game with YouTube videos, Facebook Reels, and Instagram posts. I really need to maximize my social media if I want this blog to grow like I want.