The 2017 Solar Eclipse Road Trip NJ-SC

Once you spend a significant amount of time traveling, all you want to do is get back on the road.

There's a constant nagging feeling in the back of your head to go out there and find an adventure. Because of this, being home from the Great American Road Trip did not last very long. I went to work everyday for about a month lifeguarding at a lake, then a pool and then delivering Thai food at night. After reading about the coming Solar Eclipse, a few of my friends and I decided that we had to go and see it. A last hurrah before going off to college and moving to different cities scattered across the United States. This was going to be the last big memorable event of the Summer 2017, our last free summer.

My friend Justin, a talented film maker, decided that he would make an informal documentary of the trip (I will include it at the bottom of this post)and it turned out to be amazing. We knew that a ton of people would be heading south to see the eclipse, so we left New Jersey for our destination in South Carolina a little before 3 in the morning. I got in my Honda Pilot, drove around town, and gathered my friends before getting on the highway. Pictured is me pointing toward South Carolina at a rest stop in North Jersey.

Because of the way solar eclipses work, they can only be viewed from a thin ribbon about ten miles long that stretches across the globe. Often the band is only over water or some continent that isn't America but this year we got lucky. It fell only a few hundred miles from my home town. We decided to drive to Greenville South Carolina to see it as there was going to be a huge viewing party and great weather (clear skies, high visibility).

On the way down to South Carolina my friends and I decided to stop in Washington DC. We visited the White House, the Capitol, and an undisclosed hotel where we casually walked in and went to the top floor to see the sights. We even witnessed a drug deal go down on the streets of our nation's capitol while sitting at a red light in traffic.

After a quick stop in DC, we headed further South and quickly ran into some trouble. We had to take back roads due to the fact that the highway only accepted EZ Pass at tolls, something I did not remember to bring. Soon we were able to get back on the interstate but after just a few miles we hit a huge amount of traffic. The rest stops had huge lines of people headed South to see the show that Mother Nature was about to put on for us.

Because I had my National parks pass with me, our group was able to make a detour along the Shenandoah mountain ridge road in Shenandoah National Park. The views were breathtaking. We stopped at every overlook to take pictures and to sit and stare at the scenery. Justin was able to get some sweet shots for his documentary along this scenic route as well.

After getting out of the mountains, night fell and we were still in Virginia. We crossed the border into North Carolina and drover for a very long time. Around 11pm, we stopped at Wal-Mart to get supplies for camping. We bought cheap 14 dollar sleeping bags, jiffy pop, hotdogs and rolls, peanut butter and jelly and a loaf of bread. Oh and a Crystal Pepsi because how could we not.

When we finally pulled into the campsite, it was about 2 in the morning. We set up the tents and campsite in the overflow area as the campground was filled to capacity with visitors there to see the eclipse. Although it was late, we found the swimming pool and showers because it was disgustingly hot and humid.

After waking up we left the campsite for the day to venture into the city. A drive that would normally take 25 minutes took just over an hour and a half on back roads due to the volume of people on the highways. Finally we got to Greenville, a cool little city where we got food, put on our cool special sunglasses, and marked our spot on the river.

Soon the signs of the eclipse were beginning to show. Crazy shadow patterns formed on the ground and the sky grew darker. It was like dusk or sunset in all directions and before too long, street lamps began to pop on. We still had to have our glasses on though. We would be able to take them off for a two to three minute period where the moon blocks the sun completely and a halo of light forms around it. During these two minute I would witness the most beautiful natural phenomenon I had ever seen. The total eclipse was so awesome that I cannot put it into words. We couldn't take pictures of it because it was too bright for the phone to properly capture, but something about only being able to see it with the human eye, the fat that you had to be there in the moment to experience it was amazingly cool.

After it was over, we were in a state of shock and awe. We looked at pictures taken with special lenses, got a group photo, and began to walk back to the center of the city.

Upon reaching our car, our goal was accomplished, and the important part of the trip effectively over. We loaded back into the Honda Pilot and returned to the campsite. We would camp in South Carolina for another day waiting out the traffic and relaxing before visiting a friend who had already started school in North Carolina. Then we headed home and went our separate ways. The summer was over and we were off to start our new lives.

Check out the Video! It's really good and has a sick sound track.

--Aaron

Be sure to UPVOTE, FOLLOW, and RESTEEM (if you want)