April 7, 2024

April 7, 2024

The Annular Eclipse we witnessed last Fall whet my appetite to see the total version. So several months ago we made plans and reservations to drive to Texas. Unfortunately April sunny days are almost as rare as an eclipse. Most of the US path is cloudy with Texas the worst. In retrospect I should have made multiple reservations across the path of totality and then chosen the best one as the cloud forecast crystallized. Live and learn.

We almost canceled the trip this morning especially as Aimee is feeling a little under the weather. Since the next total eclipse in the US is not for twenty years and our reservations are mostly prepaid, we kept with our plan and drove fifteen minutes to pick up our rental car. Unexpectedly we were upgraded to an unwanted large gas guzzler. Also I had immediate problems trying to figure out how to turn on the dashboard menu screen, get the temperature adjusted and open the gas tank lock. New cars are just way too complicated today. Back home, we dropped off our car and loaded the rental. We used the bathroom one last time which activated the softener regeneration. Arrrgh! We had to wait another fifteen minutes for that to complete so we could turn the water off and leave. This vacation is not starting off too well.

We spent the rest of the day driving east past New Mexico into Texas, only stopping for gas and a quick lunch, arriving in Fort Stockton as the sun set behind us. After checking into our hotel, we were told the bar has complimentary taco dinners and cookies. Our first ray of sunlight on this trip.