Today was the day. I’ve wait for this day since the last solar eclipse back in 2017. While this one on June 10, 2021 wouldn’t be a total solar eclipse. It would still be one heck of a show.
Originally I planned on traveling to Canada to see it but that was before the Covid-19 pandemic. Now I would just have to view it a little closer to home. Up until a week before the eclipse happened, I planned on getting a room in AC (Atlantic City) but on the Friday before the big event it looked like it would be cloudy and rainy on the 10th.
Now I just had to play it by ear and hope everything worked out for me. Usually, these things do not go as planned for me but I already had half the day off so I was going to try. Just I was going to be cutting it close. I had to be in by 8am and I was an hour and a half away in ideal driving conditions.
I woke up at 2:45am and was very happy when I looked out my window. I was expecting clouds but didn’t see any. I was able to see the stars in the sky so I hoped my luck was getting better. I got ready and hit the road on my way to Belmar, New Jersey. It was a nice hour drive from my place. I would always be looking out the window to see if it started getting cloudy or not. I hit a few patches of light fog but nothing major. Now the clouds did start appearing the closer I got to the shore but it wasn’t a complete disaster.
I arrived in Belmar around 4:15 in the morning and took a couple night shots.
There was a nice cool breeze coming off the ocean and the soothing sound of the crashing waves. Looking out towards were the sun would be rising, I started seeing the sky turn from black to blue than a hint of red. Was I going to get a spectacular, colorful sunrise and be able to watch the moon take a bite out of the sun? It was too early to tell. It was only 4:45 and I had 45 minutes to go but my fingers were crossed.
My co-workers were giving me crap for wanting to go and do this. But I didn’t care. I’ve been wanting for this day for months. Plus it looked like the clouds were cooperating.
As it started getting closer to sunrise, more and more people started showing up. It came to no surprise since this isn’t something you witness every day. I just had to keep moving to find the best spot. I had an idea where the sun would start peeking up over the horizon but I wasn’t 100% sure.
About 15 minutes before sunrise the clouds to the west started increasing and slow started creeping my way. I was really hoping they would hold off.
Than it happened. I started seeing what I can only describe as two glowing devil horns breaking up over the horizon. It was a little cloudy but I think it added to it. As each second past, it only got more amazing.
5:35 was when the moon covered the sun the most. It wasn’t high off the horizon at this point, which was a good thing. I ended up getting a lot of photos.
I would have loved to stay a little longer but I had to get to work by 8am and didn’t know how the traffic would be. I did get lucky though. About 5 or 10 minutes into my drive it started to rain.
Luckily, it only last a couple of minutes. Plus I was already heading towards my job. I’m glad it held off while the sun was rising so I could witness this spectacular event. I can’t wait for the next one on 4/8/24. I will be going out to western Pennsylvania to see the total solar eclipse.
Kozmo Photos 