Texas
Friday April 12, 2024
It did feel like I was completely crazy for doing this so soon after returning to Canada, but less than a week after landing, I was back in the skies, on my way to Houston TX to chase the last total solar eclipse North America would get for 20 years. The trip started badly. I was supposed to catch the Dufferin night bus at 3.15am, which is when it was scheduled, but instead it drove past the bus stop at 3.07am, right in front of me, as I was running like a madman down Dupont Street. I ended up having to take a taxi to Yorkdale Mall to meet Carmen who would take me the rest of the way to Pearson.
The weather was beautiful as we landed in Houston. It was gloriously hot and sunny, and all the greenery of the oak trees was already in full force. We met up with Nancy after getting the rental car and then went for a walk around a local park. Then we got a late lunch, with massive Texan style portions, and then walked around Houston downtown. It felt really abandoned and almost unsafe as there were a lot of homeless people walking around and hardly any residents or office workers. We left soon after to have some classic Texan barbeque with Nancy’s son and daughter-in-law.
On our next day, we were up early to go to Chinatown and Little Saigon. Houston has a huge Vietnamese population, and it was surprising to me that it was an option for languages when trying to pay for parking. We stocked up on lunches for the next couple of days and then headed off to The Blind Goat.
It’s no surprise that I’m an avid watcher of MasterChef and one of my favourite seasons is the third season, aired in 2012. This season told the story of how Christine Ha, a Vietnamese woman from Houston, overcame the odds to win the competition even though she was blind. And finally, I had an excuse to come to Houston and try the food at her restaurant, The Blind Goat. As we entered, I noticed Chef Christine at the bar doing some work, and when I inquired with the waitress, she very kindly offered to bring her to meet us. We exchanged some pleasantries and she asked where we were from and why we were in town, and then Nancy blurted out something incredibly rude which I won’t repeat here, which really pissed me off, and soured the entire meeting. Despite all this, Chef Christine smiled and left us to enjoy our food, which I’ll write a blog piece about soon. We spent the rest of the day at Memorial Park, and then went for AYCE at a Hibachi grill.
We left for Austin early the next day, cautiously checking all weather forecasts and predictions for Monday. We arrived at McKinney State Park and spent a few hours walking around there before heading to the Capitol building where I met up with Ashley and Brian while the rest of the group split to do their own thing. I got her to sign The Poster, and then we went for ramen and bingsu.
On Monday morning, we were up at 7am to get breakfast in the hotel lobby. The forecast was looking dire for Austin but there was some hope to the north, closer to Dallas. I made the call to drive 2.5 hours north in the hopes we’d find some gaps in the clouds, and we ended up in Waxahachie. After walking for an hour and then having lunch, we decided to stay put. There were plenty of other eclipse watchers in the park by the creek, and the clouds were patchy enough that we would be able to get glimpses of the eclipse during the whole event.
What eventuated exceeded my expectations. The partial eclipse was as exciting as it’s ever been, with the moon becoming visible around 12.22pm. The dark portion grew in size over the next hour or so, and finally at 1.39pm, the last sliver of sunlight disappeared behind the moon and the area plunged into darkness as if it was night. The horizon had eerie red and yellow hues like dusk, the streetlights had switched on and more remarkably, the sun’s corona was in full view to the naked eye. Venus was visible too. This is a sight I’ll never forget. I can’t imagine how terrifying it must have been for early civilisations who had no idea what was happening. It looked like a dark hole had opened up in the sky, with a brilliant outer glow that screamed into the darkness. Baily’s Beads were visible too. It was incredibly emotional for me, months of planning and stressing over the weather had culminated in a huge success for today. I honestly could not believe that this had paid off. People were cheering and clapping at this phenomenal sight. Totality lasted for just over four minutes, and as the “diamond ring” flashed by, the area returned to normal as if nothing had ever happened, the shadows on the ground reappearing in full strength.
We began the drive back to Houston, stopping for ice cream along the way. We hit a thunderstorm briefly and by the time we got back, it was time for dinner. We got some seafood before retiring for the night. The bad weather continued onto Tuesday, but we spent most of it at Houston Space Center anyway. It was pretty amazing to see the Saturn V rockets up close, and really appreciate their size and detail. I impulse bought a miniblock model of the solar system as my souvenir for this trip.
All in all, this trip has been a huge success. All three things I had set out to do had been accomplished, despite all odds and logistical hurdles along the way. I’m exhausted. It’s time to properly have a break from travelling. I’ve been very lucky to catch two magnificent astronomical events in the last two weeks, and now, I’ve got a couple of years before the next total solar eclipse - in Spain!
Posted by Jeremy at 10:22pm on Friday April 12, 2024 :: 0 comments :: 