Saturday, August 19, 2017

Getting Eclipse Ready--China 2009

Being taught about the Tiananmen Square massacre from a local tour guide.

Traditional tourist shot of the Imperial Palace.

Stephie would attract a lot of attention with her red hair and smile where ever we went. She was like a rock star here near the site of the Olympic Village. People were lining up to take pictures with her.






We got to sit in a lecture by famous eclipse weather forecaster and eclipse chaser, Jay Anderson, who even with this coming eclipse, is the go-to expert on chances for clear skies on eclipse day.

People would gather in this park in Beijing every day to dance and play music. A wonderful (and free) way to get exercise and enjoy the day. They do this every day.


The shot below is our eclipse location. And yes, it is 100% cloud cover at this point. More on the blog tomorrow.


Stephie and I got to see a total eclipse, through the clouds and rain in a trip to China in 2009. She said, "Dad, I going with you because you are paying and because it is China. Don't expect me to go all ga-ga over the eclipse." Now, she is so excited to see this eclipse 7 years later, she is totally prepared for this one and helping me get family members to southern Illinois. Stephie is a great traveler (she packs very light) and I can't wait to see another eclipse with her. Hope we get better weather than last time, but there is always Texas in 6 years. Tomorrow, I will repost what we saw through the clouds.