Chasing Totality

It's no secret that my heart lives in the mountains. Something about the cool creek water, and winding mountain roads speaks to me in a way that Florida never has. Any excuse to escape to the north for a couple of days is always welcome and last Monday's eclipse was just that; a reason to throw my family in the car and seek out an adventure. If I'm being honest, I wasn't all that pumped about the eclipse, but it turns out I was wrong. To say that it was magical would be understating things. We found the perfect mountain view point with just enough people around to make it exciting without feeling overcrowded. I'm pretty sure I couldn't have put together a better bunch of strangers if I tried. I'm still overwhelmed by the kindness, friendliness and genuine excitement that everyone shared.  When all of that came together, it turned into an experience that I will carry with me and think of fondly for years to come.  

The purpose of the trip was to see the total eclipse, but since we were in the mountains anyway we decided to have some side adventures as well. We watched the rafters and kayakers, played in creeks, hiked to local swimming holes, and meandered through downtown Chattanooga stopping to enjoy everything that caught our eyes.