That was the concern here too. A foot of heavy wet melting snow on top of the mud + people who have no idea what they are in for is not a good combo. I haven't looked at the news yet today but I do know the northern areas were planning to make a LOT of rescues.

No one is second guessing anything🤷‍♀️ Not everyone feels the same amount of awe over the same things, it's really no big deal. But being talked to in such a condescending way is really annoying and baffling. Pretty sure we know what nighttime looks like, doesn't take much to imagine a fleeting moment of darkness during the day. Personally I'm more awed by small things, the stuff most people walk by without noticing. I've always been that way--the big stuff I usually find meh (including Niagara Falls, and yawn yes, I've been several times). But I'm mesmerized by moss, that really lights up my imagination and wonder. The enormous cathedrals of Europe leave me sad for the centuries of the exploited, but I can stand in front of a simple century old house and marvel at small architectural quirks and wonder about all the lives that have passed the dooryard. I know my attention to detail annoys most people so I keep it to myself, but whatever. It's cool we all get off on different things.

97% here, and no. All the cats acted normal and there were the usual birds at the feeder all afternoon. Gave me a massive headache and felt nauseous from the off putting light in the house though.

🙋‍♀️ I'm happy other people are enjoying it, but I couldn't care less and I'm tired of hearing how "phenomenal" and life changing it is. That's seriously awesome for someone to get so much out of a natural, regular and wholly foreseen event, but please stop telling me I have to feel the same! I keep reading funny comments from Mainers complaining how the eclipse is ruining our perfect sunny day, probably the first one we've had in like a year. lol. I'm happy for the people who traveled all the way up here though.

Congratulations! I hope it all works out the way he wants! 🎉🥳

Confirmed. No cheese. He made them with runny poached eggs too. Yummmm

Omg goat cheese in grits sounds amazing!

I don't think my Alabaman father ever made our grits with cheese. I just asked him so I'll update if my memory is wrong. I've never made them with cheese, though I don't make them often. DH makes a yummy one pan dish with grits, runny poached eggs, salsa and veggies. We do put sharp grated cheddar on top. Dang now I'm totally craving it (off to check kitchen cupboard for grits...)

I totally agree... yet I recently I made the long overdue executive decision that DH and I do not need to share incompatible covers and bought myself a verrrry thin "cooling" comforter and the prettiest, most-unlike-me-yet-I'm- totally-in-love-with-it duvet cover and now I'm willing to endure the hassle. It has a soft, pretty pink watercolor design and it's **all mine**. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make for my own little happiness (for now anyway, lol).

I mean, she's not wrong 🤷‍♀️ I'm not going out tomorrow. We'll be at like 97% totality or something and I couldn't care less. When I was a kid my dad made me do the pinhole camera thing for a partial eclipse even though I didn't want to. I found it creepy and boring and I cried and of course got laughed at and had to do it anyway. "You'll never forget this" I was told. Yep, that was true. I still find it creepy and boring and still want nothing to do with it. 🤷‍♀️

He's loved calamari and octopus since he was really young. That he wanted to feel it wriggling and using its suckers down his throat is a bit 🤢 IMO though. lol

Makes sense! There are so many things I regret not understanding when he was younger.

DS will eat *anything* except melon. He's always been the most adventurous eater, even when he was very young. Restaurants were always impressed by him, extra incredible since he's also autistic. On a recent trip to Southeast Asia he ate LIVE octopus that wriggled on his plate and balut, a fermented developing duck egg. It had a beak. He ate the beak. AB11DBD6-349C-4B08-BC82-A5BEA737605E.mp4

We used to know a local kid who raised ducks and sold the eggs. I don't recall that they tasted very different, just that they were big (obviously) and very pretty. I wouldn't count on all hotel eggs being actually eggs, or at least not heavily processed.

Agreeing with others, location location location. Decide what kind of area appeals to you and is central enough to what you want to do. Manhattan itself is small and easily walkable, but don't overlook taking public transport in for better rates. Last time we were there we stayed in Brooklyn and had a view of the Statue of Liberty from our room. You'll probably be out late, so choose an area you feel comfortable walking around at night (unless you're a taxi/uber to your destination type of person. Then I suppose it wouldn't matter). When DS was very young (4)we stayed in a hotel on a sketchy street in the Garment District and encountered prostitutes in the elevator. lol. You'll need to decide your comfort zone. I would avoid Times Square like the plague. Go experience a cool neighborhood! At 16 your kid knows what interests them, I'd look from there.

Kid has their priorities right! Now I want earthquake tacos 🌮

Yep. Also the type of earthquake and lots of other factors. I just read that the rock in the east tends to disperse the shock more than in the west, which helps explain why such a "small" quake was felt so far from the epicentre.

This thread is a good reminder for me take them to the animal shelter. They are always grateful for towels, sheets and so on, and I'd love to get them out of my closet since I have no use for them. Flat sheets would last about 10 seconds on our bed if used instead fitted, lol!

Yes, that one was huge. I was supposed to be in the city during that time (to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers IIRC, lol) but at the last minute my friends mom wouldn't let her go. So I was hanging at the art movie theatre where a bunch of friends worked ~50 miles away where we all felt it. We had no idea it was so powerful until we went home and it was all over the TV. Several historic buildings in our town collapsed and suffered broken windows. Of course parts of SF were destroyed, including the bridge that fell down. I'd never been more glad for a lame parental decsion, lol!

A friend in a tall (for here) condo building in Portland Maine felt it. I'm bummed I didn't.

Great news! I was kinda worried about you sleeping in the car in all this snow. Now you'll be cozy and warm and have a fancy Maine feast to celebrate!

Between today's storm and the sheer volume of people headed deep into the rural hinterlands in western and northern Maine, I worry about supplies. I don't think most people understand how limited food, gas and things like public bathrooms are, so I sure hope they are planning ahead!

All the hotels etc along the path of totality my state have been booked solid for months and longer, and charging outrageous prices. Hours and hours away from absolutely nowhere.

Awww handsome boy! 🥰

So.... go half a mile down the road that leads out of town, then make a sharp left and another immediate left and go a quarter mile. Turn at the big white barn for two miles. At the gravel pit, veer left. In another quarter mile turn left again at the junction. Yes, you have now gone in a circle. Take a right where the old Moody family used to live and go three miles, then turn onto the 9. Either direction works because the 9 goes everywhere in this state and yet nowhere at all, from my estimation. Eventually you will take enough roads and directions you'll feel hopelessly lost but you'll stumble into Lewiston. Somehow that never fails. Unless you're feeling brave, jump on the 95. 😅