I've been looking forward to this eclipse since...well, for a few decades now. (Ryadian's father and I drove to Canada for the last one covering part of the continental US way back in 1979, and we made passing references to how very old we'd be at the next one. And now it's coming up fast!)

The NASA eclipse web site has an interactive map that allows you to see how long the eclipse will last, when it will be, and where the sun will be in the sky. While the sun will be totally covered anywhere between the two blue lines marking the track, the closer you are to the center line (red) the better. At best totality lasts less than three minutes, and it goes by very fast! If you're near the outer edge of totality it is only a few seconds, and it may come and go before your eyes have a chance to adjust.

Weather and lodging accommodations are crucial, especially for this event, when millions may travel.

This is among the rarest of predictable astronomical events - on average, a spot on earth sees totality once every 360 years. Some places beat the odds; there is another total eclipse in 2024 that will cross the US again, stretching from Texas through northern New England.

Hmm, I'm very tempted! I could just about afford it... Only problem at the moment is, the online booking websites here in the UK won't let me browse beyond June 2017.

We're running into the exact same problem King_Erlian. The places that do let you book that far in advance are already full. I have several things going on this week and following weekend, but after that I'm going to devote my time to finding places that do book this far in advance. I did have some luck finding available locations on AirBNB but I've never used it before and I don't know how many people to book besides my own family.

I hadn't thought of using AirBnB, but that's an excellent idea. I've used AirBnB in the UK a couple of times, and it's been great.

King_Erlian (and anyone else who might be following this thread), I wanted to let you know that we're having enough issues finding a place or places for all of us to stay in Kansas City that we're looking a little further out. Right now I'm checking into a place in Columbia Missouri. Just wanted to give you the update.

Thank you fantasia_kitty! I think for me, it all hinges on how expensive the accommodation is, as I'll be looking at around £700 ($850) for a round-trip air ticket.

Wow, this is really neat! It's a fun kind of crazy, too, that everyone is already booking tickets and what-not.

I wish I could be in the area, but God willing I will just have been in Missouri (about two hrs south of the event horizon or whatever the blue lines should be called ) the month before, and I can't really travel back again so soon! If that changes though I'll be sure to let you know. You all will have a great story! I hope all the scheduling works out.

To update, we have settled on a house in Columbia, MO through AirBnB (I've corrected the title in the thread). Our hostess said she's fine with having more than 20 people in the house sleeping on air mattresses and such, but we'll have to start sharing bathrooms. I don't think that's a problem per se, but I'm concerned as we're starting to creep towards 30 people. That's a lot of people in one house!

Fantasia_kitty, can you let us know the dates for which the house in Colombia has been booked, so those of us flying in can look at booking flights?

Yes, for those needing the specific dates, let me know and I will send you a PM.

Actually, I see no reason why I can't share the dates on here. We have the house reserved for August 19, 2017 through August 22, 2017. Location, Columbia, MO.

Less than a year to go now everybody! I'm really happy to have that house reserved as the eclipse was trending on my Facebook page for close to 48 hours. Hotels should have opened up yesterday. I was tempted to call some of them to see if they were all full already.
Oh, and Johobbit ordered a huge box of eclipse viewing glasses, so we're covered for viewing the eclipse, or at least our eyes are.

Wups, I meant to post in here re the eclipse glasses, thanks, fantasia. And about us being 'covered', haha.

Apparently the eclipse will also be happening in my city, so as much as a meetup sounds like fun, it'd be silly of me to travel across the country to see something I can see by walking out my front door. Maybe if I'd noticed this thread earlier we could have scheduled the meetup in my city.

How awesome that you'll get to see totality in your city, Shawna. It'd be fun to meet up but it's hard to beat the convenience of watching from your backyard. While there's no shortage of online information about what to look for, I'd be more than happy to try to answer any questions if you wish.