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We originally flew to Shanghai to watch the total solar eclipse of 2009 from the mountains just west of the city, but the crappy weather made us decide to catch a last-minute flight much farther west to Chongqing. Then we drove another 2 hours north to a little town called Lin Shui (“trees and water”) and found a little recreation center on top of a mountain where a couple hundred locals had gathered to watch the phenomenon.

Not only were we the first foreigners that several of them had ever seen in person, but it appeared that many of them didn’t really get what it was they were about to see … most didn’t have eclipse-watching apparati and so the extra couple dozen eclipse glasses that brother/teacher Steve had brought, really came in handy.

We made a bunch of new friends, felt like celebrities as we posed with the locals who were really excited to talk to us and take their pictures with us, and watched the moon encroach upon the sun in clear daylight for the better part of an hour until with only a sliver of sunlight left, and the eeriest alien light you ever saw, darkness descended upon the land and stars came out, cheers went up among the crowd, we all high-fived and then stared at the amazing total eclipse of the sun — a glowing ring in the sky — for the better part of five minutes. Now I am hooked on total eclipses, and if anyone wants to meet me on Easter Island for next year’s eclipse, holler.

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