I awoke this morning and got out of bed with great difficulty. I checked the forecast and it said a high of 97° and a low of 77°. Out of curiosity I checked the temperature for Hermosa Beach and saw the high was expected to be 77°. As they say, “There’s no place like home”
Erica took a poll asking us what would we like to do and where we would like to go today. She made a variety of suggestions. I voted for anyplace with air conditioning. We finally agreed to go to Retiro Park. This is a beautiful park with a variety of vegetation, wildlife, and water. I’ve been there a number of times and I never tire of going there. Well maybe I would make an exception on a day as hot as today. When we arrived at the park we found out that the authorities had closed the park due to safety concerns.
Disappointed that we couldn’t tour Retiro (although we did spend some time looking at it from outside the fence) we needed a back up plan. I was already exhausted but suggested we return to the water park and the group agreed. Soon after arrival I got soaked and my attitude and energy level were completely different. It was a fun time and getting cooled down was superb.
After drying off we went to visit a new friend. A magician named Augustin who we met at the Magic Live Convention in Las Vegas earlier this month. He invited us to visit him at his home magic museum. Upon entering Augustin showed us an incredible array of magic memorabilia filling every room and hallway. Even much of his ceiling was covered. After that he gave us a very impressive 25 minute magic show. He did some great sleight of hand and card tricks. It was impressive and funny.
Here we are with our new friend, Augustin Dalvi. Notice the pen sticking through Julian’s ear.
Tomorrow will be a sad day as David and Julian will be returning home. It was so great that they could join us. I suspect tomorrow will be a boring blog day because I am looking forward to spending the entire day at the pool.
Yes, this is it. August 12. 2026 a total eclipse of the sun was to occur across northern Spain (Greenland and Iceland) and Patrice, David, Erica, Julian and I are here in Burgos, Spain ready to enjoy it. We started the day with a very forgettable breakfast at the hotel.
Only thing worse than the look of these eggs was the taste.
We then headed into town to see the Catedral de Burgos (the Burgos Cathedral). I remember being here about 10 years ago and being very impressed by the Cathedral. I am not sure why I was so impressed but it was lost on me this time. It was your typical cathedral with lots of pictures and statues of dead popes, priests, and other dignitaries. El Cid was there. Many know of El Cid as the legendary Spanish hero of the 11th century. Others, like me, remember him as the guy Charlton Heston played in the movie of the same name in 1961 (very cool year since it looks the same written upside down). We found lots of tourists wearing t-shirts from the current and previous eclipses. So it seems we are not the only eclipse nerds. We spoke to people from the countries of Canada, Czech Republic, Germany (3 couples), Greece, and the United States of America. The heat in downtown Burgos was brutal so we trekked back to the car and returned to the hotel
After cooling off in the room we started getting prepared for the eclipse. Our team was ready for the big moment. For those not familiar with the eclipse team here they are:
David, our team captain keeping us alerted of all the phases of the eclipse so we don’t miss any of the subtle findings that only the experts appreciate and people like me forget immediately after seeing them.Support staff. As you can see, hard at work preparing for the big moment.The matriarch of the team doing what she does best.Famous blogger Robert, doing what he does best.
At about 5:30 PM we headed to the hotel terrace because 2 people had already beat us to the deck and we were expecting a lot more. As it turned out only 2 other people and a few hotel employees joined us for an incredible experience. The view of the eclipse was spectacular and hearing David’s play by play added so much more to the event. We took very few pictures and the ones we did take do not come close to telling the story.
Erica and Julian with the total eclipse in the back.
Meet us next year in Egypt and experience it for yourself.
Well today was the day I’d been waiting for since August 21, 2017. As I posted 2 days ago that day in 2017 our family had traveled to Nashville to see a solar eclipse only to be disappointed as clouds blocked our view just seconds before totality. This time had to be different, didn’t it? Maybe not, below is what I saw on my phone this morning.
Clouds predicted to arrive between 10 AM to 2 PM. The eclipse totality was to be at 1:40 PM. No! No! No!
In addition, the morning had an ominous start when our daughter called to tell us that her baby and her husband both had a night filled with major gastrointestinal misery. Next I saw Patrice headed to the bathroom with her own GI trauma. Being the good husband, father, father-in-law, and grandfather that I am I said “damn with the eclipse I’m staying with my family.” Well that’s not exactly correct. I did say the part about staying with my family but I didn’t mean my sick travel partners but rather my son, David’s family. So I gave the car key to Patrice put myself in David and Robyn’s hands (actually their car) and headed west in search of clear skies.
We stopped in a parking lot in Arlington nearby where the Dallas Cowboys (NFL) and Texas Rangers (MLB) play. We were unable to get into their parking lots but did find a place close by that was essentially empty. We did see some other eclipse chasers and we all waited for the big moment. Unfortunately about 15 minutes into our wait a security guard ambled by and said you cannot park here for the eclipse. We saw a few of the other travelers leave but Robyn headed to the guard to have a chat. I should have warned that guy that he was overmatched but instead I decided to just watch her do her handiwork. Sure enough about 10 minutes later I saw the thumbs up sign that we were good to stay put.
The security guard might not have been a match for Robyn but mother nature proved to be too much for us. As the moon began to encroach on our view of the sun, clouds started to gather nearby. The masterminds (David and Robyn) huddled and it was decided to move further west (or was it east? I don’t really know, I was just glad to have a ride). We next found ourselves in this unlikely location.
Interesting combination, Jewels and Firearms.
We started to view again and were even joined by a couple of employees from the store. They had no problem with us taking a parking space and I finally felt like I could relax. The eclipse was progressing nicely with about 95% of the process completed. But David and Robyn had concerns about the clouds and again we off to seek clear skies. At this point I was starting to get a bit concerned. We were very close to the moment of totality and we were in the car. Robyn was doing her best to get us to a good spot and David was doing his best navigating. We made a stop which I though would be our last but seconds later we were back in the car. Time was precious so I said all clear even though I had not had time to put on my seat belt. Robyn was flying down the highway and I tried to grab the seatbelt while holding on as tight as I could to the seat. This proved to be a hopeless effort but I am happy to report I didn’t not soil myself but I did come close.
We finally stopped in a parking lot and had a small area of clear skies and we saw it! Yes we saw the total solar eclipse. It was spectacular. It exceded my imagination and made all the efforts worthwhile. I have to thank David and Robyn because without their efforts I would not have been able to see it.
David was especially helpful in explaining different phenomena associated with the eclipse. I was so proud listening to him explain all the things thinking what a smart son I have. I also was very proud of me becuase I actually understood what he was saying. Well, to be honest, not all the time. But my 15 year old grandson, Owen, did. David pointed out that we would be able to see a sunset in all directions during the eclipse. Here is a video I took of that moment,
I have done it. A life goal has been achieved. And at my age who knows how many more oppoturnities I would have had. I can check this one off my list and move on. Of course what about doing it again August 12, 2026 in Spain? Why not!
I’ve been waiting for this day since August 2017. Back then we traveled to Nashville to see the total eclipse of the sun. Followers of this blog might recall that the weather has not always cooperated with my travel plans. Fog prevented us seeing a crater in Costa Rica. That wasn’t nearly as upsetting as going to Brazil to see the Christ the Redeemer statue only to be limited to viewing from the waist down again due to fog. But probably the most frustrating was Nashville in August 2017 when we went to see the total eclipse of the sun. We were having a great time as the sun/moon moved toward totality. With the sun approximately 98%, covered clouds crept in front and blocked our view of the big event. This was especially upsetting because one of my friends decided in the last minute to make the trip. He couldn’t get a room in Nashville because of his last minute decision. Instead he was outside of town and saw the eclipse perfectly.
We decided to give it another try this time. Our son, David, is also going to attend with his family. Our daughter Lindsay is traveling with her family as well. The big moment is Monday April 8th. So to play it safe we reserved tickets to Dallas on a Saturday 9 AM flight. We didn’t want to take a chance that anything might happen on Sunday preventing us from getting to Dallas in time. The night before our Saturday departure we were notified that our flight was going to be delayed and we would be leaving at 1:00 pm instead. This was particularly upsetting since we would be traveling with our 2 year old grandson who has a very regimented schedule. We did some whining about the change but finally became adjusted to the new departure time when we were notified that the plane would leave at 2:00. Hmmm, then a few minutes later it was changed to 2:30. What horrible thing did I do to deserve this?
Luckily we did take off at 2:30 and had a smooth flight to Dallas. Arrival and getting to the hotel was relatively painless (if traveling with a 2 year old can ever be painless, no matter how cute he is). So we are settled in our abode and trying to decompress after a very stressful day. Sorry, no pictures of food or anything else today. But I will leave you with a description of a billboard we saw off the freeway. It was an advertisement and read “14 Acres of Guns and Gear. You are in NRA Texas”. Needless to say, we will be leaving shortly after the eclipse.
Patrice and I are leaving for our vacation in Chile. I should be excited, happy, and full of anticipation but no, I am on the verge of tears. Is it because our airport transport person is a terrible driver and I want to strangle her? In reality, she is a wonderful driver and a gorgeous young lady. She is the reason I’m close to tears. You’ve probably already guessed that our driver is our daughter, Erica. Unfortunately in two days, she will be returning to Madrid. I just need to be grateful that she is healthy and enjoying her life in Spain. Easy to say, hard to do.
Robert, Patrice, and Erica at LAX, smiling now but just seconds before tears come streaming down my face.
You might be asking “Why Chile?” Good question. The answer is a bit complicated. In August 2017 we traveled to Nashville to see the solar eclipse on the 21st. We saw about 97% but clouds prevented us from seeing the totality. So in December 2020, we planned to go to Chile to see this glorious event on the 14th. Unfortunately, Covid 19 closed down the world and one more time we were denied this pleasure. The company told us the hotels would not refund our deposits which was not an insignificant amount of money. So they kept in contact with us and now we are on our way. The tour company comes very highly recommended. They have set us up with lots of fun activities but unfortunately, they failed miserably in their attempt to get the eclipse rescheduled.
This is just a travel day and we haven’t even left Los Angeles yet. I’m hopeful that you enjoy following us on our journey. I do have one small request. My financial advisor told me that if I had one million followers on my blog I could write off all my trips as a legitimate tax deduction. I currently have about 250 followers. So if each of you could call, email, or text 4,000 of your friends and relatives I should be all set. Do you think you could get this done by Monday? Erica just had a great idea. No need to bother your friends and family. If you have their contact information just sign them up for a blog subscription. I am sure that will be very grateful. Heck, think of it as a holiday present to them. It shouldn’t take you more than about 100 hours to get 4,000 people signed up. Get to it, we need to board our plane otherwise I would offer to help.
Robert Reiss Travel Blog and Other Ramblings 