So, even when the viewing is marginal, seeing a total eclipse is an excellent experience. This is my second totality, I saw the 2017 eclipse in a clear sky and it was the moment I decided I had to see this one. I watched the annular eclipse with my grandson last year. This time, the most distinctive memories are the hot dot of a prominence on the lower right of the disk, which of course I never was able to capture with a camera. I had seen Bailey Beads during the annular eclipse last year so I knew this was much different, and had to be some kind of eruption.
The other difference was that this was a more social event with friends and family and kids who really didn’t know what to expect. When I reviewed all the cell phone images I took, what was most valuable was actually the sound track to the videos, where everyone was reacting to the experience. 2017 had been much more solitary with just my wife and I out in the middle of the dessert, and I felt it more viscerally then.
Tip: if you took iPhone stills of the eclipse, make sure you watch them as “Live” because they are actually tiny little video clips with sound, and you’ll catch those voices of the people around you.