Our family traveled to Carey, Ohio on April 8, 2024, to see the complete and total solar eclipse. This eclipse was a major celestial event that was able to be seen in parts of Mexico, the United States, and Canada. While all of North America and Central America experienced a partial solar eclipse, only those within the path of totality, a 115-mile wide band, were going to be able to witness the total eclipse (where the Moon completely blocked the Sun). We knew we wanted to see the total eclipse, so my family of four packed up our car and headed south.
We planned to head to Carey, Ohio which is a very small city in the northern part of the state. It is the home of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation, a huge Catholic Church we have been to many times in the past. They have a school and a big park with statues and gardens and an open area where they have Mass outside. Because Carey, Ohio is in the path of totality they were having a special Mass and opening the park for people to view this once-in-a-lifetime event.
The church has a special place in our families’ hearts as we went there and prayed before we got pregnant with our first daughter, Makenna. We’ve adopted it as our special family shrine. These photos represent our adventure on this special day:
Driving to Ohio to see the 2024 Solar Eclipse. These signs were all over the highway. Sitting with my wife Marie as we patiently wait for the darkness!
Here is am with my special Solar Eclipse glasses as we wait for the moon to arrive.
The Carey, Ohio DQ was having fun was the hype around the Eclipse. The sky starts to turn oddly pink as the moon starts moving over the Sun.
My daughters Olivia and Makenna as we wait for the Eclipse!It begins: The moon slowly starts to cover the Sun.
We are capturing these photos with a special app that allows us to cover the camera of our phone so we can see it happening. The length of the Solar Eclipse. The two alarms on my phone so I knew when it was time to take the glasses off and the time to tell everyone to place their glasses back on!
A photo of the total Eclipse of April 2024!The Eclipse over the center of the Statue Park where Mass is held.
A nice sign on the school welcoming all of us visitors on the walk down to the park.
During the four minutes the moon covers the Sun totally you can safely remove your protective glasses and look at it with the naked eye. We have alarms set on our phones so we know the second it was time to place our glasses back on. Family selfie as we leave to head back to Michigan!
The NASA widget for Carey, Ohio which told us the exact time the Eclipse would happen.
