My husband and I have talked about taking the Crescent to New Orleans for as long as we’ve been married. Earlier this summer he finally found a reason to buy tickets. He was determined to be in the path of totality to see the eclipse. A lot can happen in twenty years…In our case, we added three extra people to our family. Instead of a cozy berth for two, he ended up booking three roomettes for our family of five.

The train was scheduled to leave Charlottesville at 10:30 pm, but we didn’t actually leave until midnight…

The step to the top bunk was also the lid of the toilet…Directly over the toilet was the fold down sink…

We woke up at the crack of dawn to have breakfast in the dining car…

We arrived in Greenville a bit rough around the edges after a night of very little sleep.

A shuttle bus took us to the campus of Clemson University and we found a good spot for viewing.

It was a very, very long drive in a rental car back to Charlottesville. We didn’t get home until 3 am, and then…it was back to work!

The kids start school tomorrow.

I’m so sad the summer is over, but seeing the eclipse together was a memorable way to cap it off.