the states: an eclipse in my hometown

I had three more days in Bloomington, I mostly took it easy.

I got the chance to spend time with my sister and nephew, which was lovely as always. Since I don't have a stable life it was very different from my normal. Plus, it was time with my sister, which is always awesome. At one point we left her house and went for a walk along one of the public trails through the city. I hadn't walked it before, so it was nice to see what I've been hearing about on social media for years. It was hot and humid though, so we ended up stopping into a cafe for drinks, and to cool down. 

Another afternoon was spent at the IUOP (Indiana University Outdoor Pool,) a place I used to work. It's not fun paying an entry fee into a place I used to enter for free, but oh well. I love the IUOP. Plus, I got to chat with people I hadn't seen in years.

That night I had dinner with Mom. Decent food, great company and conversation.

The next morning I got to have a massage I'd booked. I'd been looking forward to this all summer. My massage therapist is the mom of a dear friend, it was nice to catch up about our lives. I felt amazing when I walked out.

From there I walked to a fast food restaurant, Arby's. I'd made plans to visit with one of my high school swim teammates, and eat a giant roast beef sandwich. I haven't found roast beef sandwiches outside the states, so I wanted to take advantage while I could.

21 August was an important day for people who pay attention to eclipses. This eclipse was a huge deal, because it was going to be a total eclipse in many areas, and would cross across the entire continental United States. Media companies had been mentioning it for a while, more and more leading up to the event.

My hometown was supposed to have 96% totality. In other words, it wouldn't get completely dark, but the difference in light would be very noticeable.

After eating sandwiches Melissa and I moved to Steak n Shake, so I could have a (totally unnecessary) shake. While drinking our shakes we watched people. The entire eclipse took a while, with the most covered time being just a few minutes. The employees of Steak n Shake shared pairs of eclipse sunnies, taking turns going outside and looking up. I had a pair of the exclipse glasses from Dad, so I had my chance to look up and be amazed.

After eating, Melissa drove me home. I packed up everything and put it all in the car. We drove up to Indianapolis, stopping at a pancake house along the way. I'm a sucker for diners, even when I'm not super hungry.

My flight to Chicago left very early the next morning, and Dad had an early flight to somewhere as well. We stayed in a hotel near the airport, which made everything convenient.

As long as I have family in Bloomington, I'll keep returning.

As long as I live, I'll keep returning to the States every so often. For those of you who ask regularly or wonder, I have no idea if I'll live there again, but it will always be a possibility.