The Great Solar Eclipse of 2017 crossed the continent, from Oregon to South Carolina, and gave millions of people the chance to witness one of the most awe-inspiring events in the natural world.

But you had to be within the "path of totality", a narrow band across the earth's surface several thousand miles long but only about 70 miles wide. Outside that band you would only see a partial eclipse, not a total eclipse.

And there is no such thing as a "partial total eclipse", despite the impression blogs and the news media might give. I honestly think that's why so many people misunderstand the utter beauty of the spectacle; they may have seen a partial eclipse in the past that was total somewhere else, and even though they weren't in the path the news kept gushing about it being a total eclipse, so they assume they must have seen a total eclipse and just didn't find it all that impressive.


Posted by Dan 08/29/2017, revised 09/06/2017

In May 2002, Kim received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, majoring in Art with a Theatre minor.

After spending a brief R&R time at home, Kim has now moved to Chicago - hopefully to find better job prospects.

See graduation photos
graduation video

Posted by Dan 06/17/2002

After packing some camping gear on his bicycle and hitching a ride to British Columbia, Nik spent part of this summer riding his bicycle from Canada to California.

Nik still lives in Santa Cruz, where he spends time playing beach volleyball and going to school at Cabrillo College.
Posted by Dan 08/15/2007

2008 is over. Wow. I can't even begin to collect all the happiness of this year into one thought. It's been a truly incredible ride, with more color than exists in the visible spectrum and more stories than can fit into a book of any publishable size. So how could I possible wrap it all into one neat little package of "Whitney's Life, 2008 Edition"??

I can't. But I can attempt to cluster the main sections into bite-size pieces for easy consumption. Let's see, the easiest way will be to just start at the beginning.

So...

Highlights of Whitney's 2008, now in Fun Size!

• Jan thru mid-Feb: Hanging out in Corvallis, with no school, no soccer, no obligations, just enjoying life and preparing to leave for Australia. This period was characterized by:
  - concerts
  - house dinners
  - snowboarding
  - a warm and lively Corvallis house with friends coming and going (warm only in the metaphoric sense, as we kept our heating bill to a minimum!)
  - hanging out in the living room playing home-made didjeridoos
  - spontaneously breaking out in a funk dance-off with the roommates
  - brewing beer
  - ordering American Dream Pizza for delivery
  - generally sharing buckets full of laughs with close friends and a great Corvallis crew

  In short: I lived the beauties of college life without actually having to worry about classes or work or obligations, and without feeling like I'm just a bum... there was a shift coming in the near future. Can you ask for a better situation??

  
  The Last Supper at the Corvallis house before I left for Australia. What an incredible group of friends!
  
  

• Mid-Feb thru mid-July: life in Townsville in general. My months in Townsville were incredible. To paint a picture...
  - Sunshine every day
  - bicycling all around town
  - Friday night beach volleyball
  - ultimate frisbee
  - a light class load
  - rock-climbing on Mt. Stuart
  - relaxing in the hammocks with my roommates almost every afternoon
  - camping trips into the bush/on the beach/into the rainforest/to nearby Magnetic Island
  - diving the Great Barrier Reef
  - Sunday night group dinners
  - Monopoly nights
  - easy living, no worries, just full-on happiness.
  ... continue reading
  
  Posted by Whitney 12/29/2008, revised 12/29/2008
  More stories...