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

"They cancelled the NBA," Brad said, glancing up from his phone as we stood beneath a digital sign reading "Cancun," awaiting our boarding group. Brad had been warning me ominously about the inevitable cancellation of my upcoming race for over three weeks now, and yet each time I checked, the Ironman website still showed all races proceeding as planned. The pandemic had already seeped into nearly every country across the globe by now, but Mexico was thus far untouched. Maybe Mexico was actually the best place to be headed?

This was a trip I had been planning for a year now, our first international travel in almost a decade, and I had spent the last nine months diligently consuming podcasts, books and online courses in Spanish, determined to be a fluent speaker by the time we arrived. The Ironman 70.3 Campeche race was an excuse to explore a new country and immerse ourselves in a different culture, and I was eager for the opportunity to learn, and to experience a new place.

But that excitement had given way to unease. Doubts clung to us as we boarded the plane. Bundled appropriately for the Denver chill, we endured the entire flight with faces covered and gloves on, too nervous to eat or drink, tensing each time we heard a passenger cough or sneeze.

Once in the customs line in Cancun, the 85 degree heat forced us to shed our extra layers of protection. It was clear we were the only people there with contagion on our minds. People crowded close together in long lines while impatient children darted back and forth, anxious to start their tropical vacations.

We were relieved that the second leg of our trip was in the safety and privacy of a rental car, a six hour drive across the Yucatan Peninsula, bringing us to our destination on the Gulf of Mexico, just before midnight.


Posted by Kimberly 03/30/2020

After only two days in Indonesia I am in love.

Shanks ponies into the jungle

Indonesia was apparently a very popular destination for tourists before Thailand took over and began drawing people to Southeast Asia. Because of this the tourist infrastructure is there but the islands are blissfully devoid of other tourists. From Malaysia we took a local ferry and made our way overnight by bus to Bukittinggi. For whatever reason it was decided that everyone on the bus should feel like it would be a white Christmas after all and the AC was on full blast all night. Quite ironically we crossed the equator on this stretch making the equator officially the coldest part of my trip. At one point Bukittinggi may have been overrun with tourists using it as a jump off for various treks and tours or just visiting the scenic town, but these days it has settled back into its own quiet existence.

Posted by nik 12/27/2008, revised 02/08/2009

For the past 3 months, our Flogging Molly volleyball 4's team has played every Friday night, fighting to get into the end-of-season playoffs. Well, we did it. We've worked hard, and this past Friday evening, we came into the playoff games in 4th place, the lowest position for playoffs. We beat the 3rd place team in a solid, close game, and then an hour later beat the 2nd place team by a Golden Point! It was off to the Saturday Championship game with us!

Saturday evening, 5:15pm, we faced the Yellow Tails, the #1 team all season. Games against them are always my favorite - they're a good team that plays the game well and enjoys the sport, and we always play a close game against them. We came out pumped, and I could feel my competitive side really coming through. The whole season has always been about fun and recreation, and it still was all the way through, but this was the Championship game - this was my arena, and it felt GOOD.

The game was tight, and we fought hard, but the Yellow Tails are a good team, and in the end they got the win they deserved. I could feel my competitive side get a bit frustrated with the loss for a moment - I really don't like losing. But very quickly, I remembered the whole reason behind the league: this was a fun thing to do with a great group of friends, and the 4 of us (roommates Scott and Crystal and our friend Hugo) have really come together over the season to create a fun team to play on.

We never would've thought that our scraggly crew, who came into the season late, losing all of our first games, wildly scampering all over the court for out-of-control balls, would ever make it to being the Runners Up of the league. But we did it, and we had a fantastic time doing so. Now, each one of us has a great glass-framed "trophy" sitting on our desks, reminding us of the great time we had this season.

Our trophy for 2nd place - Hugo, me, Crystal, and Scott. Yay Flogging Molly!

Posted by Whitney 06/15/2008, revised 06/19/2008