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The ~4 minutes of totality were quite cool, but with no ability to view the partial eclipse beforehand or afterward, I feel bad for these rumored throngs of people who traveled here from out of town (where these people are, I'm not exactly sure, as I was out all day yesterday and saw no uptick in people out and about. Then today, traffic on the roads was lighter than normal. Maybe everyone congregated in Niagara Falls? IDK)
I agree. I hate to sound like a "wise guy", but here, a little east of Rochester, it was cloudy all day, therefore the eclipse was totally obscured. So, for a grand total of 4 minutes, it got dark.....just like it does every night.
Picked your area because of family to join (sister lives in area, daughter is a UB grad student), figured at least it will get dark and at 56 and having barely traveled internationally figured it could be my one and only shot at one. I'll just say what I said on Facebook:
So I thought the clouds would make it so the only true experience was the darkness and the sudden drop in temperature. And I have to admit it was still an experience I'll never forget. But as some scientists said would happen totality briefly loosened and even occasionally broke up the area around the sun. This still meant not seeing the corona (boo!) but lots of eclipse images behind filtered clouds that one could see without the glasses (in fact often you couldn't see them with the glasses), especially right after totality when it started to get light again. This picture right after totality is a good example
In addition, the reason I think it wasn't so crowded other than Niagara Falls is the weather made people go elsewhere the morning of. Friends who went to the Adirondacks and northern New England told me horror stories about traffic on the Northway/I-87, I-91 and I-93 (as well as I-81 as someone mentioned before, remember someone coming from Maryland, Virginia or the South in general would take 81 to the Adirondacks.....I went home yesterday Thruway to Syracuse down 81 to 17 and saw TONS of plates from those states on 81). And some people I talked to in your area tried in the morning to go to Erie and Cleveland when it appeared the skies would clear there in time. The real shame is at totality time it was clear as close as Hamilton, we were tempted to try to go there but damn that wait at the border.....
Quote:
Originally Posted by xray731
I had relatives drive up from Philly on Friday to see the eclipse and then spend time doing the museums ect. We only had am 80.9% eclipse down here in Alabama but it was cool. I watched the Buffalo stations for your eclipse up there and regretted not being in NY to see it. I loved how you all had total darkness. I think most people came this weekend and spent a few days in Buffalo or Niagara Falls as my son said his pizzeria was busy this weekend when it usually slows down as people aren't working downtown on the weekends.
That's likely true, my son came with me (he lives in CT) and we took him to Eternal Flame since he has never been there before (I had been there once before and my daughter and sister 3 other times.....on that beautiful Sunday it was more crowded than we've ever seen, lot was almost full and lots of out of state plates, especially NJ and CT), explored downtown Buffalo (Canalside and Erie Basin Marina....that little free observation deck with the stairs has quite the view, especially at sunset during the beautiful weather Sunday, Canalside was kind of crowded) and ate food and ice cream at a lot of places that are "Western NY only" like Pizza Plant, Mighty Taco and Anderson's (I've been to all 3 on past trips). Pizza Plant had a craft beer tasting on Sunday that was pretty cool, and my son loved the ice cream at Anderson's. We also ate at a Franco's pizza; my daughter (actually none of us) had never been and she intends to be a "regular" now. My son became a fan of "pizza logs"
In addition, the reason I think it wasn't so crowded other than Niagara Falls is the weather made people go elsewhere the morning of. Friends who went to the Adirondacks and northern New England told me horror stories about traffic on the Northway/I-87, I-91 and I-93 (as well as I-81 as someone mentioned before, remember someone coming from Maryland, Virginia or the South in general would take 81 to the Adirondacks.....I went home yesterday Thruway to Syracuse down 81 to 17 and saw TONS of plates from those states on 81). And some people I talked to in your area tried in the morning to go to Erie and Cleveland when it appeared the skies would clear there in time. The real shame is at totality time it was clear as close as Hamilton, we were tempted to try to go there but damn that wait at the border.....
That's likely true, my son came with me (he lives in CT) and we took him to Eternal Flame since he has never been there before (I had been there once before and my daughter 3 other times.....on that beautiful Sunday it was more crowded than we've ever seen, lot was almost full and lots of out of state plates, especially NJ and CT), explored downtown Buffalo (Canalside and Erie Basin Marina....that little free observation deck with the stairs has quite the view, especially at sunset during the beautiful weather Sunday, Canalside was kind of crowded) and ate food and ice cream at a lot of places that are "Western NY only" like Pizza Plant, Mighty Taco and Anderson's (I've been to all 3 on past trips). Pizza Plant had a craft beer tasting on Sunday that was pretty cool, and my son loved the ice cream at Anderson's. We also ate at a Franco's pizza; my daughter (actually none of us) had ever been and she intends to be a "regular" now. My son became a fan of "pizza logs"
Hah, your UB grad student daughter had never had Franco's before? Arguably the best pizza in town (though large and quite filling, so not necessarily a go-to anytime the 'pizza urge' strikes), and the Eggert/Bailey location is quite convenient for UB students. I was a regular at that location for the many years where I basically lived at the Niagara Falls Boulevard Barnes & Noble
Yeah, a couple hours before the eclipse, I read online that only northern New England and New Brunswick were experiencing clear skies/sunlight along the path of totality, but I learned later that clear skies could be found in Ohio. Our county executive decamped to Ohio for the event and posted about it on social media, which provided some ammunition to his detractors/critics
The Eternal Flame is a great hike and this past Sunday was a perfect day for it. I went there early in the pandemic with a libertarian buddy who thought the virus was a hoax...though I did not share his reality-denying perspective, he and I started hanging out a lot more in 2020 since we both shared a desire to retain some semblance of a normal life, lol.
The glasses were almost too effective. Felt completely blinded by them. I was standing in a parking lot for the eclipse, and I could barely see the parking lot lights through the black of the lenses
For sure the weather will play a role in your enjoyment of the eclipse. A clear view of the whole thing was essential for max enjoyment. The "before" and (less so) the "after" were nice effects - if you had your glasses - but the few moments of totality is the only thing I traveled for. It was awesome!
Anyone else that traveled TO OHIO for a weather related event (the viewing, I mean) - was really taking a risk - Ohio is notoriously gray - it was more expected than not to be clouded out. We got lucky.
For sure the weather will play a role in your enjoyment of the eclipse. A clear view of the whole thing was essential for max enjoyment. The "before" and (less so) the "after" were nice effects - if you had your glasses - but the few moments of totality is the only thing I traveled for. It was awesome!
Anyone else that traveled TO OHIO for a weather related event (the viewing, I mean) - was really taking a risk - Ohio is notoriously gray - it was more expected than not to be clouded out. We got lucky.
Yeah, even if I got word that it was sunny in NE Ohio, I don't know if I'd be confident enough in it actually remaining sunny to make the drive, hah. I read an article this morning which mentioned that our county executive picked the Ashtabula welcome center as his eclipse-viewing venue. I mean...if I'm going to go that distance, I'm probably going to at least continue on to the Cleveland waterfront or something. But, I've always been partial to Cleveland because it feels so Buffalo-like to me
For sure the weather will play a role in your enjoyment of the eclipse. A clear view of the whole thing was essential for max enjoyment. The "before" and (less so) the "after" were nice effects - if you had your glasses - but the few moments of totality is the only thing I traveled for. It was awesome!
Anyone else that traveled TO OHIO for a weather related event (the viewing, I mean) - was really taking a risk - Ohio is notoriously gray - it was more expected than not to be clouded out. We got lucky.
This was why we debated it but still opted to stay....though it would've been interesting as I've never been to Ohio before.....
Syracuse, in upstate New York, saw a 28% year-over-year increase in spending at hotels and restaurants for the period from last Friday through Monday, double the US average change of 13.7%. That’s according to SpendTrend data from Fiserv, which captures all card-based transactions at millions of merchant locations nationwide.
Syracuse and Buffalo experienced a greater boost than most other major US cities in or near the path of totality, according to the data, likely because of their relative proximity to New York City and other East Coast population centers.
Other details in the article:
- Year-Over-Year tourist spending for the week increase +32.1% in Buffalo, 28.4% in Syracuse, highest of all cities
- Tourist related foot traffic increased +47.9% in Buffalo, +50.5% in Syracuse, highest of all cities
- Road congestion was only 1/3 in Buffalo, but Syracuse had over 3x higher congestion than average
No economic data was given for Rochester or other NY cities.
Buffalo and Syracuse not typically being tourist cities in April likely accounts for the big jump. Certainly it was a big economic boost for businesses catering to tourists.
Other details in the article:
- Year-Over-Year tourist spending for the week increase +32.1% in Buffalo, 28.4% in Syracuse, highest of all cities
- Tourist related foot traffic increased +47.9% in Buffalo, +50.5% in Syracuse, highest of all cities
- Road congestion was only 1/3 in Buffalo, but Syracuse had over 3x higher congestion than average
No economic data was given for Rochester or other NY cities.
Buffalo and Syracuse not typically being tourist cities in April likely accounts for the big jump. Certainly it was a big economic boost for businesses catering to tourists.
Good stuff.
Rochester was included along with Buffalo and Syracuse in the three graphs showing departure from the norm in foot traffic, credit card spending, and road congestion. They appear to have been less impacted by 'eclipse tourism' than their neighbors to the west and east
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