DMV residents making trips to path of totality ahead of 2024 solar eclipse
DMV residents get ready for solar eclipse
Some are traveling to the path of totality while others are getting ready right at home, but either way, DMV residents are getting excited ahead of Monday's solar eclipse. FOX 5's David Kaplan talks to some travelers and eclipse chasers ahead of the historic event.
WASHINGTON - Across the DMV, about 87% of the sun will be blocked by the moon during Monday’s solar eclipse. But many DMV residents will be chasing a higher percentage, heading out of town to hit the path of totality.
We often talk about tourism in D.C. with people coming from other parts of the country or globe to see what our area has to offer. But the eclipse is creating the opposite dynamic.
This weekend, FOX 5 spoke with five Montgomery County residents all making their first-ever trip to Conway, Arkansas, which is in the path of totality where 100% of the sun will be blocked out Monday afternoon. The group was flying to Little Rock and renting a car and have been planning this since last year.
AAA says they expect this to be the busiest day on the roads and in the air for eclipse chasers with Hertz, the car rental company, reporting rental car reservations for this Saturday are 30 times greater than this particular day last year.
So what’s the allure for someone to make this trip? Most of this group, including Dr. Ken Eckmann went to Omaha, Nebraska in 2017, which was in the path of totality for the last eclipse. He says it was a no-brainer to go see it again.
"I can’t wait to be there," Eckmann said. "It’s, it gives you a sense of being part of the universe, you’re part of a phenomenon that’s just so remarkable and at that moment of totality, it’s something you’ve never experienced and you say now I understand."
AAA also said hotels in the path of totality are, on average, about 50% more expensive for this weekend. So people are moving across the country to get a glimpse!