The Fort Worth Botanic Garden hosted about 3,000 people for the total solar eclipse on Monday afternoon. Folks flew in from coast to coast and from foreign countries.
“I don’t think there will be another one of these, a total eclipse, for another 20 years or so and then after that, in this area, another 200 years. So, I figured I better get it in now, just to be sure," said Alan Loving, who came in from Oakland, California, to check the celestial event off his bucket list.
“I’m a retired earth science teacher, and I was really excited about this and I called my brother and I said, ‘I’m coming out,’” said Jeanne Quarto, from Brooklyn, New York.
Quarto pumped up the excitement for her family, too.
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“We probably wouldn’t have come here to the botanic gardens, we would’ve just watched it from our backyard," said Richard Klaess, Quarto's brother who lives in Fort Worth. "But with my sister coming in from New York, we’ve given her the whole Fort Worth experience: We've been to the Stockyards, Cowgirl Museum ... And we took her to Buc-ee’s!”
“I kind of remember one when I was a kid, back in the 60s, but I’ve never really seen one in totality, so I’m just looking and hoping the clouds stay away and see the whole, the whole eclipse," Klaess added.
Michelle Acoba decided to make a last-minute trip for her birthday. She got the last flight out, on standby, from Alaska.
“It was like the best birthday present ever, when they told me, ‘You’re on the plane!’” said Acoba, who arrived in Fort Worth at 5 a.m.
Martyn Wood, visiting from the United Kingdom, was chasing his second total eclipse.
“I just remember it was amazing to experience when it went dark, the birds all went quiet, the light went kind of chromatic. I just want to revisit that again, relive the experience," he said.
He and his wife, Julie, had planned to visit the United States for some time and said they planned their trip according to the eclipse.
Spectators gathered across the Garden, among nature, which was monitored by NASA through devices placed around the property.
“Recording sound in different parts of the garden to see what happens to nature, the sounds of nature when it goes dark," said Patrick Newman, Botanic Garden CEO. “The animals that inhabit the garden, are they going to go quiet, are they going to start thinking it might be time for a nap? Or, are they going to get sort of rambunctious?"
The facility also partnered with Lighthouse for the Blind to help visually impaired people experience the eclipse through a device that converts light into sound, turning the dimming sunlight into musical tones that got deeper as it got darker.
Whether they were traveling a few miles, or a few thousand, everyone got their moment when the moon started blocking the sun to cheering and clapping from the crowd.
“I thought that the eclipse was really cool. I’ve never seen anything quite like it," said 9-year-old Alex Crispin. “I don’t think I’ll ever have one of those exact same experiences again.”
“It was life-changing, and it all happened on my birthday, as well, which is great," said Brian Tam, visiting from England. “Definitely worth it. Fort 'Worth' it.”
