Hey – not sure if you are all aware, but the solar eclipse passes through Nashville on Monday, August 21. This is right in the middle of orientation. Classes start for undergrads on Aug 23. My younger son wants to be in the area for the eclipse. He does not go to Vanderbilt, but my older one did, so I am thinking that he may have to book a room in advance, if there are any still left! By Aug 21, most freshman parents will be gone, except for those who want to stay for the eclipse!
Where will you go to watch the eclipse? Take a drive to Percy Warner or watch from campus or go into town and watch by the river? This will be an amazing event, for sure!
Depending on the weather, you may want to be flexible about where you watch from. We’ve been rained out for an eclipse in China. (But it still gets very dark.)
I haven’t looked at the eastern eclipse track in detail, but my recollection is that Nashville is near the southern edge of the track. If that is true, you might want to drive a bit north (depending on clouds) to get a longer eclipse.
We live here and hotels are booking fast! Our little community (Mount Juliet) is right outside the city, and our local park is have a huge celebration (Charlie Daniel’s Park). Cheap and nice hotels right at the interstate… 5 miles from airport and 3 miles from park!
Prime viewing area is Hopkinsville, KY about an hour north on I24 and supposedly rooms there have been booked for about 2 years. I’m a little farther north and it is a huge deal here. We are having a huge viewing party event on the campus of my community college and we’re being encouraged to cancel classes. We start the week before and I hate to lose the momentum; but it’s a pretty big deal and the eclilpse actually occurs during my 12:30 class, so c’est la vie. If your son can find a room to the north of Nashville, it’s likely to be a bit cheaper and he may get a better experience. BTW, our area is also scheduled to be in the thick of things for another solar eclipse in 7 years.
Vandy has established a Twitter site (@VUeclipse) and a FB site for promoting activities and information related to the eclipse.