The adage I’ve heard is that 90+% eclipses only give you 10% experience of totality.
I’m in Charlottetown, and I’ll be driving to North Cape (as will the rest of the Island). Between worrying about the weather, I’m also concerned that I won’t be able to get to North Cape in the first place.
So far, I managed to beat the solar glasses rush by ordering in January. I’m trying to figure out the timing to get to North Cape early enough to have a spot to park, but not too early that my kids will lose their minds with the waiting.
More accurately, any partial eclipse gives you 0% of the experience of totality.
During totality, you see the Sun's corona with your own eyes.
In any partial phase, you are seeing the Sun's photosphere - the same bright surface of the Sun you see on every clear day. So you need eye protection.
When the Moon completely blocks the photosphere in totality, you get to see the much fainter solar corona. The corona is only about as bright as a full Moon.
You don't need and should not use solar glasses during totality. Don't take my word for it, if you get them go out at night and look at the Moon through them (doesn't have to be full).
Your kids are fairly young? You want to keep them safe during the partial phases, and also make sure they get to view totality unfiltered.
There was a lengthy discussion on Reddit the other day, nominally about photography but also about viewing with your own eyes:
It bums me out that there is so much misinformation going around about eclipse viewing safety, specifically the notion that you should wear eclipse glasses during totality.
In that same Reddit thread, someone cites a misinformed New York Times article. I'll link it here because it was downvoted and hidden and is worth a quick read (along with our replies) to see how badly mistaken a major news publication can be:
I’m in Charlottetown, and I’ll be driving to North Cape (as will the rest of the Island). Between worrying about the weather, I’m also concerned that I won’t be able to get to North Cape in the first place.
So far, I managed to beat the solar glasses rush by ordering in January. I’m trying to figure out the timing to get to North Cape early enough to have a spot to park, but not too early that my kids will lose their minds with the waiting.