Ellen Barbetta had to hustle from work to get her kids from school so they could find a good open spot to watch Monday’s eclipse. 

“I told them that I would pick them up and bring them,” Barbetta said. “I was coming from a job in Portsmouth and had to fly down here.”

“Very cool, this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance,” said 12-year-old Daniel McGuire, a student at Rundlett Middle School who watched with his sisters Anya, 14, and Khali, 9, as the moon slowly blocked out the sun. 

They wore special glasses to protect their eyes as they observed the celestial event. By 3:30 only a crescent of the sun was left in the sky as the light became flat and gloomy.   

“It kind of reminds me of Pac Man or like something took a bite out of the sun,” Khali said.

Monday’s weather turned out perfect for viewing the eclipse. With blue skies and temperatures in the 60s, thousands of visitors flocked to New Hampshire on Monday, which caused significant traffic delays, mostly on highways. 

Lynn and Douglas Laperle brought along their two grandsons, Logan Lavoie, 7, and Axel Laperle, 6, to a soccer field near the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center to view this once-in-a-lifetime event, even driving down to Connecticut Monday morning to pick up Axel.

“It’s just a good experience with the grandchildren,” Douglas said. “We love to spend time with them, so this gives us an opportunity to do that. … We can make this into something that they’ll remember because they’re old enough to remember it.”

For Axel, who loves science, the eclipse was even more special.

“He loves science, anything to do with math and science,” Lynn said.

The cousins wore special gear to the eclipse – Logan sported an eclipse-themed T-shirt he made at school while Axel wore a hat.