PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Upwards of 1 million people came to Oregon for the solar eclipse, an event the nation won’t experience again until 2024.
After viewing the totality, many visitors headed straight to the Portland International Airport Monday afternoon for their flights back home. Despite the amount of travel some endured, all of them seemed happy they made the memorable trip.
Fjola Helgadottir, who travel from Vancouver, B.C., said about the totality, “It was just amazing.”
Kristine Hoogensen and her family, from the Bay Area, found out about the eclipse a few years ago and booked everything last year.
“We had friends that saw one and he just said it was amazing and the hype, you have to see it,” Kristine said.
When asked if the eclipse lived up to the hype, Kristine said, “Yes, completely.”
People were spread across Oregon for the eclipse including Lincoln City, Salem and Madras.
“Everybody was very nice and welcoming, so we appreciate that,” Kristine said.
Totality only lasted a few minutes, but traffic lasted much longer. Some people were stuck in standstill traffic for hours.
“Even though it took 2 1/2 hours, it was a beautiful drive, so it was no problem,” Brett Hoogensen said.
While the next eclipse isn’t for another 7 years, people are already looking forward to it.
“We’re already planning for that one,” Kristine said. “As soon as totality ended here, we started, ‘Okay, where’s it going?'”