I live in Riverside, CA (or thereabouts). A friend and I walked up one of the hills down the street from the house to watch it start (He just wanted to climb the hill more than seeking a viewing spot). Interesting phenomenon as it seemed like every few minutes God simply turned the dimmer on the sun down a barely perceptible notch and the air would get a degree cooler (which was welcome in the 90 degree breeze).
I had a dinky pair of binocs which I used in reverse to focus the image on my knee and monitor the progress. About 1/4 into it we walked back down and with 4 pairs of stacked up sunglasses achieved the ability to actually look directly at it as it reached peak occlusion (about 80% or so here). Chatted with some neighbors briefly. Recollected past eclipses we'd experienced. And that was about it.
