Hampton Roads spectators take in the solar eclipse

The light dimmed, the temperature dropped and the shadows bent Monday afternoon as night crossed into day in Hampton Roads for a few fleeting moments.

A total solar eclipse crossed from the western coast of Mexico through Texas and Maine, the second to take a broad pass through the United States since 2017. The next full eclipse one won’t come around our continent until 2044, when the path of totality will cut through Montana, the Dakotas and western Canada.

Hampton Roads saw between 75% and 80% blockage of the sun, enough to cast a haze over an otherwise clear sunny day, bring a chill and potentially confuse some pets. Viewing parties were held across the region at public parks, astronomy clubs and local breweries.

One such brewery that got in on the celestial fun was Elation Brewing in Norfolk. Its staff had given out all 100 pairs of glasses by about 45 minutes ahead of the peak of eclipse, according to general manager Mike Purcell, and the patio was bustling with excitement. Grace Mallamo, director of marketing for Elation, had the idea of also handing out paper plates and inviting guests to poke holes in the shape of a pizza so, with the plate held near the ground facing the sun, they could watch as the eclipse made the shadows shrink into fingernail shapes.

Purcell said he was surprised by the good turnout and expressed gratitude that Elation could be a part of the event for so many people.

“It kind of reaffirms our place within the community and how much the community means to us,” Purcell said, adding that it was an opportunity to give back to the customers who supported the brewery through the pandemic.

One of those devoted customers was Carl Boyd, a former history professor at Old Dominion University who has been coming to Elation since it opened and has the distinction of being member number 0001 of the brewery’s rewards program. Boyd wasn’t there for the eclipse — “I’m a liberal arts person, not a scientific person,” he said — but by the end he was able to find some “poetry” in it.

“It’s a bonus, I’m an 88-year-old and probably won’t see another one so I decided to check off this box,” Boyd said. He later marveled at the dimming of the light and effect on the shadows, saying one should “enjoy it without trying to understand why.”

Muslims across the country, and Hampton Roads, gather for special solar eclipse prayer

Nehal Aggarwal, 28, and her fiance, Greg Arnold, 27, made sure to catch this eclipse because, Aggarwal said, it still bothers her that she missed the 2017 eclipse while in New York.

“]”I have insane FOMO (fear of missing out) and I’ve been carrying it with me that I missed the one several years ago so I was not about to miss this,” she said.

Gary Morton, 65, an actor and theater producer, was watching the eclipse with his wife, Cary, and a group of friends. He said it was nothing compared to when he saw the total eclipse in Norfolk in 1970 when he was 10 years old. Back then, he said they watched it through a roll of film and it became one of his favorite childhood memories.

“The wildest thing that happened in the 70s was the reaction all the dogs had to it. The dogs in the neighborhood went crazy howling and barking,” Morton said. “It went dark and it got very cold and the street lights came on, birds started singing night songs … it was kind of ominous.”

At least one Hampton Roads resident wasn’t satisfied with a partial eclipse and traveled to Sandusky, Ohio, to see totality. Kendra Muse, 31, a bartender from Norfolk, said she’s been tracking the weather every night for weeks to figure out where to go to have the best view.

A partial eclipse, even if it’s 99.9%, she said, doesn’t come close to the experience of a total eclipse. She described it as a “360-degree sunrise,” with the sky alternatively turning red and green as the sun disappears before settling on a “creepy greyness” of everything down to the grass.

“Totality is the difference between being front row at your absolute favorite band in the entire world and watching that band on someone’s phone recording,” Muse said.

Staff writer Nour Habib contributed to this report.