On May 20, 2012, we took a spontaneous trip to northern California to watch the annular solar eclipse.  When we woke up that morning, my husband suggested we hop on a flight and check it out, so I packed an overnight bag for our two daughters and myself, and we headed to the airport.  We flew into Sacramento, CA, rented a car, and drove northeast for the best viewing.  We reached Donner Lake (near Lake Tahoe) about the time the eclipse was beginning, which turned out to be a prime spot for viewing.   Sitting on a small public dock, we were able to take in the spectacular sight of this rare occurence, surrounded by a few other friendly spectators who were generous enough to share their eclipse viewing glasses.  At the end of the event, we headed back to Sacramento, spent the night, and hopped on a plane at 5:45am the next morning to fly home.  It was well worth the last-minute trip!