12 NOVEMBER 2017 • FOGHORN FOGHORNFOCUS: CUSTOMER SERVICE each passenger was given their eclipse glasses and were greeted by a live Dixieland band for their south bound trip. On board was also a local TV reporter. The captain narrated on the points of interest and offered some eclipse facts and what to antici- pate. The biggest fear was that it would be a cloudy or rainy day and actually the forecast was question- able. However, to everyone’s delight, all were treated to a clear blue sky, perfect for the solar eclipse. The actual duration of the totality was 2 minutes and 21 seconds, at which time pas- sengers could remove their glasses and see the totality with the naked eye. Participants were surrounded by darkness, cooling temperatures, and the sound of evening crickets on shore. The Tom Sawyer then headed north, against the current, for the three-hour return trip. It was at this time pas- sengers were served a luncheon of carved beef tenderloin, turkey, bacon- wrapped scallops, shrimp cocktail, sides, desserts, and live music. Special “Eclipse T-Shirts” were sold onboard for the occasion. Gateway Arch Riverboats consid- ered this as primarily a promotional cruise and the fare was only $45/ person. The marketing budget wasn’t impacted by this special cruise as no additional advertising was necessary as word-of-mouth sold out the cruise in early May. The exposure was great. Most importantly, a good time was had by all. n BY MATTHEW CAPPUCCI While many photographers are gearing up to photograph St. Louis’s brush with totality as framed through the coveted Gateway Arch, they’re for- getting one thing: the arch itself is not in the path of totality. In fact, they’ll miss it by only about nine-tenths of a mile. In other words, if you walk a mere eight arch-lengths south of the actual GatewayArch, you’ll get to enjoy the full splendor of totality. Those gawking through the arch, though, will be out of luck. For anyone with their heart set on seeing both the eclipse and the arch, there is one place you can do it — along the banks of the Mississippi just west of the St. Louis Airport. Here, you’ll be able to see a few seconds of totality right after 1:16 p.m. Central time, and you can squint to catch a glimpse of the arch a couple of miles away along the northern horizon. In cooperation with the Gateway Arch, the Tom Sawyer Riverboat will be snaking down the Mississippi River at 10:30 a.m., featuring an afternoon of eclipse-viewing. The sold-out cruise will have light refreshments and “eclipse-themed desserts,” a cash bar and even live music. So theoretically, there’s a chance the lucky few that scored tickets aboard could be drinking a Corona while viewing the sun’s corona, simultane- ously listening to “Total Eclipse of the Heart” during the actual eclipse itself. Talk about the stars aligning! The following story appeared in the August 17 edition of The Washington Post The Gateway Arch Passengers lucky enough to score tickets for the eclipse cruise watch the rare cosmic event from the deck of the Tom Sawyer.