Thousands choose Texas Hill Country to view total solar eclipse

Communities across the Texas Hill Country brace for record-breaking crowds expected on April 8 for the total solar eclipse.

A prime location and one of the first cities in the US to experience totality is Kerrville. Its prolonged totality of 4 minutes and 25 seconds will draw thousands to the heart of the Hill Country.

NASA chose Kerrville and two other cities in the nation to livestream the eclipse which will begin at 1:32 p.m. The livestream will occur a few miles from the center line of totality at Kerrville’s Louise Hays Park.

However, for those who will not be able to make it to Kerrville due to sold-out hotels and traffic, there are other options.

Located about 30 minutes from Kerrville, the City of Boerne, is also prepared for thousands of visitors.

“That weekend there's definitely going to be an uptick in traffic across the interstate and on our local streets. We're fully prepared for that,” Chris Shadrock, communication director for the City of Boerne said. “What we’re (mostly) concerned about are the last-minute planners, people who maybe didn't plan.”

Boerne will not have a city-sponsored event however, they also expect thousands to visit their city to experience a totality of 3 minutes and 23 seconds.

“It's easy to say that our population of 22,000 will double to 40 to 50,000,” Shadrock said.

For months, businesses located in Boerne’s historic downtown have had regular meetings to discuss logistics.

“I’m so excited,” Lacey Retzloff said.

Retzloff owns two boutiques in town and is helping plan a solar eclipse-themed market that will help boost the local economy and allow visitors to take a piece of Boerne history back home.

“It's a great opportunity for all the businesses here because we're gonna have lots of people. We have people calling from like all over the United States saying they're coming to Boerne to see it,” Reltzoff said.

The cosmic event even made Boerne a wedding destination.

“There's a couple who's coming into town from out of state, and they wanted to be married during the total eclipse,” Eric Waters said. Waters is a pastor at St. John Lutheran Church.

He and his family live in Boerne and are eager to witness the solar event.

“I think we'll just probably watch it. In our neighborhood, you know, with friends up in the yard and have a great time,” Waters said. “It’s God sent. I mean, what are the chances of that, right? And so, the truth is that we're here at this time, just when the sun is where it's going to be. I mean, that's just that's God's handiwork.”

Other locals admit they’re apprehensive of the turnout in Boerne.

“I'm excited, but nervous because of the expectations that they're going to have for the people coming to town. It can really overrun all of us,” Brandi Sees said. Sees grew up in Boerne and runs a small business along Main Street with her mother.

“We had a meeting, a business meeting this morning for all the retailers. And a lot of us are trying to decide whether we will open that Monday or not. Number one, because we want to see it, too. And number two, because we just don't know if we're gonna be able to get home easily,” Sees said.

Still, they have stocked up with the essentials.

“We have eclipse glasses,” Sees said. “A lot of stores along Boerne have bought special ones with their store names on it to sell and designed t-shirts.”

“Last eclipse, we definitely our sales, like, skyrocket,” Retzloff said.

"We ordered our eclipse glasses like last summer because we knew this was coming.  We ordered, like, thousands of glasses because we knew everybody was going to be selling out," Retzloff said.

Business owners said they want to ensure visitors enjoy their visit to Boerne and plan to add more staff that day.

"Making sure that we have, like, backups, cash and all that in case the systems go down," Retzloff said.

Retzloff has partnered with the restaurant Dog & Pony Grill for the market that will feature local vendors and educational opportunities.

"We have a couple of astronomers from Austin and San Antonio coming with their telescopes," Retzloff said.

For more information including the location of the market in Boerne, click here.

For more information on total eclipse events in the Hill Country, click here.