I replied that we would be fine--we had reservations at a bed and breakfast, and would be leaving the county three days before the shadow passed through. In my mind, though, I worried that we wouldn't have much fun. During my weekend at the beach, I didn't want the hassle of crowds, or hassles with the druids, New Age Travellers and anarchists who had been called to the eclipse by a higher power.

The next day, as I sat comfortably on the train, I realized that the warnings had been for naught. The train's route ran alongside the A30 highway, which had been opened especially to accommodate eclipse traffic. We waved to a happy woman in a silver BMW convertible who was speeding along the highway with no other cars in sight. There was a jubilant mood among the other passengers in our car. They downed wine and beer and talked excitedly of their plans to soak up some rays before the eclipse.

Our ultimate destination, the small village of St. Ives, was crowded, but according to our innkeeper, no more crowded than during a normal weekend in August. Many of her fellow bed and breakfast owners still had vacancies for eclipse week.

In fact, she fretted that the town would see a loss because of it's significant expense in preparing for the eclipse crowds.

"We're O.K., because we're full," she said. "But others are going to lose a lot of money. This isn't what the town needs."

And as we wandered through the town, I realized how true this was. The storefront were all occupied, but they catered to the tourists. It was a one-industry town that had seen better times. The merchandising I had expected to find (I had a very American desire for an eclipse T-shirt, even though I would not be there for the big event) was not available. Aside from a few shops selling chintzy eclipse tankards, mugs and posters, I only found one selling T-shirts. And there was only one variety. The stores didn't seem to have the capital to invest in pricey eclipse souvenirs.

It turned out to be a good move on their part. Only 600,000 visitors actually came for the eclipse, and many Cornwall regulars stayed away. With newspapers warning tourists to "bring supplies with you, just to be on the safe side" and predicting that up to 4 million people would flood into the county, it's no wonder people stayed away.