That was our experience too with the cicadas sounding as it got darker; and once 100% totality hit, it was night in the middle of the afternoon!! What an amazing experience. I was so awed by the moment that I forgot to look for tree/leaf shadows.
Now I understand why people travel far distances to see a total eclipse, even travel to other countries.
The effect of the light through the trees was good for us for at least 15 minutes B4 and after totality. (It was best in the 5 minute windows before and after around totality. During totality, there are essentially no sun shadows from terrestial objects like trees.)
Unfortunately, somehow information such as that is not widely enough disseminated. Ditto for the difference between a 100% eclipse and a 98-99% eclipse.