Thanks for that excellent first-hand report.
Must have been a truly incredible experience to witness a totality eclipse.
As for the typically dark sky area you are in, I had said on here before the event that, if I could manage it, I would look to view the eclipse from a really dark night sky area, with the expectation of seeing more stars during totality, making it an even more amazing experience.
If you ever get the chance to see one, even if you have to travel to see it, do it. It’s a once in a lifetime event for most people. I’m in Athens TN. Athens was smack dab in the middle for the totality. We had people here from all over the world. The city only has 14,000 people and there were 10,000 in one of the parks. Our little airport was full. They were here from Egypt, France, England, and many other far away places to see two or three minutes of a total eclipse. I live on a farm out in the country and even our side roads were full of parked vehicles.