It was a long wait and build up, as even the 70-80% coverage barely seemed to affect the light on the ground.
But those last few minutes, and then totality truly was something that has to be seen to be fully appreciated.
The surrounding darkness all around, with the corona bursting out from the darkened moon, and then the diamond ring effect. Indeed, it was something special!
I am in central Illinois with about 95% coverage. It was like going from a 100W light bulb to a strong night light. The sun was still strong enough to cast a shadow. The temp dropped about 8 degrees. It was kind of eerie. I saw the total eclipse on the Jackson webcam. It didn't get noticeably darker until they were in the total eclipse for the 2 min duration.