Got itinerary booked:
AA2462 LAX-DFW connecting to AA1010 DFW-STL Saturday 19th August Scheduled departure from LAX 14h05 PDT
Scheduled arrival into STL 22h43 CDT
A friend of mine in the STL area is willing to take to the area of totality but details still need to be worked out as there are options to go south, southwest or west from STL. Where will depend at least part on the weather forecast which looks "pretty good" as of now.