It was definitely worth the trip. Ended up watching from Sweetwater Valley Farm in Philadelphia, TN. Definitely was a good decision to spend the night by TYS and take back roads further into totality.

Going down on I-81 the night before, it felt like traffic was lighter than it should have been. There was plenty of parking around (the farms offering $20 parking were still completely empty at 12:30), which made me wonder if some of the more dire predictions concerning crowds and traffic missed the mark - perhaps not everyone enjoys the flexibility we have in academia? However, getting out was a total mess... it took nearly five hours to get to Asheville, which would have normally been a two hour drive.