I drove from the northeast down to South Carolina to see the 2017 eclipse in the center of totality.
All I can say is ... if you haven't experienced this in your life, go see it. But you must be in the arc of totality, even 99% isn't going to do it. The closer you get to the centerline, the longer totality lasts.
And it's something else. It gets very dark, very quickly. It gets cold, the stars come out, it feels surreal.
It's awe-inspiring.