Those are some awesome shots! I got lucky enough to catch it as well - and not too far from you either since I'm just a little West of Asheville.
I was definitely a little bummed the total eclipse didn't last longer, but like you said it was absolutely surreal seeing it get so dark out in the middle of the day! The birds started going crazy right after it came back out, as if it was morning for them all over again lol.
P.S. - Congrats on graduating from Grad School! I know that's no easy task. Mind if I ask your major?
Cool, glad someone else on here got to see it! I didn't notice the birds, just the neighborhood dogs going crazy. Thanks for the congrats, I did a Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering. My focus was on fluid mechanics, applied math, and scientific computing.
Wow, congrats² in that case!!
My background is in CS and my wife's is in abstract mathematics, so I can definitely appreciate what an accomplishment that is - major kudos man!