I drove with friends all the way down to Kentucky to see it, and it was one of the most spectacular things I've ever seen. Even though it was only two minutes, it was well worth the 14-hour trip. Words and pictures cannot do it justice. It was like someone turned a switch between day and night, and the temperature dropped very noticeably. Seeing the Sun's corona shimmering around the moon, and then the "diamond ring" effect as the Sun peeked back out, was beautiful. The 20-minute period before totality was cool too with everything gradually getting dimmer and the crescent shadows.
For a very short time, the nation forgot all its problems and differences and just focused on the beauty of our universe, and remembered how small we are compared to it.