‘Totality over Texas’

Couple promoting to locals, astro-gazers ahead of eclipse

Anita Ortiz Lubke is gearing up for the 2023 and 2024 eclipses with Total Over Texas (TOT). With a city and county task force in place for the incoming astronomical event — cautioning residents of the influx in visitors and how that will impact food, water, cellular data and gas supplies — it's clear that additional preparedness is essential for the community.

Lubke's website offers marketing products and information. The hottest item leading up to the eclipse will be, by far, eclipse sunglasses. Without those, one has the potential to suffer serious eye damage. Lubke began with the UV- and infrared-blocking glasses and has since expanded into other branded items like T-shirts and tumblers, making for a full eclipse-centered business.

"We’re trying to get folks energized, excited, prepped and talking to folks," Lubke said.

The newly established company came from preparing her motel, The Stonewall Motor Lodge, for the eclipse. Situated between Fredericksburg and Johnson City in Stonewall, The Lodge, off Highway 290, is a already destination for tourists.

In addition to the motel and Total Over Texas, she owns and operates The Vind app, which recommends tailored travel itineraries.

An initial interest in the event for her guests snowballed into providing the City of Fredericksburg with glasses, donating hundreds each month to various groups and charities and producing branded goods for local businesses.

"We’re very interested in finding ways to give back because the community has been good to us," she said.

TOT has committed to give glasses to the Stonewall Elementary School, however many it needs. Lubke said they want to find charities and organizations and offer steep discounts for the protective glasses.

Up to 100,000 people are expected to be in Gillespie County, almost four times the size of the residential population.

"We want to be able to make sure everybody has the choice to experience it safely," Lubke said.

TOT has retailed to Garrison Brothers Distillery, Swallows Eve, Wedding Oak Winery and Inwood Estates Vineyards, Winery & Bistro, among others. They’ve created personalized sunshades and blankets for these and continue to expand designs.

The TOT site, totalityovertx.com, launched in January and has received hits from across the United States, as far south as Brazil and even in Europe.

Three designs of glasses are offered: a Texas Hill Country design, Two Eclipses in One! design and a Totality design which reads the exact time and date of the eclipse and a map with the path of totality over the United States.

The 2024 eclipse in Fredericksburg will take place from 12:15 to 2:56 p.m., and the total eclipse will be visible from 1:32 p.m. to 1:37 p.m.

The first TOT shirt design is a play on a concert tour T-shirt, listing the times and locations of totality in Texas and showing its path. The front reads, "I was at the ultimate show."

They now have various designs of T-shirts for children and adults. Some have phrases like, "What did the sun bring to the solar eclipse party? A light snack"; and, "How does the man in the moon cut his hair? Eclipse it."

They are also selling travel mugs, wine tumblers and a drawstring bag, all with the location and time, commemorating the event.

A "Solar Snap Kit" includes filters which allow you to take photos of the eclipse on your phone. Lubke says she can't keep the kits stocked.

Total Over Texas is also selling copies of "Texas Total Eclipse Guide Official Commemorative 2024 Keepsake Guidebook (2024 Total Eclipse Guide)," by Aaron Linsdau, an Amazon best-selling author. The book includes information on safety and locations in Texas to experience the event, along with diving into the histories and mythologies of eclipses.

The eclipse will last for just a few minutes, but the memories of the events surrounding it will last.

During the total solar eclipse, Lubke will host a private party at the Motor Lodge. The annular solar eclipse on Oct. 14, 2023 will be much like a dry run, but without the big bash, she said.

Over the years, she has grown to appreciate and continues to foster community with her guests. A sprawling lawn at the Lodge can accommodate barbeques and picnics, and a retrofitted farmhouse and large deck above the main building continue to draw people from their rooms for communal events. Cabin options have private patios which look onto the grassy knoll. The property is more akin to a neighborhood than a motel.

The lodge was originally intended to accommodate the Secret Service, staff and press in the 1960s while President Lyndon B. Johnson visited his family ranch, which is a mile from the property. Once, the Lodge even hosted the Latin American Delegation and everyone enjoyed a Texas barbecue and peach ice cream.

Though the swath of coverage throughout Texas is large and towns will swell with visitors, Lubke is ensuring her guests a fun and relaxing time.

Rather than being in the friction of the event, she plans to "sit back, enjoy it and be in the moment." And she encourages everyone to do the same.