Words, pictures, videos don't do it justice. I drove across the country for the one in 2017 and it was the most incredible thing I've ever seen. Sacrificing people on top of a pyramid isn't my preference but i kinda understand where the aztecs/mel gibson were coming from. For real though totality is like a divine searing hole opening in the sky that connects you to cosmic ancient human experience even if just for a few moments. The moon is an actual giant thing falling toward us in perpetuity and never is it more tangibly understandable as such than when it falls literally perfectly in front of the fucking sun. Streamers of plasma millions of miles long whipping out around the black disc of the moon. Undulating liquid-like shadow ripples called shadow bands appear on the actual ground, it's like standing on the beach looking down as a wave washes back out to sea but the beach is the planet on which all life lives and dies and the wave is the infinity of outer space, and you barely even hear about them because the eclipse itself is just that much more spectacular. For most people in the united states, this is the last chance they'll have to see it in their lifetimes. my bad actually there's another couple chances in 2044/2045, but still.
Forget about hotels honestly, they're already booked or going for insane money.
Depends on where you're going. The strip of totality runs from western Mexico to New Brunswick. Austin, Dallas, Indianapolis, Niagra Falls, and Burlington might be booked, but there are many, many, many small towns along that path.
You also don't necessarily need to see the eclipse FROM the place you're staying. You can book a place to stay within an hour or two driving distance of the path. Depending on the weather (a complete dice roll), you might end up driving a couple hours even if you booked a place right in the path of the eclipse.
yeah that's a key point. seeing it from somewhere in nature is better than a hotel balcony anyway