Weather permitting, this is my visual setup for the April 8th eclipse:

Telescope: Sky-Watcher 102 mm short-tube refractor
Filter: Thousand Oaks Optical SolarLite Filter
Eyepiece: 56 mm Meade 4000 Series 2-inch Plossl

Of all of the eyepieces that I own, the Meade 56 mm Plossl yields the lowest power. This is the ideal selection for the time of day the eclipse occurs in my area. At higher magnifications, I could really see the bubbling effects of daytime heating, but the view through the Meade is sharp and rock-steady. Also, for an eclipse, a smaller view of solar disc means that I can take in more of the eclipse at once without have to move my eyeball around a whole lot. Although the human eye has a wide field of view, it can only focus on a small portion of the field of view at once. For photography, I plan to mount my DSLR on the camera mount on the tube ring as I do for Milky Way photography. That way I can use the telescope as the viewfinder and enjoy visual and photography at the same time. The white covers are small socks that I used to cover the red dot finder and one of the handles on the slow motion control on the AZ mount.

I drove 2 hours away to a park in the totality zone for my pre-eclipse viewing on Saturday, April 6th. Unfortunately, the weather forecast for many communities in Southern Ontario, Canada (where I live) is mostly cloudy on eclipse day. Also, I may not be able to make it to the totality zone in time due to reasons beyond my control. I may very well have to stay home that day and "settle" for a 99.3% eclipse. Regardless, wherever I am, I will enjoy the event if I am able to see it at all. I really enjoy solar observing, eclipse or not and I am excited that sunspot AR3615 will reappear a few days after the eclipse.

***UPDATE: I was fortunate enough to make it to my chosen observing site and witnessed the April 8th solar eclipse, including totality! I made the right choice for the eyepiece. The eclipse crescent was sharp and beautiful! I witnessed the Moon gradually cover and uncover sunspots. Unfortunately however, I have no photos to share of the event.