volcano time lapse

LOTS of great pictures and videos on the internet. Here is my favorite so far.

Redoubt Eruption March 27 2009 from Bretwood Higman on Vimeo.

HOLY ASHFALL ON SATURDAY, BATMAN!!!!

Lisa got home Wendnesday morning and thank goodness!! The volcano has been erupting off and on since then occasionally cancelling flights to Anchorage. BUT since last night, Redoubt has been erupting almost constantly. The winds haven't been favorable for ash to make it up to Anchorage.....UNTIL NOW!!!

This afternoon, we got a call from Sam (who I am sure is posting pictures on his blog right now) to say that he could see an ash cloud to our south. So we gathered the girls and the camera and headed out to look for a cloud and do some quick grocery shopping. As we were leaving we noticed it was a bit hazy but was still unsure what we were looking at. We drove around and before long we were sure what we were looking at was ash. Cars were kicking up stuff of the road but what convinced us was driving by a local lake that is still covered in ice and snow...it was obviously discolored. WHOAH!!!

So we got to the store and watched as ash was obviously blowing off of the roof of the store. We decided that the girls shouldn't go out into the ash and since Lisa knew what we were shopping for, she volunteered to run through it to get inside.


So as I was sitting there waiting and watching the ash collect on the car, I realized that people coming in and out of the store were legitimately panicking. It was laughable at how people were reacting. People were running in and out of the store covering their mouths but completely oblivious to where they were running. People were driving like idiots so I witnessed at least three times where someone was almost hit by a car.

My favorite was a family who thought they were more important than anyone else so they drove up and parked right next to the front door, walked in to get their groceries and masks, leaving the car there to block the entrance so no one else could drop off or pick up their family. Brilliant.

Here's a few more pictures I took while I was waiting.



Here's a shot driving home of how bad the visibility was.

And then once we got home and got everyone inside, I went out and took some pictures around the house.




...and this poor moose in our backyard sucking in that delicious ash.

Be sure to click on these pics...I uploaded the full size so you can see what the ash really looks like.

no luck tonight

62 minutes on hold to be told "Uh, no sir. You'll have to call back in the morning".

She is scheduled to fly home 6am on Wednesday. Alaska Airlines is taking care of tonight's hotel room but we're on our own after that.

stuck in Seattle :(

Yeah there could be worse places to be stuck but when you've been away from your babies for the first time and are excited to finally be home...it doesn't matter where you're stuck, it SUCKS! Alaska Air put Lisa up in a hotel near the airport and scheduled her out first thing Wednesday morning. All flights are booked for tomorrow. They said they are going to try and add more flights tomorrow so I will be staying up and calling to get her on one of those flights.

Say a prayer for Lisa...she is definitely ready to be home.

oh crap!

Is that the title of my last post? Oh well...so just when we thought Lisa was going to make it home, Redoubt just blew again. I've been watching it like a hawk all day. Lisa literally called me as she was getting on her short flight to Seattle (cause she doesn't want to get stuck there of course) to check on the status and I told her..."All is quiet. You are good to go".

Then, 30 minutes later, Redoubt blows her top again!! So far her flight is still listed as "on time" but this could obviously change.

Here is a better webicorder than the last one I posted.

OH NO!!!!!

Mt. Redoubt just erupted!! Under the right circumstances, this would be really cool. Unfortunately Lisa is still in Portland and this will likely cancel all flights into Anchorage.

It just erupted 30 minutes ago so we don't know anything yet but I'll be checking Alaska Air's website pretty frequently tomorrow to see if Lisa's flight is canceled. Cross your fingers, we are all ready for Lisa to be home!!

Here's a link to the webicorder that shows the activity.

Hawaii Vaction - Part 5

Final installment of the Hawaii vacation...this might take me 3 hours to do but I am determined to finish this tonight.

So the next morning we went out for breakfast at an amazing place on the beach. Alyssa was having a blast but Katy really had a hard time calming down for some reasons. So during breakfast, I ended up walking her outside and chasing these pigeons. After breakfast, everyone joined us for some real fun. Several pictures in here up for "picture of the trip".





Here is one of my favorites of Alyssa.


My personal favorite from the entire trip.



One of Lisa's favorites.





Katy was having a real hard time with the wind. She was constantly clinging to Lisa and had to keep her hood on to keep the wind from blowing in her hair.




Lisa picking up Katy again.

And another one of my favorites...showing just how upset Katy was.

Katy struggling with the wind.


Our full day, we decided to drive up to Haleakala National Park. Only problem is it was in the clouds so we had to contend with some drizzle once we got to the top...a cool 10000 feet above sea level. First order of business, feed the girls in the back of the car.

Proof of the drizzle.

We were just patient enough for the sun to start breaking through once we drove up to the summit.








Lisa pointed out the rocks to the girls...before we knew it they were picking them up and flinging them.

And here is my personal favorite. I know it looks a little dangerous (which is why it is my favorite picture) but no babies were harmed in the making of this awesome picture.

Katy chucking a rock.



Another one of my personal favorites from the trip.


That evening, we enjoyed our last sunset in Hawaii.







I like taking pictures of pictures.

Katy playing with Terri's lip.

Me soaking up some scenery...and peace.

Our last day in Hawaii, go figure, the girls were finally...FINALLY okay with the sun, the wind, the waves, and the sand. It was a beautiful day...making it that much harder to pack up and come home that evening.















What an amazing place!


Lisa and I finally got a walk on the beach. It was funny when we walked away, we could hear the girls yelling "no no no no no". I don't think they liked us walking that close to the water.

Whew....the top of my head was a little red.

One more chance to soak up the sun...and a Longboard beer.






What an amazing AMAZING trip!! Thank you Dennis and Terri for funding our trip. We've been wanting to do this forever and can't wait to do it again!

Hawaii Vacation - Part 4

Finally continuing the vacation pictures. I'm telling you I have 500 of these to go through. So we pick up our vacation the evening we got back from the aquarium. We were watching the sun set from our balcony when a whale and her baby started waving to us. It was so cool. I don't know if the momma whale was teaching her baby a new trick or what...but from our perspective it looked like they were waving to us. It went on for at least 5 minutes...well at least enough time for me to go get the camera, take 5 to 20 pictures, a video, AND a few pictures of Lisa holding Alyssa and showing her the whale.


This one might have been another nomination for "picture of the trip" but for some strange reason Alyssa was covering Lisa's eyes.




Click HQ in the bottom right of the movie screen for higher quality.





Next day...it was off for a little WHALE WATCHING!! Dennis and Terri were nice enough to watch the girls and give Lisa and I some time alone. We drove to Lahaina and went on a tour with the Pacific Whale Foundation. While it wasn't the most ideal picture taking day, the dolphins and whales did not disappoint.



I included this one because we gave my dad such a hard time when he first visited us in Alaska. We were driving along the stunning Copper River with the mammoth Wrangell Mountains in the backround when Lisa finally yelled at him "Put the bleeping GPS away and look out the window!!! You're missing it all!!!" Well turns out it's hereditary. This is a picture of me looking down at my new GPS while whales are breaching all around me. After Lisa took the picture, I realized my error and put the GPS away for the rest of the tour.

We went straight out to the island of Lana'i and caught up with a school of dolphins who immediately started swimming up next to the boat. It was an awesome 30 minutes or so. I probably took 30 pictures...here are a few of the best.





Just as we were about to turn around and start looking for the whales, we saw something that looked like a whale tail. As we got closer, we realized that it actually was. It was a mother whale hanging out upside down for 10 minutes at a time while her baby nursed (well that was at least the theory). It was pretty amazing.


She would come up for a breath, then go back upside down with her baby at her side. It was pretty strange to see...but sure was easy to take pictures.






After watching this go on for 20 or 30 minutes, we headed back to where most of the whales hang out. Thankfully this came at a good time, cause I was starting to feel a little nauseous from the bobbing up and down. It didn't take long before we started coming across whale after whale hanging out in the mating grounds between the 3 islands of Maui, Lana'i, and Kaho'olawe.









While we saw more than our fair share of whales breaching, we were only able to get baby whales on film. It was easier to get the little fellas cause they would jump over and over like they were either practicing or playing around.

So some of these are zoomed in..some are not. I'll leave it up to you to guess which ones.







This last one, you can see how close the baby was jumping next to her mom.

So just as we start heading in and Lisa and I are about to take our seats on the rear of the boat, a huge whale breached only 100 or so yards behind us. The whale came completely out of the water. It was phenomenal. I was holding the camera in my hand but didn't even try to bring it up and take a picture...partly because I knew I wouldn't have time to get any kind of picture, but mainly because I didn't want to miss a second. It was absolutely breath taking.

I was going to finish off the vacation on this post...just too many pictures left and it's already midnight. So ONE MORE!!! Hopefully I'll get to it one of the next two nights. Hope you are enjoying...we certainly did.

Hawaii Vacation - Part 3

I forgot Lisa took a couple videos while we were in the tunnel part of the aquarium. Definitely our favorite part. What was really great was it allowed me to act like an 8 year old...something I couldn't do if I wasn't holding a toddler.

Vacation in Hawaii - Part 2

Sorry for the delay. The girls have been so sick this past week. Lisa caught it too and has been miserable. Somehow I managed to stay healthy through the whole thing. Finally the last 2 days the girls are doing better and I think Lisa turned the corner yesterday. She still doesn't have a voice and has the occasional coughing fit...but she is feeling better.

So back to the vacation. The first couple of pictures are from the evening of Day 1. There was a grassy area close to our condo overlooking the ocean. The girls had to warm up to the idea but were eventually okay with running in the grass. Actually after a while, they wouldn't stop asking to go run in the grass.


Day 2, we headed back to Lahaina to go to the aquarium. Since the girls were having a hard time outside and they LOVE fish, sharks, whales, and dophins...we figured this would be a great fit. We were right. They LOVED it!

First a quick lunch with another spectacular view of the harbor.


















Here's the first picture up for "picture of the trip". This one is of Alyssa while we were getting ready to go inside.






















Here is the second picture up for "Picture of the Trip". I think Lisa has said it is her favorite. It's definitely one of my top 3.

Back from Hawaii - Part 1

So we're back!! It was an amazing adventure. For the most part, the girls did okay. They had their moments. We joked that we saw elements of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Beginning with the flight down there...we left at 2pm on Saturday. We purchased a third seat and didn't take the car seat on the plane with us. It was the right choice because the girls were all over the place. We definitely needed the extra room for them to stand up and move around. When we traveled over the summer, they weren't too mobile yet and we could tolerate holding one of them at all times...not with this trip. We definitely needed the extra space. We had a stiff tail wind so we got there in 5.5 hours. We took off on a beautiful day in Anchorage and Alyssa LOVED the view. She sat in my lap and looked out the window while signing mountain and saying "wwwooooowww". Too bad, there were only mountains the first 30 minutes of the flight. Eventually, Lisa was able to get both of them to sleep. They stayed asleep for about an hour and a half which was GREAT.

When they woke up, we got out some snacks and kept them entertained by watching their favorite dvds on the laptop.


Before we knew it, we were landing in beautiful Kahului on the island of Maui. It was just before sunset but we would be at the airport way after sunset. Baggage took almost 45 minutes to come out and since every plane seems to land at the same time, there was an enormous line at the rental car place. FINALLY, we had our car with seats installed and drove the last 45 minutes to get to our home for the next 5 days at Kahana Sunset.

The girls were sleeping pretty hard by the time we arrived. We brought the girls in and in a rush to grab all the bags to get the girls their night gear, I dropped my new camera! Yes...I dropped it. It was TERRIBLE!! I quietly shed a tear but there was nothing I could do. Long story short, the camera was fine but the lens was busted. I have yet to find out if I purchased the extended warranty (I seriously can't remember) but as you'll see in tomorrow's segment...all was not lost. In the mean time, I borrowed Lisa's Dads extra lens for some pics the first day or so.

Not to be outdone, after we got the girls to sleep Lisa grabbed a glass of wine and stepped outside on the balcany over looking the ocean and swiftly spilled her wine all over her shirt. I couldn't pass up the chance to document her first night mishap.

Day 1 in Hawaii...MUCH BETTER!! It was an amazing day so after a big breakfast, we dressed the girls in their new Hawaiian outfits. They weren't too fond of them at first but still managed to get a couple of good pics.









We tried to take the girls down to the beach but they wouldn't have it. They didn't like the wind in their hair, the sand, the bright sunlight, the waves, or the grass. We tried and tried but they just wouldn't have it. That would change during the week but our first attempt was pretty sad. So instead we took a little time to soak in the beautiful scenery from the condo.





When it came for naptime, things didn't go well. The girls were exhausted but couldn't settle down in their new cribs. After half an hour of trying, we gave up and took them for a drive. Just so happens it's one of the most beautiful drives I've ever been on.




Here's our car for the week. I reserved a Dodge Charger and for the second time in a year I end up with a fancy station wagon!


So there's part one. That only gets us through day 1 in Maui. I try to be brief but I have 573 pictures to pick through so it's kind of hard. Tomorrow, you'll see our trip to the Aquarium and maybe the whale watching tour.