3 Days over the International Date Line!!

We spent 3 days in Western Samoa, on the island of Upolu, while Mr. Runyon had some Coast Guard work! These islands do not belong to the U.S., so that means another stamp in my passport! Also, even though it is a 30 minute flight, we jumped ahead 24 hours!! Pretty crazy! The pictures below show us at the beach in a traditional Samoan "Fale", pronounced "fall-ay", we snorkeled and saw some amazing fish and coral, we checked out some serious waterfalls, went swimming in an ancient, giant, blow hole, went to the home/museum of Robert Louis Stevenson (where he wrote his most famous works "Treasure Island" and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and is buried there, too), and a happy birthday toast to Mr. Runyon, who got to celebrate his birthday two days in a row because we were hopping over the International Date Line! Enjoy the pictures!

A Day at Two Dollar Beach!

A Samoan Boat Ride!!

I hope you all enjoy this post.. it was an amazing opportunity, one that is never usually given to non-samoans!

My Visit with a NOAA Scientist

Two weeks ago I had the privilege of spending a day at the NOAA Observatory, which is only one of four observatories in the world that studies the atmosphere for carbon dioxide levels, ozone levels, and types of greenhouse gases present based on radiation amounts. 
To view the video, you'll have to click the following link to Youtube as this was too large to upload to this blog. 
Runyonfun with NOAA on Youtube click here

This video runs about 14 minutes, so grab a drink, sit back, and I hope you enjoy!

Beauty and Reality

This post speaks for itself...

How to Post Comments, In case you feel like it!

Hello everyone! Although I have been getting great comments from a lot of you, it has been brought to my attention that maybe this isn't as obvious to all about how to post on this website. So here's a play-by-play:
First, click on the link below the post that says "No comments:" (or comments, if someone has left some). Next, inside the box that says "Post a comment", type your comment. You can sign your name with your comment, if you wish, whatever floats your boat. Third, under the comment box is a drop down menu that says "Comment as". Scroll down the list and select "anonymous". Finally, click "Publish". It will then go to me for approval, and once I do, it will show up on the site! Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy! Hope that helps!

Hiking in American Samoa

Hi all! Here is my first attempt to use iMovie to create my own little movie trailer about a beautiful hike Mr. Runyon and I took last week. Along the route of our hike were 7 waterfalls, each leading into the other, but we were only able to hike to the first three. I learned a lot about video taping and using iMovie, so my next movie should be vastly improved. Still, I enjoyed the process, and look forward to using this in the classroom!! I hope you enjoy!

Bats in the Backyard!

Every night we hear the bats in the trees in the backyard, usually screeching and fighting, but these bats are pretty cool!! They are giant fruit bats, and they fly here all the time, not just at night. It's difficult to get video of them flying because they are so erratic, but this time, I caught one just as it landed in my tree right outside my kitchen window. I hope you like it!!

Guess what I did today??

Hello Students and Friends!

Today was very special as a cruise ship was in port for the day, and the Coast Guard had to inspect it, which included watching them put out a mock fire in one of the galleys (kitchen), watching them practice an "Abandon Ship" order from the Captain (including them actually launching 6 of the 12 life boats), and getting to eat lunch on board (my favorite part!!). This cruise ship had never been to an American  port, and that is why the Coast Guard had to inspect it for safety. This ship is not as big as the others that cruise our part of the world, but rather travels from port to port with people who kind of live on board! From here, it was going to Peru! In May, it will go through the Panama Canal, and on up to New York City! Fantastic day!!

Perfect Timing?

As I type this we are officially under a Tsunami watch (means we're keeping on the lookout in the Pacific for a sign of a wave) for the next two hours! Students, I know that you are studying plate tectonics, and I am living in the very heart of it! All of the South Pacific islands lay exactly on the Ring of Fire at convergent boundary zones where the oceanic plates are subducting back into the mantle. Each time is slips back down, it is registered as an earthquake, and because it is underwater at a deep ocean trench, tsunamis are generated. 

I am not worried for American Samoa. We are pretty far, and there are lots of islands between the origin of the quake and us. But still.. what timing!!

Here's a link to the story:
http://www.news.com.au/world/tsunami-warning-after-string-of-earthquakes-off-solomon-islands/story-fndir2ev-1226571643903