The Andesite Line
The Andesite Line is the most significant regional distinction in the Pacific Ocean. It separates the deeper, mafic igneous rock of the Central Pacific Basin from the partially submerged continental areas of felsic igneous rock on its margins. The Andesite Line follows the western edge of the islands off California and passes south of the Aleutian arc, along the eastern edge of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Kuril Islands, Japan, the Mariana Islands, the Solomon Islands, and New Zealand. The dissimilarity continues northeastward along the western edge of the Andes Cordillera along South America to Mexico, returning then to the islands off California. Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, New Guinea, and New Zealand (all eastward extensions of the continental blocks of Australia and Asia) lie outside the Andesite Line. Within the closed loop of the Andesite Line are most of the deep troughs, submerged volcanic mountains, and oceanic volcanic islands that characterize the Pacific basin. Here basaltic lavas gently flow out of rifts to build huge dome-shaped volcanic mountains whose eroded summits form island arcs, chains, and clusters. Outside the Andesite Line, volcanism is of the explosive type, and the Pacific Ring of Fire is the world's foremost belt of explosive volcanism.
Labels: 2008, Jan 16
January 16, 2008 (Personal)
Carter gets up every morning at 5:30am to go work out. We, as crew, are allowed to use the gym from 6-7am and then after 10am until late evening. He does better in the morning. I, however, like to eat something before I work out, so I do it before dinner. Then I feel justified to eat a little more.
Well, the gym is a soap opera unto itself. Carter says there is getting to a bit of animosity in the early morning because there is a young couple on board who insist that they are the only ones who should use the elliptical machines in the early morning. (There are only 2 ellipticals.) They will send one of them up at 6 when the gym opens and that person will hold the second machine for the other, until he or she arrives. There are many others who would like to use those machines, so tempers are starting to surface. On top of that, you are only supposed to use it for a max of 25 minutes and they insist on having them for a full hour. Carter feels as though it is just a matter of time until there is an explosion.
My group in the afternoon is a little more eccentric. We have the usual people who plug in their iPods and sing along with their music. It is SO bad, even I can tell they are off. Most of the time I can’t even recognize what they are singing. But then there are those who have never used a gym before, but want the experience. There is one lady with long wavy black hair (obviously a wig), fishnet stockings and a tight fitting above the knee dress, who comes up to use the treadmill. She is rather youthful from the back, but once you look at her arms, you realize she is older. She has a wonderful figure, but it looks a little strange. She never speaks to anyone. I thought she was an entertainer.
Then there was the lady next to me yesterday who looked like she was going out to a formal dinner. She had on a suit, a huge bow in her hair, and a purse that had sequins and feathers all over it. She asked me to help her with the elliptical since she had never been on one. Unbeknownst to me, she had put her purse under the machine, so when I tried to lower the tilt of it, her purse was almost smashed and she started screaming. Well, eventually she started on the machine and was doing fairly well. She was so excited because the calories burned seemed to go up faster than on any other machine. She announced that this was the machine of choice – but then started to complain because she was getting tired too quickly and starting to sweat…..
We have another formal dinner tonight where we are hosting a table. Carter already knows most of the people at the table from Clinic visits and says this one will be a challenge. He thinks he was put at the table on purpose. We shall see
Labels: 2008, Jan 16
January 15, 2008(Personal)
The stairwell right outside our room smells like a blueberry muffin. I have yet to find the source. It is far more desirable than the musty smell of our shower curtain (every ship has a little of that moist smell, it seems).
I went to a culinary class today on making chocolate truffles. That was very interesting, but also disappointing. One of the hooks they use to get you to come to a class is that they serve you whatever the chef is making – at the end of his presentation. There must have been a snafu in the kitchen, because the samples never arrived. Sad!! Oh, well, I would have had to be on the fitness machines even longer had I eaten anything extra. I guess it was a save, rather than a disappointment.
Ed, the man staying in our house, sent me all of the important mail we have received and Carter used up a tree trying to copy it all for us. I spent most of the evening working on straightening out stuff on Mercer Island. It feels as though I have never left……Hopefully the volume of mail and work will diminish was we are away longer. I certainly hope so.
Labels: 2008, Jan 16
January 14, 2008 (Personal)
We have been at sea for several days and it has been amazingly calm. (Knock on wood) It is amazing how you can adjust to almost anything. The fact that we hear the shows 3 times a day is getting less and less apparent. I do still wake up to the curtain being moved up and down, if I have just fallen asleep, but otherwise, I don’t hear much. Carter, of course, sleeps thru everything!
I spent almost one whole day trying to get the laundry done. I think I will have to find a better time. I started at 8am, when they allow the laundry to start, but it was full. I walked up and down those stairs with my bags of laundry at least 10 times before I found the machine available. Then when I went in to change stuff over to the dryer, I found that the entire floor was flooded. That didn’t affect the dryer, but it was just an added irritation.
We continue to have internet problems, but I am worried that I might have something on my computer. Whenever I put in the thumb drive, there is a pop up that asks if I want to renew my alcohol license. It must have popped up 6 times in one day. Weird. Carter wanted to check “Yes” just to see what would happen.
Well, the Captain’s dinner that I alluded to ended up being quite pleasant. There was a huge rectangular table with the captain and his wife in the middle, opposite each other and then Carter and me on the opposite ends of the long side. I could just see him with my glasses on. There were about 14-16 guests and although it started out awkward, it became quite fun. There are the suite people who have traveled on Holland America for over 1000 days. I just tried to remember all of my Southern teachings and asked questions and got them talking. Of course, I was seated between 2 men, but was able to easily speak and hear with several more people down the line.
One of the couples was recently married (must be in their 70’s) and he had a son just like ours. What adventures we could talk about. The other couple next to me had lived a very quiet life in Dallas, very Christian, involved in missionary works in Africa. He was a real estate developer, buying the land and then selling it. He didn’t do the building on the land. They had drawn back right before this bubble burst. There were 2 other couples also involved in real estate. One in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the other in Houston. The one was Houston was worried that they might not have stopped soon enough. Very interesting.
The food was fantastic at the dinner. I had wished Lisa could have been there to sample it. My favorite was a duck in a crispy croissant, with a blackberry and orange sauce and tiny, tiny vegetables. Everything was small, thank goodness, but there seemed to be course after course. The soup was also interesting and most flavorful, a salmon one. I have never been a fan of fish soup, but this was fantastic.
The table decorations were red roses in shallow bowls, swimming among small pieces of what looked like drift wood. I doubt that I have ever noticed table decorations unless they have been pointed out to me, so these were impressive. Then from the ceiling were more of the same, hanging down in a dramatic presentation. The florists are so much fun to follow. They love the exotic flowers they are working with – all the flowers are ordered thru the Holland office, so it always a surprise, as well as a challenge. They have to make it work.
Last night was another cocktail party. We get invited to every one of them and are expected to attend, if only for a shot time. Of course, Carter gets cornered and we stay the entire time. If I were to drink at each of the functions, I would be drunk as a skunk and growing bigger and bigger. I have found that Perrier works fine, and I avoid the appetizers. Last night we ate before we went, which was a great help in decreasing the temptations.
Labels: 2008, Jan 16
