I started this blog seven years ago! Can you believe it? I can’t. LOL! 
On the virtual traveling front, I can’t seem to get excited about the offerings on my calendar. I need to work up some of my own locations. In the meantime….
Today in history:
- 1900 – Hawaii became a territory of the United States.
- 1900 – Casey Jones died in a train wreck in Vaughn, Mississippi, while trying to make up time on the Cannonball Express. Yes, boys and girls, Casey Jones was a real person, not just somebody in a song.
- 1904 – The Louisiana Purchase Exposition World’s Fair opened in St. Louis, Missouri. This is the world’s fair in the movie Meet Me In St Louis. Now I have that song stuck in my head.
- 1925 – Automaker Dodge Brothers, Inc was sold to investment bankers Dillon, Read & Company for $146 million plus $50 million for charity. You wouldn’t see any company being sold today for a donation to charity!
- 1927 – The Federal Industrial Institute for Women opened in Alderson, West Virginia. It was the first women’s federal prison in the United States.
- 1927 – Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford became the first celebrities to leave their footprints in concrete at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood. A tradition that continues to this day.
- 1938 – The animated cartoon short Porky’s Hare Hunt debuted in movie theaters. It introduced a prototype of Bugs Bunny, named Happy Rabbit.
- 1939 – The 1939-40 New York World’s Fair opened.
- 1939 – NBC inaugurated its regularly scheduled television service in New York City by broadcasting President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s N.Y. World’s Fair opening day ceremonial address. Yes, television in 1939!
On TV tonight: Eureka, Castle, and Hawaii Five-O
Reading: I’m still reading the Lord Peter Wimsey books. I’m now to Thrones, Dominations by Dorothy L. Sayers & Jill Paton Walsh.
On Route 66. This isn’t off my calendar. I haven’t been thrilled with the locations it’s been giving me, so I decided to pick my own place. Though Route 66 covers a lot of territory. The highway starts in Chicago and runs all the way across the country and ends in Santa Monica, California. It was begun in 1926 and closed in 1985, though you can still drive portions of the road. Some of the sites along the way:
Today in history:
- 1906 – An earthquake and fire destroyed a good portion of San Francisco, California.
- 1912 – The Cunard liner RMS Carpathia delivered 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic to New York City.
- 1923 – Yankee Stadium opened for the first time.
- 1924 – Simon & Schuster published the first crossword puzzle book.
- 1930 – BBC Radio announced there was no news on that day.
Shouldn’t they have done that the other day when that scientist said it was the dullest day in history?
On TV tonight: Just Ghost Hunters.
Reading: Now I’m re-reading Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers.
No, we’re not going on a Beatles road trip. I’m going to chat about some of the abbeys in the United Kingdom.
- Tintern Abbey was founded in 1131 in Wales. The architecture of the ruins spans 400 years.
- Woburn Abbey is now the country house of the Duke of Bedford and the home of the Woburn Safari Park. The abbey itself was founded in 1145. It became the seat of the Dukes of Bedford in 1547.
- Combermere Abbey is a former monastery in Cheshire, England. No word if the cats in Cheshire actually grin.
The abbey was given to Sir George Cotton in 1538. His family retained it until 1919. It is now run as an organic dairy farm.
- Buckland Abbey was founded in 1278. In 1541, Henry VIII sold Buckland to Sir Richard Grenville who, along with his son, converted it into a house. The house is now a museum run by the National Trust.
- Fountains Abbey was founded in 1132. It’s one of the largest monasteries in England. And also one of the best-preserved. Yes, I know it’s in ruins but they’re really spectacular ruins!
Today in history:
- 1881 – In Dodge City, Kansas, Bat Masterson fought his last gun battle. No, he wasn’t killed in it. He didn’t die until 1921.
- 1889 – Silent film legend Charlie Chaplin was born. I don’t think he needs any further introduction.
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- 1907 – Canadian inventor Joseph-Armand Bombadier was born. Why am I including him, you ask? He invented the snowmobile!
- 1908 – Natural Bridges National Monument was established in Utah. We should visit there sometime!
- 1912 – Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel.
- 1915 – Actress Joan Alexander was born. She’s best remembered as Lois Lane on the radio version of The Adventures of Superman.
- 1817 – Actor Barry Nelson was born. Little known fact to most people, he was the first actor, and only American, to portray James Bond. He played Bond in a 1954 TV adaptation of Casino Royale.
On TV tonight: the return of Eureka!!!!! (Too bad it’s their final season.) We also have a new episode of Castle.
Reading: Currently re-reading Have His Carcase by Dorothy L. Sayers.
