We’re off to South Africa to visit their highest mountain range, the Drakensbergs. Drakensberg is Dutch for “dragon”. The mountains have various types of grass and shrubs. Animal life includes birds, several different types of antelope, frogs, and fish. On the lower slopes, you’ll find rhinos, wildebeests, antelope, and reptiles. There are caves with bushmen cave drawings which sound pretty cool.
Today in history:
- 1954 – Computer programmer William Tunstall-Pedoe calculated this day to be the most objectively dull day since 1900. I only included this because it made me laugh. He might change his mind if he’d shared some of my days.
On TV tonight: Ghost Hunters and Top Guns
Reading: Now re-reading The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers
I’ve never really considered a trip to Brazil, but this particular Brazilian archipelago is pretty cool-looking. Fernando de Noronha lies about 200 miles off the coast of Brazil. The islands are actually what you can see of an underwater mountain range. It has lovely beaches and scuba diving opportunities. And the towering mountains are pretty cool to see.
Today in history:
- 1898 – Actor/singer Paul Robeson was born.
- 1901 – Actor Paul Willis was born. He was one of the best known child actors of the silent era.
- 1903 – Actor Ward Bond was born. He’s probably best remembered for his role in the TV series Wagon Train.
- 1939 – Opera singer Marian Anderson sang at the Lincoln Memorial, after she was denied the right to sing at the Daughters of the American Revolution’s Constitution Hall. For the sin of being black.
Not the DAR’s finest moment.
On TV tonight: Hawaii Five-O and a Titanic special on NatGeo
Reading: I’m currently re-reading Unnatural Death by Dorothy L Sayers which is the third Lord Peter Wimsey book.
We’re off to Mexico (thankfully, only virtually) to visit the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza. Chichen Itza was one of the largest Maya cities. The ruins are federal property and is run by the National Institute of Anthropology and History. An estimated 1.2 million tourists a year visit.
Today in history:
- 1910 – Henri Fabre became the first person to fly a seaplane.
- 1920 – Actress Mary Pickford married actor Douglas Fairbanks. She’d been divorced from her first husband just three weeks before.
On TV tonight: Ghost Hunters International, Psych, and Top Guns
Reading: Back to reading children’s mysteries. 
