Now we’re off to the Pacific off the coast of Ecuador. The Galapagos Islands aren’t really a site that’s ever been on my list despite its wildlife.

Today in history:

• 1953 – The first U.S. experimental 3D-TV broadcast showed an episode of Space Patrol on Los Angeles ABC affiliate KECA-TV. (Betcha didn’t know they had 3D-TV back then, huh? Neither did I! LOL!)

Tonight we have new episodes of Fringe and CSI: NY.

Worked a little way through the current story I’m working on.

Reading: Last night I began reading the very first Charlie Chan book, The House Without a Key by Earl Derr Biggers. I’ve never read any of the Charlie Chan books before and I’m really enjoying it, so far.

So, we’re leaving Arizona and heading off to Bhutan to visit the Taktsang Monastery which is also known as The Tiger’s Nest. It’s perched on a cliffside in the upper Paro Valley. A temple complex was first built there in 1692.

Today in history:

• 1878 – Actor Lionel Barrymore was born. He began his career on the stage, but began making movies around 1911. He’s probably best known for portraying the villainous Henry Potter in It’s a Wonderful Life.

• 1930 – The first night game in organized baseball history took place in Independence, Kansas.

I’ve been glued to the TV watching the weather coverage. We had our own share of tornadoes and especially flooding here in our area, but nothing compared to the poor people in Alabama. Just heartbreaking.

There’s nothing on TV tonight. So I’ll be clearing off some stuff from the DVR.

Did a small amount of reading on one of my own stories.

Reading: I’ve been reading some old children’s mysteries from the 1930s. The Penny Nichols series by Joan Clark which was actually one of the pseudonyms from the Stratemeyer Syndicate.

Today we’re off to Panama and the Kuna Yala Islands. You’ll notice their flag has a swastika on it. No, they’re not Nazis. The swastika is an ancient symbol from their culture which the Nazis hijacked for their own purposes. Tourism is one of their primary incomes.

Today in history:

• 1892 – Charles Duryea claimed to have driven the first automobile in the United States, in Springfield, Massachusetts.

• 1897 – Actress Constance Talmadge was born. Her career ran from 1914 to 1929. Her first big break was in D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance in which she even did her own stunts. She and her sisters Norma & Natalie all retired in 1929 with the advent of the “talkies”.

• 1919 – Leslie Irvin made the first successful voluntary free-fall parachute jump using a new kind of self-contained parachute.

• 1927 – Mae West was sentenced to 10 days in jail for obscenity for her play Sex.

• 1956 – Actress Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier of Monaco.

Tonight on TV, we have the season finale (!!!) of Destination Truth and Top Shot.

Finished reading through the manuscript I was reading. On to the next!

Reading: I’m now reading Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun by Lois Winston which I’m enjoying.

Today we’re off to Costa Rica and the Monteverde Cloud Forest. It’s a tropical rain forest of over a million acres. I know, right? It’s huge!!! There are over 2500 plant species, 100 species of mammals, 400 species of birds, plus lots of reptiles and insects. For more information, visit this site. They have some gorgeous pictures!

Today in history:

• 1908 – Actress Lita Grey was born. She’s probably less known for her acting career than she is for being the second wife of Charlie Chaplin.

• 1923 – Insulin became generally available for use by people with diabetes.

• 1924 – Rand McNally published its first road atlas.

• 1927 – The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, the most destructive river flood in U.S. history, began.

• 1947 – Jackie Robinson debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball’s color line.

• 1955 – McDonald’s restaurant dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois

• 1958 – The Los Angeles Dodgers hosted the first Major League Baseball game played on the West Coast of the United States.

Tonight’s kind of busy on TV. The new Drew Carey show, Ghost Adventures, Fringe, and Sanctuary.

Still reading through this one story of mine.

Reading: And I’m still reading Cutting Loose which, like the rest of this series, is excellent.

Back in the U.S.A.! Grafton, Vermont to be precise. It’s a lovely village in southern Vermont. The population in 2000 was a mere 649. But don’t let that fool you. There’s a lot to see and do in Grafton.

• Visit Grafton Ponds which is an outdoor recreational area with skiing and a tubing hill, plus biking, hiking, canoeing and kayaking.

• There’s a beautiful white steepled church which was built in 1858.

• You can also visit several art galleries, a blacksmith shop, and a stonework company.

• There are three museums (nature, history, and mining).

If I didn’t hate winter so much, I’d want to move there!

Today in history:

• 1892 – Actress Claire Windsor was born. She was often photographed with Charlie Chaplin at the urging of Paramount Pictures which made her a bigger name than her movies had at that point.

• 1912 – The RMS Titanic hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic at 11:40pm. The ship sank the following morning with the loss of 1,517 lives.

• 1927 – The first Volvo debuted in Sweden.

• 1956 – Videotape was first demonstrated In Chicago, Illinois. Bet you didn’t realize it had been around that long, huh? Neither did I. LOL!

The only thing on TV tonight is a new episode of Wipeout.

Read through more of the book I’m currently working on.

Reading: FInished Demon’s Are a Girl’s Best Friend which I loved. Now I’m reading Cutting Loose by Tara Janzen.

Today, we travel to Washington State and the Skagit Valley which is known for its annual tulip festival.

Today in history:

• 1898 – Actress Agnes Ayres was born. She began her career in 1914 and worked through 1937. She’s probably most famous for playing opposite Rudolph Valentino in The Sheik.

• 1906 – Actress Bea Benaderet was born. She’s best known for her roles in Petticoat Junction, The Beverly Hillbillies and as the original voice of Betty Rubble on The Flintstones.

Tonight on TV, a new episode of Castle and some fun shows on NatGeo.

Back in the writing saddle tonight, I hope.

Reading: Finished up A Deadly Cliche and read Sealed with a Kill by Lucy Lawrence. Now I’m reading A Touch of Gold by Joyce and Jim Lavene.

Today, boys and girls, we’re staying in the good old U.S. of A.! Zion National Park is located in the southwestern corner of Utah. And it is, in a word, STUNNING. The park is home to numerous forms of plant life, 289 species of birds, 75 mammals, and 32 reptiles. I love the historic lodges in the park.

Today in history:

• 1918 – Daylight Saving Time went into effect in the United States for the first time. (Boo!!! Hiss!!!)

• 1930 – The Motion Pictures Production Code was instituted, imposing strict guidelines on the treatment of sex, crime, religion and violence in film, in the U.S., for the next thirty eight years. (What a bunch of party poopers!)

The only thing on tonight that I care to see is Wipeout.

Read through more of this other story last night.

Reading: Finished up Millie’s Fling which was funny and adorable. Now I’m reading A Deadly Cliche by Ellery Adams.

Roatán is the largest of the islands off the coast of Honduras. It’s an important cruise ship and scuba diving destination. It’s a gorgeous little island.

Today in history:

• 1886 – Dr. John Pemberton brewed the first batch of Coca-Cola in a backyard in Atlanta, Georgia.

• 1889 – Actor Warner Baxter was born. He is probably best known for his role as the Cisco Kid in 1929′s In Old Arizona for which he won the second ever Academy Award for Best Actor. One of the notable silent movies he made was The Great Gatsby which is one of many lost films from that era.

• 1905 – Actor Philip Ahn was born. He was the first Asian-American to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

• 1908 – Actor Dennis O’Keefe was born.

• 1911 – The M1911 .45 ACP pistol became the official U.S. Army side arm.

Tonight on TV, we have new episodes of NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, Destination Truth, Top Shot and the new show Body of Proof.

Keyed in three pages last night.

Reading: Finished up Howl’s Moving Castle and now I’m back to reading Millie’s Fling.

Today we travel to Namibia to see Sossusvlei which looks like a vast reddish sand dune but is actually made from salt and clay. It’s a desolate area but oddly beautiful in its own way.

Today in history:

• 1887 – Actor/comedian Chico Marx was born. He was the one with the Italian accent and the funny hat.

• 1912 – Actor Karl Malden was born. He’s best known for his TV role on The Streets of San Francisco. He was also known for his American Express commercials.

• 1923 – The first radio broadcast of ice hockey was made by Foster Hewitt.

Tonight’s a busy night on TV, for a change. New episodes of NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, Destination Truth and Top Shot.

Keyed in three pages last night.

Reading: Aaaaaaaand I’m still reading Master of the Cauldron. *g*

Today, we travel to The Blue Mountains in Jamaica. They are, in a word, gorgeous. If you’re a coffee drinker, you’ve probably heard of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee. There are many coffee plantations in the area. The highest point is Blue Mountain Peak (really original name *g*) which rises to an elevation of 7402 feet. You’ll find lots of exotic plants and butterflies there.

Today in history:

• 1880 – Actor/writer/director/producer Broncho Billy Anderson was born. Yes, I know it should be spelled “Bronco” but apparently Billy did not. *g* He was the first star of movie westerns.

• 1913 – Over 360 were killed and 20,000 homes destroyed in the Great Dayton Flood in Dayton, Ohio.

• 1928 – Charles Lindbergh was presented with the Medal of Honor for the first solo trans-Atlantic flight.

• 1952 – Alan Freed held the Moondog Coronation Ball, the first rock and roll concert, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Tonight on TV, we finally have some new things to watch. New episodes of Chuck, Hawaii Five-O and Castle *whoo* It’s also the return of Dancing with the Stars but I find I have zero interest and it’s so much work doing the reports.

Time to get back to writing tonight. Hope my hands cooperate.

Reading: Still reading Master of the Cauldron. It’s good but VERY long.