Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Day 18 of 30 on our 2017 Canadian Maritime Caravan with Yankee RV Tour


On Thursday June 22, 2017 we enjoyed wishing our wagon master, Rod Coe, a very happy birthday. Our two chefs, Charlie & Joel, whipped up a pancake breakfast for Rod’s special day. They were delicious and enjoyed by everyone!









Before we headed out for the day, I wanted to grab some loonies foe the laundry, but I had to wait for the visitor ahead of me to finish her business in the office. I guess I answered the question of why did the chicken cross the road, to get to the office! LOL


There is a lighthouse directly across the street, on an island, from the Alexander Graham Bell Museum. The Kidston Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse, located in the Bras d'Or lakes. The original lighthouse on Kidston Island was built in 1875. The present lighthouse was built in 1912 and the two stood side-by-side for some time. The lighthouse can only be accessed by boat. A ferry is operated during the tourist season.





We visited the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site. It is one of the very few historic sites that has as its primary role the commemoration of man’s inventive accomplishments. Bell had wide-ranging interests and produced a wide body of inventive work, much of it undertaken in Baddeck. Located in Baddeck, the site consists of 10 acres of land, overlooking Baddeck Bay, part of the Bras d’Or Lakes, and Beinn Bhreagh, Bell’s summer home, where much of his scientific work was pursued.

The site provides a center for commemoration and interpretation of Alexander Graham Bell and his associates. It also functions as a center for the study of Bell’s scientific and humanitarian work as illustrated by the artifacts and documents preserved there. By the time of Bell’s arrival in Baddeck, the success of the telephone had freed him from the need to earn a living and, at Beinn Bhreagh, Bell continued his busy routine of experimentation and analysis. His imagination and wide-ranging curiosity led him into scientific experiments in such areas as sound transmission, medicine, aeronautics, marine engineering and space-frame construction. A unique fact is, Alexander Graham Bell’s office had no telephone! See the owl picture, that is a portrait of Bell that his wife Mabel painted ... very interesting story!

Alexander Graham Bell was a communication and transportation pioneer, as well as a teacher, family man and humanitarian. We discovered how Bell and his associates achieved Canada’s first powered flight, produced the world’s fastest boat, designed giant kites and invented the telephone. He really got a raw deal, because he is one of the most influential figures in human history. 




He was the first member of the Telephone Pioneers. I have a rich telephone history in my family, my parents were and my brother is a member of the Telephone Pioneers and they all were employed by the local telephone company

The museum is home to a full-scale replica of the Silver Dart. It was built by Aerial Experiment Association in 2005 in commemoration of the original’s 1909 flight, the first powered, controlled airplane flight in Canada. The replica was flown by a former astronaut Bjarni Tryggvason across Baddeck Bay in February 2009. It now flies high over the full-scale replica of Bell’s HD-4 Hydrofoil.

We learned about some influential members of the Aerial Experiment Association; Casey Baldwin, Douglas McCurdy, Thomas Selfridge and Glenn Curtis. The AEA was founded in 1907. There is a Glenn Curtis museum in Hammondsport, New York. We learned that three of Bell’s planes, the Red Wing, White Wing and the June Bug, flew from Hammondsport, New York. The winds in the area provided the perfect lift for these winged machines. Charlie and I have enjoyed the Glenn Curtis museum.

We enjoyed a lunch in Baddeck at Highwheeler CafĂ© and Bakery. We sat on the open air patio facing the roadway. It offered us a deli type array of foods. Some had salads, soups or sandwiches. 

Nancy and I went for the tuna salad, I added a sweet potato chicken lentil soup. It was delicious and a perfect break before our next stop this afternoon at the Gaelic College.


 
In 1773, the first ship carrying Gaelic settlers reached Nova Scotia. They were leaving behind cultural suppression and a change in economic and social order in Scotland that would come to be known as the “Highland Clearances.” In Gaelic it is called Faudach nan Gaidheal; the eviction of the Gael. They brought with them their language, songs, music and dance styles as well as their stories and traditions.





Songs, music, dance and storytelling have long been important parts of Gaelic society. The word ceilidh, now often used to refer to any concert, actually is Gaelic in origin and truly means a visit but wherever a few Gaels gather, music and songs are sure to be shared.

The Gaelic College began as a school of Gaelic language in a small log cabin overlooking St Ann’s Bay and has since grown into a unique institution. Established in 1938 by a Presbyterian Minister, Reverend AWR MacKenzie. The Gaelic College has gained an international reputation for its contribution towards the promotion and preservation of the culture of the Scottish Highlanders who had settled in Cape Breton.








Upon our arrival to the campus, our tour guide Brittney, entertained us with a Scottish dance with the music provided by her brother’s “mouth music.”








On the campus, we visited the Great Hall of the Clans, which features a walk around exhibit, tracing the history of the Scot, a Pioneer museum and an Art Gallery. 






Many people used the books they had, with the help of Brittney, to find their clan colors. I don’t have any Scottish or Irish in me … so, we enjoyed walking around. I did try to find one for our friends, Bob & Marie … I found one close.


The Gaelic College Gift Shop has a large selection of Celtic gifts, Gaelic language books and tutorials, music books, instruments, tartan clothing, clan items, CDs and more. This year, the college is hosting a Kitchenfest, a celebration of Celtic music and culture, which will take place in venues all over Cape Breton. It is a 10 day festival packed with music and culture, the hardest decision you will have is where to go every day to hear the music and see the culture!





We enjoyed an early evening of fellowship with nature and other caravaneers.

Of course, the sunset and the night sky!

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