A little bit of this and a little bit of that

Baddeck, Canada

I awoke to overcast skies today so it seemed like a good day to visit the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site of Canada. The museum uses artifacts, films and programs showing how Bell and his team achieved Canada’s first powered flight which happened in Baddeck in 1909.     The site is run by Parks Canada and it primarily tells the story of the adventures of Alexander Graham Bell in the Canadian context. We all recognize Bell for his work on the telephone, but he had a whole lifetime of inventing and one of his primary passions was teaching the deaf which he inherited from his father. His wife, Mabel, deaf at the age of 5, was once a student and she became one of the most influential people in his life as well as a financial backer of his projects. Her father became the first president of Bell Telephone Company. Bell moved his family to Baddeck for health reasons, and built a huge home there on the hills overlooking Bras d”or Lakes, originally as a summer home, but it became an important part of their lives and they are both buried there. The Silver Dart, a replica of which is on display in the museum, was the first powered plane to be flown in Canada in 1909. It was first built in Hammondsport, NY and flew there in the summer of 1908 but it was then disassembled and moved up to Baddeck and was flown in the winter of 1909.    While I was at the museum, a class of students was being instructed on the art of kite-making as Bell used a lot of kites to prove various hypothesis regarding flight. I saw them outside afterward trying them out.     After a quick bite I then headed to Iona, a short drive and cable ferry ride south of Baddeck. It is the location of the Highland Village, a part of the Nova Scotia museum system. The village is a group of historical buildings moved to this site from around the highlands of Cape Breton, to tell the story of the Highland and island Scots migration to Nova Scotia. Various buildings span the time from 1770s – 1920s and there are “first person animators” (i.e. students and others dressed in period costume) who greet you in Gaelic and tell you about their experiences living in these times, their reason for the migration to Nova Scotia and then for many on to Boston and other parts of the eastern seaboard. This and other projects are hoping to ensure that Gaelic identity continues to be embraced, nurtured and celebrated in Nova Scotia. By the way, the signs in Cape Breton are written in both English and Gaelic. I chose a picture of this sign to post because we have some McKinnons in our genetic pool. I picked up a CD by Natalie and Buddy MacMaster of music from Cape Breton at the gift shop.    By this point it had started to rain, so I decided a nap was in order. During the 30 minutes of my nap I had 3 new neighbours when I emerged! It must be Friday! And since it was Friday I decided I deserved a night on the town, well, at least a dinner in a pub at the Inverary Inn. I had a great Chicken Caesar Salad, glass of wine and great conversation with the bartender and the proprietor. Everyone was excited for the first wedding of the season which is tomorrow. Apparently this is a big destination wedding location and there are at least one or two weddings every weekend. I had heard that there would be live music at the Yacht Club Friday night and so off I went in seek of that experience. I found not only the Yacht Club, some local music, but some new friends. I chatted at the bar with a lovely woman trying hard to get the bartender’s attention to get a drink and she ended up inviting me to join she and her companion who are on a bus tour from Halifax. Ingrid from northern Indiana, travelling with her mother and Maureen, a nurse from Massachusetts, were on the last couple of days of their tour. We also got talking to a couple of locals who were really enjoying the music. Great end to a great day.