Bras d’ Or Lake

Yes! You can take Airstreams onto a ferry:

2017-08-11 PEI Ferry 02

Our tin cans are packed into a bigger tin can like sardines!

We are traveling from Caribou, NS, to Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island. This will be the final campground location on the caravan…

We left the campground in Baddeck, along the shores of Bras d’ Or Lake, at about 6:00 am, to catch the 8:30 am ferry. We found a few other folks who had the same idea:

2017-08-11 PEI Ferry 05

Soon the ferry arrived:

2017-08-11 PEI Ferry 08

When the ferry arrived, and had discharged its load of cars and trucks, it started loading for the trip back to PEI. Cars first. Cars, cars, and more cars went into the ferry. When all the cars were on board, they started loading trucks, and more trucks. Then trailers, including about 10 Airstreams. The ferry seemed “bottomless” – it just kept loading in more vehicles. Once on board, it looked like this:

2017-08-11 PEI Ferry 04

2017-08-11 PEI Ferry 03

Once on board we found that there is a lower deck where all the cars were parked; trailers and trucks filled the main level. Upstairs were lounges, a cafeteria, and outdoor areas to experience the fresh air.

It was a fun ferry ride. We had breakfast in the cafeteria, watched the opposite ferry pass by, and enjoyed time with friends.

2017-08-11 PEI Ferry 07

2017-08-11 PEI Ferry 06

When the ferry landed at Wood Islands, PEI, we were one of the first off. We had researched the area before hand, and we knew there was a Visitors Center where we could gather information on the island. Others had the same idea… (Maybe because there is a Provincial liquor store there as well…):

2017-08-11 Visitors Center

Our campground is on the northern end of PEI, just north of Charlottetown; Wood Islands in on the south end. However, we were too early to arrive at the campground, lest we annoy the parking crew. So we just headed south, not knowing (and not caring) where we were going; it was beautiful!

2017-08-11 Rosignol Winery 03

And when you wander around an unknown area, pulling your Airstream trailer, this is what you find:

2017-08-11 Rosignol Winery 05

We found a winery! Rossignol Winery… Of course, it was a beautiful place, right on the ocean:

2017-08-11 Rosignol Winery 07

2017-08-11 Rosignol Winery 04

We parked the rig and went inside to taste what we could taste:

2017-08-11 Rosignol Winery 02

We only tasted the wines made from grapes; it wasn’t bad. We also tasted their Creme d’ Cassis, a black current wine (or liqueur) ; it was great! We bought a few bottles to supplement our “cellar”. We also admired the various sand sculptures on the property:

2017-08-11 Rosignol Winery 06

Moving on, we continued around the southern end of the island. We finally stopped for lunch in the town of Montague; Windows on the Water was a delightful spot to enjoy the early afternoon.

2017-08-11 Montague 01

The town of Montague is located on the water, and once was a lively port city…

2017-08-11 Montague 02

After killing enough time, we headed north towards Charlottetown, and to our campground a few miles north of there. We settled in and readied ourselves for happy hours…

That evening, we joined two other California caravanners – Larry and Kathy plus Phil and Donna – in a bizarre game called Joker. It is an Airstream tradition. It is basically Parcheesi, but playing cards are used in lieu of a spinner or dice, making it even quirkier. Since I despise games of chance, I try to avoid Joker at all costs, but Larry and Kathy had done us many favors, so Lynda volunteered us to play with them…

Boys won. I pulled the winning card. An enjoyable time was had by all.

Today we learned about Alexander Graham Bell and his life in the town of Baddeck.

2017-08-08 Baddeck Alex Bell Museum 04

We visited the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site in Baddeck, which commemorates the genius and compassion of renowned inventor Alexander Graham Bell. Exhibits here show how he and his associates achieved Canada’s first powered flight with their airplane Silver Dart, produced the world’s fastest boat, advanced recording technology, designed giant kites and, of course, invented the telephone. Original artifacts, films, and family photographs highlight his scientific and humanitarian work. Situated adjacent to downtown Baddeck, with a superb view of the Bras d’Or Lake, the Site overlooks Bell’s summer home, Beinn Bhreagh, still privately owned by his descendants.

Alexander Graham Bell (March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born scientist, inventor, engineer, and innovator who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone.

Bell’s father, grandfather, and brother had all been associated with work on elocution and speech and both his mother and wife were deaf, profoundly influencing Bell’s life’s work. His research on hearing and speech further led him to experiment with hearing devices which eventually culminated in Bell being awarded the first U.S. patent for the telephone in 1876. Bell considered his most famous invention an intrusion on his real work as a scientist and refused to have a telephone in his study.

Many other inventions marked Bell’s later life, including groundbreaking work in optical telecommunications, hydrofoils, and aeronautics. Although Bell was not one of the 33 founders of the National Geographic Society, he had a strong influence on the magazine while serving as the second president from January 7, 1898, until 1903.

After he gained wealth and fame through the invention of the telephone, Bell and his wife lived in Washington, D.C. In 1885 the Bells vacationed on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, spending time right here in the small village of Baddeck. Returning in 1886, Bell started building a summer retreat on a point across from Baddeck, overlooking Bras d’Or Lake. By 1889, a large house, christened The Lodge was completed and two years later, a larger complex of buildings, including a new laboratory, were begun that the Bells would name Beinn Bhreagh (Gaelic: beautiful mountain) after Bell’s ancestral Scottish highlands. Bell also built the Bell Boatyard on the estate, employing up to 40 people building experimental craft as well as wartime lifeboats and workboats for the Royal Canadian Navy and pleasure craft for the Bell family. He was an enthusiastic boater, and Bell and his family sailed or rowed a long series of vessels on Bras d’Or Lake.

Until the end of his life, Bell and his family would alternate between their two homes, but Beinn Bhreagh would, over the next 30 years, become more than a summer home as Bell became so absorbed in his experiments that his annual stays lengthened. Both Bell and his wife became immersed in the Baddeck community and were accepted by the villagers as “one of their own”. The Bells were still in residence at Beinn Bhreagh when the Halifax Explosion occurred on December 6, 1917 (see my blog dated 8/1/17). Bell and his wife mobilized the community to help victims in Halifax.

I had read a lot as a child about Alexander Graham Bell, but most of the books I read stopped at the invention of the telephone. Today we learned about the hydrofoil boats and airplanes he was working on throughout his life. He loved triangles and tetrahedrons, so these are represented in the architecture of the Museum.

2017-08-08 Baddeck Alex Bell Museum 05

2017-08-08 Baddeck Alex Bell Museum 02

After we finished enjoying the museum we drove a few miles south to the Royal Cape Breton Gaelic College (in Scottish Gaelic: Colaisde Rìoghail na Gàidhlig). It is a non-profit educational institution located in the community of St. Ann’s, along the Cabot Trail. Founded in 1938, its focus has been on the perpetuation of Highland Scottish Gaelic culture.

We went for a lunch time ceilidh (pronounced,”Kalie”). A ceilidh is a social event at which there is Scottish or Irish folk music and singing, traditional dancing, and storytelling. The college also has lots of public programs; Lynda spent time learning about the Gaelic language. I considered sticking needles in my eyes to avoid going to this presentation, but instead I escaped to the exhibit hall and spent time learning of the Gaelic culture and history. Then on to lunch and the ceilidh. (By the way, if anyone reading this is considering naming their precious baby girl Ceilidh, be aware that once she is in school she will be forever known as “See-Lid”…)

We enjoyed the music. It was similar to what we heard at the Louisbourg Playhouse and still a lot of fun.

2017-08-08 Gailic College Ceilidh 02

2017-08-08 Gailic College Ceilidh 01

This evening, back at the campground, it started raining. And raining hard. Some of the caravanners gathered in the Rec Room for games. Several folks played Mexican Train dominoes; I joined in a rousing game of Spoons, except that we didn’t have spoons, only knives… Hilarity (and torn table clothes and other things) ensued…

2017-08-08 Baddeck Game Night 01

An enjoyable time was had by all…

Adventures in the Villa

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2017-08-11 Nor by Nor’east Caravan – Airstreams on the Ferry!

2017-08-10 Nor by Nor’east Caravan – More Lobster!

2017-08-08 Nor by Nor’east Caravan – Alexander Graham Bell and the Gaelic College

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