Thursday 6/30/2022 - Day 19 of 31 on our 2022 Canadian Maritime #2 Caravan with Yankee RV Tour

Of course, I did get out and get my walk done. Arm of Gold campground is a great place to walk. He has plenty of straight roads, but he also mows a wide path along the lake and the outer edge of the property. I am learning to enjoy my early morning quiet time to reflect.

Our morning stop was 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, we had a demonstration about the kilt and several other presentations about programs and students at the college.

It is first recorded in the 16th century as the great kilt, a full-length garment whose upper half could be worn as a cloak. Although the kilt is most often worn on formal occasions and at Highland games and other sports events, it has also been adapted as an item of informal male clothing, returning to its roots as an everyday garment.

Their kilt-maker Jenni MacLean, was our demonstrator and she is dedicated to making one-of-a-kind kilts, each piece requiring at least 6000 hand-sewn stitches. Along with their seamstress Cindy MacRae, the two work on both custom orders, kilt rentals, and items for sale in the Craft Shop.

We had some immersion in learning the Gaelic language by Colin MacDonald, who is the Gaelic Director at the College. He had us all say a phrase or two and a whole row of our caravanners had Gaelic names, which he shared with each of them.

We were entertained by a fiddler. The Celtic fiddle is one of the most important instruments in the traditional repertoire of Celtic music. The fiddle itself is identical to the violin, however it is played differently in widely varying regional styles.

The fiddler added a dancer, doing traditional Gaelic step dancing. The dancer was no other than Colin MacDonald.

Our classes ended with some Gaelic story telling. Joyce MacDonald is the Director of Library and Archival Services. She shared the stories in Gaelic and then the English translation. The stories were very colorful and interesting. Her Venus Fly Trap shirt dress was a hit with our caravan staff!

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!

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.

After the Galic College, 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.

Notice the triangle shapes in the sidewalk too.

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 dinner at the Black Spoon, which is one of Cape Breton's premier restaurants, located in North Sydney's downtown core.  

The restaurant serves creative Canadian fare in an intimate, contemporary atmosphere.

Locals we spoke to said that reservations are tough to get at the Black Spoon.

        

We started the meal with salads and bread. Our meal selections were chicken fettuccine or haddock. Both were delicious! 

Our dessert was cheesecake! Ohhhh, so very good!

We also enjoyed music by a waitstaff member who is also a local musician!

The fellowship we enjoyed with our friends was awesome! 

We enjoyed an evening of fellowship with other caravaneers.

Of course, the sunset and the night sky just kept getting prettier and prettier!