Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site of Canada

We visited the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site at the east end of Baddeck. The entrance fee for seniors was $6.55 each.

The museum is divided into several exhibit areas. The first one we saw was "Sound & Silence" which tells of his life from birth in Scotland in 1847 up to his arrival in Baddeck in 1885. Bell's mother was deaf and his father taught the deaf to speak. Mabel Hubbard Bell developed scarlet fever at the age of five and spread to her inner ears and she became totally deaf. We learned of Alexander Graham Bell's work teaching deaf people and saw photos of him with Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan.

From Alexander Graham Bell Museum

Our next stop was to the Mr. Bell theater where we watched an 18 minute showing films, photographs and artifacts to see the ideas that led Bell to create man-carrying kites, airplanes and a marine record-setting hydrofoil boat.

We then went into the "Water" exhibit which tells the story of Bell's and Casey Baldwin's experiments with hydrofoil craft. There we saw the remains of the successful HD-4 hydrofoil. There was also a full-size recreation of the hydrofoil. On September 9, 1919 his hydrofoil boat HD-4 (his fourth hydrofoil boat) set a world's marine speed record of 70.86 mph - the record stood for 10 years.

From Alexander Graham Bell Museum

Our next stop was at the "Air" exhibit told of Bell's work with man-carrying kites and airplanes. We saw some original parts from his "Silver Dart" airplane. On February 23, 1909 his "Silver Dart" made the first controlled, powered flight in Canada and the British Empire. It's engine was supplied by Glenn Curtiss. The "Silver Dart' crashed on its fifth flight and never flew again.

In the "Ideas" exhibit we saw the wide range of experiments and interest of Bell and his associates. Bell was fascinated with tetrahedral shapes and used them as the basis for his kites. He used the design for his beach cabana which was on the grounds of the museum.

From Alexander Graham Bell Museum

In the "Home" exhibit we learned the story of Bell's estate, Beinn Bhreagh; it means "beautiful mountain" in Scottish Gaelic. We saw photos of Bell and his family. We learned of their family life while living in Baddeck. The Bell home is still in possession of the Bell family and is maintained as a private residence. Alexander Graham Bell died August 2, 1922 at his home in Baddeck. Mabel Hubbard Bell was born November 25, 1857 (10 years younger than Bell) and died at home in Baddeck on January 3, 1923. They are both buried at Beinn Bhreagh.

From Alexander Graham Bell Museum

June 23

Today we went into Baddeck to the library to wifi. We caught up on our e-mails, did some online banking and researched some areas we'll be visiting.

In addition to the great view out the library's picture window, the Baddeck library also has some antique items on display in the reading room.

From Baddeck, NS

After returning to the RV I loaded up our laundry and drove up the hill to the laundromat. They have 4 washers - 3 washers that cost $2 (hot water) & 1 for $1.75 (cold water). The 4 dryers cost 75¢ for 20 minute cycles. It took 3-4 cycles to get our bath towels dry. The laundry was clean and all the machines did work. The laundry is housed in the same building as the showers and baths and they were also clean.

In the photo below you can see the building housing the laundry and showers in the background with the playground next to it.

From Baddeck, NS

The Cabot Trail

We were up early this morning and treated ourselves to breakfast at the Red Barn Restaurant  which is owned by Adventures East Campground and is only about 1 minute down Hwy-105 from the campground entrance. We practically had the restaurant to ourselves except for another couple having an early Sunday breakfast.

Before heading out on the Cabot Trail drive, we went back to the RV to pack a picnic lunch and pick up Tinker. The Cabot Trail is named after the explorer John Cabot who landed at Aspy Bay in 1497.

There are 2 different theories on the best way to drive the Cabot Trail. Some say to go north through Baddeck and drive around the island (counterclockwise) with the coast on the passenger side where you have a good view of the change in the landscape. Others say to start at the Red Barn Restaurant (which is at southern entrance) and travel around the island (clockwise) with the coast on the driver's side with a view of the changing coastline. We opted  to drive the Cabot Trail in the clockwise direction.

We drove inland to Margaree Forks and then followed the Margaree River to Margaree Harbour and crossed the bridge to Belle Côte. We followed the coast up to Cap Le Moine.

From The Cabot Trail

We drove through the scenic villages of Grand Étang, Chéticamp, and Petit Étang where we entered Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

From The Cabot Trail

From The Cabot Trail

We drove inland through the Highlands to the eastern coast and stopped for a picnic lunch at Black Brook Beach.

From The Cabot Trail

After lunch we continued south going through the villages of Ingonish, Ingonish Beach, Wreck Cove, St. Ann's Bay and back into Baddeck. This is truly a beautiful drive and the weather couldn't have been better for our drive. The total distance around the Cabot Trail was 289 kilometers, or 179 miles.

June 21

We drove into Baddeck today to go to the Baddeck Library to wifi. Baddeck is a picturesque village on Bras d'Or Lake. We stopped at the Baddeck Visitor Center to get brochures on the area.

Baddeck was home to Alexander Graham Bell for many years and The Cabot Trail, a scenic drive, which follows the coast around the northern part of Cape Breton Island. The Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site of Canada and The Cabot Trail are on our list of sites to see while we're here.

After stopping to shop at a couple of gift shops, we went on to the Baddeck Library. The view from the library's windows have to be the best we've seen to date.

From Baddeck, NS

After leaving the library we stopped at the Victoria Farmers Co-op for groceries. On the way back to the campground we stopped at an Ultramar gas station to fill the tank in the Vue. We bought 19.3 liters of gas for $1.466 a liter. After converting into U.S. figures it works out to 5.1 gallons for $5.549 a gallon - Ouch!

When we got back to the RV we found out we had some new neighbors next to us in a Dutch Star. After dinner we got together and build a campfire and swapped travel stories.

From Baddeck, NS

One subject was the border crossing into Canada. We told them that after answering the standard questions, we were on our way into Canada. It was a different story when they crossed the border. There were 2 new Canadian Customs Officers who wanted to practice searching a RV and they were the lucky couple!

After about 2-3 hours of emptying the compartments and cabinets and searching everywhere and putting everything back, they were on their way into Canada. They did say that the Customs Officers were very polite and had explained that the only reason they were being searched was for training and practice. I guess it's all in your timing when you cross the border - that is one reason we were up early the morning and crossed into New Brunswick so early. We wanted to allow extra time just in case we were searched.

Glen Margaret to Baddeck, Nova Scotia

We left Wayside RV Park this morning around 9:00 to go up to Cape Breton Island. We drove back up to Hwy-102 to Hwy-104 and took it east. We found a place to pull off the highway near Westville to fix lunch. We crossed the Strait of Canso on to Cape Breton Island where Hwy-104 changed to Hwy-105. We arrived here at Adventures East Campground in mid-afternoon - it was 236 miles from Glen Margaret to the campground here.

We're staying here at Adventures East Campground which is a Coast to Coast campground. We are on site #25 which is a back-in site. We have full hookups (30 amp), but no satellite TV reception. We've tried placing our portable satellite dish in several spots - still no reception. We'll be here for a week, so we can watch some of the movie DVDs we have. We usually buy the movies and then wait to watch them when we're in an area where we have no sat reception.

From Baddeck, NS

Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and Halifax Citadel

We left early this morning to drive into Halifax to visit the Maritime Museum and the Halifax Citadel. We took Hwy 333 south to Peggy’s Cove and continued on Hwy 333 as it wound around the different bays and coves before it turned inland and took us into the city of Halifax.
We found a place to park just off of Sackville Street. We stopped at a Visitor Center a couple of blocks away to get information on the Maritime Museum and the Citadel. We walked on down Sackville St. to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

From Halifax

At the Maritime Museum we paid for our senior tickets ($7.75 each) and started looking at the exhibits. On the first floor we saw the Small Craft Gallery, Model Ship builders, Navy Gallery, Convoy Gallery, Lifesaving Exhibit and the Halifax Explosion.

We entered a small theater and watched a slide presentation of the Halifax Explosion. On December 6, 1917 the French ship Mont-Blanc (loaded with 2,300 tons of wet and dry picric acid, 200 tons of TNT, 10 tons of gun cotton and 35 tons of benzol) was struck by the Norwegian vessel Imo and a fire broke out on the Mont-Blanc. Fearing an immediate explosion, the crew abandoned ship and the ship eventually drifted to the north end of Halifax where it exploded. Over 1600 homes were destroyed, 12,000 homes damaged and 6,000 people were left homeless. Over 1900 people died and over 4,000 people were injured. This was the largest man-made explosion before the atomic age.

We then went up to the second floor to see the Age of Steam, Shipwreck Treasures, Days of Sail and the Titanic exhibits. In the Titanic exhibit we saw pieces of carved panels, shoes of an unknown child, and the only intact deck chair.

From Halifax

We then walked back up the hill to where we had parked the car and drove up Sackville Street to the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site. The Halifax Citadel is part of the Halifax Defense Complex and consists of the Citadel, York Redoubt, Prince of Wales Tower, Georges Island and Fort McNab that the British built in the 18th and 19th centuries. The current Citadel, completed in 1856, is the 4th fort built on the hill since 1749.

From Halifax

We paid $3.25 to park at the Citadel and $10.50 each for senior tickets to enter the fort. Since it was lunch time, we located the Coffee Shop inside the Cavalier Building where we bought a couple of sandwiches. We found an empty table and had a very good lunch. Then we started on our tour of the Citadel.

Out on the parade grounds some of the 78th Highlanders were practicing marching in formation. We saw the soldiers’ barracks, guard room, Citadels exhibit, and Army museum before walking around the upper walls.

From Halifax

From the upper walls we had a terrific view of Halifax and Halifax harbor. While we were on the upper walls a fog started moving in from the Atlantic Ocean toward Halifax.

From Halifax

We had a great time visiting this fort and learning about the history of Halifax. The photo below is one of our favorites and we just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

From Halifax

Peggy's Cove Drive

Today we drove south on Hwy-333, also known as the Lighthouse Route, to Peggy's Cove. The Lighthouse Route follows the scenic shoreline along St. Margaret's Bay. This is a rugged and barren coastline made up of large granite boulders.


About a mile north of Peggy's Cove we saw a sign for the Swissair Flight 111 Memorial. We pulled into the parking lot and took the path out to the memorial.

From Nova Scotia

Swissair Flight 111 departed JFK Airport in New York City enroute to Geneva, Switzerland on September 2, 1998 with 215 passengers, 2 pilots and 12 flight attendants. Swissair Flight 111 was known as the "U.N. shuttle" because of its popularity with U.N. officials. About 2 hours after takeoff, the crew first noticed an odor in the cockpit and eventually started seeing smoke. The pilot reported an urgent problem and was routed to Halifax airport. About 14 minutes later the pilot reported an emergency and 7 minutes after that Flight 111 crashed into the ocean. This is one of two memorials for Flight 111 - the other one is across St. Margaret's Bay at Bayswater.


After visiting the memorial we continued on into Peggy's Cove. Peggy's Cove was founded in 1811 when a land grant was issued to six families of German descent. There are several theories regarding the origin of the name for Peggy's Cove. Some say it's named after St. Margaret's Bay (Peggy being a nickname for Margaret). Some people say Peggy was an early settler and others say Peggy was a young shipwreck survivor with no memory of her earlier life and was given the name Peggy by the family who took her in.

From Nova Scotia

Peggy's Point Lighthouse is one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world. The original lighthouse was erected in 1868 to mark the point of land, not the cove. The current lighthouse dates to 1915. In 1969 the lantern was painted red and in 1990 an electric lantern was installed. It is still an active lighthouse and has a small Canada Post office in the lower lever. During the summer months it is the village post office where visitors can send postcard and letters. Each piece of mail is stamped with a special cancellation mark in the shape of the lighthouse.

From Nova Scotia