Fantasy RV Caravan - Day 19

Tuesday, 20 August - Day 19

Today was a travel day, the longest of this 27-day caravan at 249 miles.  Our destination was the Arm of Gold Campground in Little Bras, NS, near North Sydney.  The Arm of Golf campground is the closest campground to the Newfoundland ferry terminal, making it very popular with people going to and from Newfoundland.

The Trip Log described a route that was all highway, so of course, Sprinty put up a fuss.  We elected to deviate from the prescribed route (again) to drive the scenic route (think blue highways) somewhat following the east coast of Nova Scotia for about half the trip.

We were on the road before 8am in part because the scenic route was going to take longer.  The drive was a lot like the drive to Peggy’s Cove yesterday.  Some picturesque moments, but mostly foggy, masking what were likely incredible views.  We enjoyed very light traffic, and Sprinty must have enjoyed it as he returned almost 20mpg for the day.

We rejoined the main route at Antigonish where we had found a Tim Hortons.  As we had been driving for about three hours, it was a good place to take a driving break as Darrell paid up for his golf yesterday.  Kris enjoyed a caramel Iced Capp.

As we were headed out of Antigonish and were in the round-about getting on the freeway, Mike and Patti from our caravan were right behind us.  They too had elected to do the scenic route.  When we got to Port Hastings, we stopped in the Visitor Center and got some information on Cape Breton Island, as well as the Cabot Trail.

We continued up the Trans-Canada Highway to the Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddeck, NS.  It was described as a “must see” in our Trip Log.

What an amazing stop.  We all likely remember Alexander Graham Bell for his invention of the telephone.  His contributions were a whole lot more.  Born in Scotland, his family immigrated to the United States when he was young.  His father developed the visual alphabet for teaching the deaf to speak.  Alexander Graham Bell had great success teaching the deaf to speak using his fathers system.

One of the exhibits in the museum compared his to Thomas Edison.  Thomas Edison was a professional inventor, where as Alexander Graham Bell was an amateur inventor.  He moved to Baddeck, NS so he could pursue his scientific and humanitarian interests free of the formality, distractions and summer heat of Washington.

He became keenly interested in flight.  He experimented with kites and envisioned that they could take a man aloft.  On 30 September 1907, the Aerial Experiment Association (AEA) is formed made up of Alexander Graham Bell, chief advisor, Glenn Curtiss, motorcycle manufacturer, Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge, US Army, J.A. Douglas McCurdy and Casey Baldwin, engineers.  His wife, Mabel Bell, who funded the group with $30,000, was an honorary member.  Their goal is to get into the air.

On July 4, 1908, Glenn Curtiss flew the June Bug flew 5,080 ft (1,550 m) to win the Scientific American Trophy and its $2,500 prize.  This was considered to be the first pre-announced public flight of a heavier-than-air flying machine in America.  The following year, on February 23, 1909, the Silver Dart lifted off the ice in Baddeck Bay and flew 800 meters. This was the first airplane flight in Canada.  For the centennial of this achievement, a group of people built a copy of the Silver Dart from the original plans and flew it on the 100th anniversary.  The copy is housed in the museum.

Alexander Graham Bell was also keenly interested in hydrofoils and conducted many experiments.  One of his hydrofoils set a marine speed record that lasted for 10 years.

A fascinating museum to visit, and a wonderful complement to our visit to the Glenn Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, NY less than five weeks ago.

While at the museum, we saw many of our caravan mates, and when we left, we knew Sprinty would not be the last to arrive in the campground tonight.  After getting Sprinty settled at the campground, we spent some time catching up with our caravan mates.

At 5:30, our Wagonmaster and Tailgunner put on a campground dinner of pulled pork.  After dinner, the Wagonmaster handed out certificates that we had been inducted into the Order of the Good Time, which was founded by Samuel de Champlain in 1606 at Port Royal, making it the oldest social club in North America.

So where is Sprinty tonight.  Near the northern-most tip of Nova Scotia.

After dinner, we got showers and did some laundry.  Mike and Jean, two of our caravan mates from Arizona, invited us over for a get-to-know-you-better visit.  We enjoyed learning more about them and how they got into RVing.  We stayed up talking with them well past our bedtime, so this blog post was postponed.