Alexander Graham Bell Museum to Halifax

The Alexander Graham Bell Museum.

The man himself.

The Silver Dart hanging from the ceiling.

The first flight on the Bras D'or Lake by Baddeck.

The hydrofoil boat, the HD4.

The lighthouse at Baddeck.

Thursday, June 9th.

We woke up to rain. Perfect day for exploring the excellent Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddeck. Here there are wonderful displays of Bell’s life and his interests and scientific pursuits. His father had been interested in helping the deaf and Bell followed in his footsteps. He even married one of his patients. He also met the family of Helen Keller and put them on the path to helping their daughter. Bell chose Baddeck as his summer home in order to escape the throngs of people and the heat of Washington. He lived here with his wife Mabel and his children. He loved the area because it reminded him of his native Scotland. We learned that he immersed himself in flight and hydrofoil boats among other things. Bell forged an alliance with four younger men who together built and flew the first planes in Canadian history and later built the fastest hydrofoil boat. Full scale models of both the plane, the Silver Dart and the boat the HD4 are housed here. Bell was also an early believer in climate change and in 1914 used the term ‘greenhouse effect’ to describe the heating of the earth due to foreign particles in the atmosphere. He also advocated for replacing coal and oil with cleaner forms of energy. He was truly a visionary and great thinker. We spent two hours exploring before leaving Baddeck and driving to Halifax. The rain had let up by then and I decided to drive the longer slower coastal route hoping to see ocean and coastal views and maybe some lighthouses, but it was foggy and a light rain resumed, so not to be. When we got to Halifax the skies opened up and it rained in torrents. We arrived in rush hour and got stuck in traffic crossing the McDonald Bridge from Dartmouth to Halifax and then got lost in the city trying to find a hotel. I made the mistake of driving to the downtown, because of course that is where a GPS takes you, and couldn’t find anywhere reasonable to stay. So, we recrossed the bridge in the pouring rain and found a Comfort Inn in Dartmouth. After settling in, we were hungry. I found a nice restaurant nearby and we drove there. I dropped Shayna off and went to find a parking spot – over a block away. When I returned, I found out that we needed a reservation to eat there. Luckily there were other places to eat right there, and we found a little pasta place and had a nice meal. Then we headed back to the room to type and connect with family.