We arrived in Louisbourgh to the cold and damp and from what we learned that is a typical day there. We called the fortress and tried to reserve a wheel chair for June but they don't have any. They are trying to maintain a late 1700's atmosphere and authenticity so the buildings aren't wheel chair "friendly". What a load of crap. Kelly went up to the fort by himself and spent 3 hours wandering around. I took a guided tour of what a soldiers life was like in 1760's and it was informative. He fired his flint lock rifle and showed us around the main building and some of the minor buildings.
Lots of noise and smoke.
A soldier could fire as many as 4 bullets a minute and he carried enough powder and wadding for 9 bullets. Hope the other guys give up quickly. The fortress was completely rebuilt from the foundations up. They have restored only about 1/5 of the original settlement and that only cost us tax payers 42 million dollars.
From the original plans.
Back side of the Gouverneur's Building
Entrance arch at the foot of the main street
One of the buildings I went into was the "Captain of the Guard's" house. They showed us into the family kitchen and to see "The Captain's Wife". The actress told us about the social events that she must plan and how the king wore lace on all his clothes so to increase your stature in the the community you were judged on your ability to make lace.
Making Lace
The next day we left Louisbourgh and Kelly made arrangements with the commissionaires so he could drive June around the fortress so she could see some of it as well.
If you ever find yourself in Baddeck Nova Scotia you must go to the Alexander Graham Bell museum."The Oracle" to us phone guys. This guy was the real deal. He fought for years in court for his patents on what would become the phone but that is just a drop in the bucket of one very interesting guy. He started out working with the deaf with many breakthroughs. He formed a group of 5 guys with himself in the centre with a plan to get a working airplane. The very first manned flight in the commonwealth took place 6 months later on frozen Bras d'Or lake.
The Silver Dart took flight on February 23 1909. The Silver Dart was the first plane to have a tri-cycle under carriage. It also had the first ailerons. After doing Phones and Planes he moved onto Hydrofoils. The HD-4 was the fastest boat in the world when in 1919 it set the maritime speed record of 114.04 km/h. He would see something and find a way to improve it not really caring about its commercial value. He gave all but 100 of his shares in Bell telephone to his wife.
June and the Silver Dart
The HD-4
I can't imagine what it would have been like to be fishing out on Bras d'Or lake in 1919 and this "Flying Cigar" doing 114 km/h goes screaming by. At that time it could of been the fastest thing you had ever seen.
While we were in Baddeck the had the "Cabot Trail Relay Race". This is a casual 17 stage 276km relay race around the Cabot Trail. The winning team finished in 16 hours 39 minutes, John your team should start training now!
All in all we really enjoyed our time on Cape Breton Islands and highly recommend it to anyone.
The list of places you've stopped sure is growing. The Bell Museum was a highlight for us too. Have fun in Newfoundland? Do you know Sted Harvey? He's retired to Carmanville up near Gander.
ReplyDelete