Trip to Boston with Barb to celebrate both girls’ birthdays, for Barb to see Allie’s place, and generally commune with our newly working daughter. Then Bill went on to Nova Scotia for week including music of the Celtic Colours festival.
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017
Today’s plan was to drive to Baddeck to visit the Alexander Graham Bell museum, then head down to the evening’s concert at the St. Peter’s Lions Community Hall. It was effectively a circumnavigation of Cape Breton Island’s inland sea, the Bras d’Or Lake. How do you pronounce Bras d’Or? Think “Labrador” without the La. It took me a while to figure out.
One of the biggest reasons I wanted to do this entire Nova Scotia trip was a set of fond memories from my youth. When I was maybe 10 or 11 and we lived in New Jersey (I think), I came on a road trip with Mom and Dad to visit an old friend of theirs from Valdosta (or was it Baton Rouge? or Georgia Tech?), Nelson Robinson. Nelson and his wife (whose name I can’t remember) had a summer place in Baddeck. Nelson was otherwise a professor at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, and I remember both he and his wife were very nice to me and the family. And he had a cool red sports car, a Jag, I think. They were all in all some of the friendliest and coolest of Mom and Dad’s friends I encountered, though I can only recall meeting them a few times over the years. We stayed at their little cabin which was on a hillside with a beautiful view of the Bras d’Or Lake, and I remember having a wonderful summer evening meal of fresh grilled lamb chops on their front deck as the sun played on the waters of the lake. I also remember a very impressive and educational visit to the Alexander Graham Bell museum in Baddeck. It was eye-opening to learn of the breadth of Bell’s research and inventions, particularly into kites and flying machines. I remember it was one of the few museums I ever wanted to spend more time in. Finally, I recalled the Cabot Trail drive as one of the prettiest I’d ever been on, even from the back seat of Mom and Dad’s car. So today was, in particular, a re-connection with Baddeck and the Bell museum.
It was more than an hour’s drive from Sydney to Baddeck, crossing the Bras d’Or over the Seal Island Bridge then climbing up over a ridge. There were several pull-outs with commanding views of the water and foliage, and I felt obliged to stop nearly everywhere I could. Photos don’t do it justice, and don’t give you a feel for the cold breeze scuttling the clouds and sun over the hillsides.
I arrived at the Bell museum around 10:30am. This was clearly a newer facility than the one I’d visited nearly 50 years ago. The displays are nicely laid out, but I recall being more impressed by the clutter and a greater variety/emphasis on the tetrahedral kites hanging overhead at the older museum. Maybe it’s just that the kites are older now and a bit more spread out. In any case, the museum is still a great reminder of the breadth and scope of Bell’s investigations and inventions, including the telephone, of course, but also devices and programs for the deaf, kites and airplanes, hydrofoils and high speed boats, and much more. I got a better appreciation of his relationship and role of his wife, Mabel (originally a deaf student he fell in love with and had to wait to come of age; somewhat creepy but they had a lifelong partnership and she ran the practical aspects of his life, family and fortune), from the museum and also from the book, Reluctant Genius, which I’d brought on the trip. I recall the original museum had more emphasis on the relationship between the Bells and the Grosvenors and the founding of the National Geographic Society (Gilbert Grosvenor married Bell’s daughter and became the first editor of the National Geographic magazine, among many accomplishments). I suspect the original museum may have been more of a Bell-Grosvenor production (and was it at the Bell’s original estate, Beinn Bhreagh?) while the current museum is a Canadian National Park. I spent several enjoyable hours going through the exhibits, mainly following the extensive timeline of Bell’s life.
By happenstance, the museum was also hosting a free Celtic Colors event at 1pm which turned out to be Shane Cook and Troy MacGillivray whom I’d seen perform the night before. Today they both had fiddles, though Troy spent most of the time on piano while Shane gave a loose and friendly lecture on folk fiddle styles. There were maybe 30 people in the audience, and we enjoyed the very informative and enjoyable performance/lesson. Shane’s fiddling is quite remarkable, combined with some intricate foot stomping for rhythm. Troy in turn provided impressive accompaniment on the piano, providing exuberant bass, harmonies and rhythmic counterpoint to each of the songs in a style that seems particular to Cape Breton. The piano bounces along in the background, but clearly the player needs to know each song thoroughly to drive it forward and embellish the melody of the fiddle. I feel a little guilty for not buying one of the CDs they were hawking, but I’m happy to find they are available on iTunes and I’m happily listening to “When Here Meets There” (though I’m surprised to see it was released about 10 years ago). Once again, this session made me admire the skill and dedication it takes to be a proficient musician, and how undervalued that talent seems to be. Though in Canada there appears to be some level of federal support for artists, they must still be very dependent on ticket and CD sales, and cheap places to stay, and no one seems to get rich despite their incredible skills. I’m also amazed at their ability to keep so many (very similar) songs in their heads, though I wouldn’t really know if they were making it up on the spot.
After a little more wandering around the museum, I was faced with the decision of finding an early dinner in Baddeck or driving to the concert location in St. Peter’s, about 90 minutes away. I decided to kill some time and wait until 4pm for the #1 restaurant, Baddeck Lobster Suppers, to open. I figured this was my opportunity to treat myself to a first-rate lobster dinner. After driving around the Baddeck environs for a while, I pulled into the restaurant just before 4. On the edge of the parking lot was an open grill where a fellow was cooking large sides of salmon. We chatted a bit while I absorbed the smoky aroma. I asked whether to get the salmon or lobster. He suggested I get either one, then come back for other. Good salesman. The restaurant’s main attraction is an all-you-can eat supper of chowder, bucket of mussels, a whole fresh lobster, sides and dessert. I just couldn’t see myself getting through all that (and still driving and staying awake through a concert) so I went for just the chowder and lobster while I watched a couple at the next table grapple with the whole 9 yards. Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to love the meal, the chowder was only so-so and the lobster was rather small and bland. It wasn’t bad, but honestly, Barb’s Monday lobster special deal at Shannon’s was at least its equal. And I was right about not getting the all-you-can-eat; the bucket of mussels alone was huge and would have been sufficient. I left wishing I’d gotten the salmon after all.
The drive from Baddeck to St. Peter’s followed the shores of the Bras d’Or for a short while but then became a lonely two-lane road through a long stretch of featureless scrubland. This was not a highlight of Cape Breton scenery. After a seemingly long time I pulled into St. Peter’s and found the Lion’s Club in time for the 7:30 performance. Tonight’s lineup included The Island Steppers who were a group of local teenagers giving it a game try — it reminded me of watching performances of Allie’s dance class. Next was Scott Macmillan (guitar) and Colin Grant (fiddle) in a set that was fun and very reminiscent (but not quite as memorable) as Shane and Troy. Third was a first-rate Irish folk trio, The Alt. They were terrific, but evidently only rarely play as a trio; each has their own impressive bands or solo careers: Nuala Kennedy (flute and vocals), John Doyle (guitar, who is part of The Transatlantic Sessions, a top-end set of annual concerts/tours that I’d never heard of but look fantastic…lots on YouTube), and Eamon O’Leary (mandolin and everything) of The Murphy Beds. They were terrific and only now as I research them I gain the promise of many more hours of listening. Why aren’t these people more famous, and why isn’t this music more popular and readily available in the U.S.?? It’s wonderfully fun, technically skilled, upbeat, exuberant, and at the same time somehow meditative and contemplative. The Alt were followed by another performance by the Alison Brown Quartet which, while not exactly the same as the night before, did not really catch fire until they played with some of the other performers. It was another very fun evening, but left me with a long hour-plus drive back to the hotel in the dark. Cape Breton roads get very lonely after 11pm or so.
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017
This day featured the Cabot Trail, one of the great drives in North America. The evening’s concert was in St. John’s Parish Church in Ingonish, which is more or less on one end of the Trail. Being ambitious, I wanted to drive the whole Cabot Trail, which meant getting to the other side first. I also wanted to see and taste the whiskey at the Glenora Inn & Distillery, one of the first and few single malt distilleries in North America. So what if that added up to six-and-a-half hours of driving. I’m tough. And an idiot.
The first hour driving retraced yesterday’s route to Baddeck. I’d considered driving the south shore of the Bras d’Or but that would have added still more time to the drive and I opted against it. The countryside grew a little wilder and greener as I approached the Glenora Distillery, and the place itself was a very pretty cluster of white buildings tucked up against a hillside resplendent in autumn colors. 
I timed my arrival to catch a distillery tour, which turned out to be a pretty quick run through a couple of rooms that were not currently in use. The ageing in barrels is done at a different site, which is a little unfortunate because that’s probably the most romantic and aromatic aspect of distilling. Glenora does have a good story of becoming the first single malt distillery in North America. There was also an interesting little panel of history about the Scottish Highlands and how Cape Breton came to be a refuge for Highlanders. 
We tasted a few different varieties of whiskies which were each good but I had a hard time distinguishing between them. I checked into buying a bottle but was surprised that the prices were mostly north of $100 so gave it a pass. I lingered a bit at the Inn and was very tempted by its pub which were both lovely. I knew, however, that if I stopped for lunch and a drink I would never make it through the rest of my drive.
Heading north, I soon came upon the coast at Inverness and enjoyed the views along the shore to Cheticamp, the official start of the Cabot Trail. This segment of Cape Breton is notably more French, evidenced by signage and business names. It was also very chilly and windy on this bright, clear day. It was a pretty drive, but with not a lot of lunch choices until I got to Cheticamp, at which point I made a very poor choice of a fried chicken place. I’d seen signs along the way which sparked my interest, but it turns out the place I chose wasn’t even the one I’d seen the signs for. It wasn’t the end of the world but a small lesson learned that I should have either made a better selection or been more confident to get up and leave for another place. And should probably have stayed with seafood rather than indulging my desire for fried chicken.
Lunch consumed, I headed into the Cabot Trail park. The drive got even prettier and the mountains more intense. There’s purposefully little development in the park, and not a lot of obvious places to stop other than scenic pullouts. I stopped at one trail head but found that the trail was several kilometers out to a headland and I didn’t have time or warm enough clothing for that adventure. 
So I made do with the frequent pullouts for photos. I tried to get some shots of the foliage but it was somehow difficult to capture the depths of colors. It is, all in all, a very pretty but very long drive. And as I learned, the segment that I drove from Cheticamp to Ingonish is not nearly all of the Trail. Though the park ends at Ingonish, the Cabot Trail continues south along the coast for another hour…which I would end up doing at night after the concert, down some intimidatingly steep switchbacks.
Ingonish is a very small port town with not a lot of choices for dinner. In conjunction with the evening’s concert, there was a Celtic Colours Roast Turkey Dinner at the Ingonish Fire Hall and Community Center. I found the location just after the advertised time of 5pm and had to stand in line outside for about 20 minutes waiting for tables to open up from the first round of diners in the hall. It was a chilly but entertaining waiting time, listening to the local folks in line commiserating about their lives and the end of summer. It sounds like a tough life in Cape Breton, now being mainly dependent on tourists, but it’s also clear that the year-round locals that have stayed have very deep roots. Everyone seems to know or is related to everyone else. Once we got in the hall, the turkey dinner turned out to be a very simple variant on Thanksgiving again, with a few slices of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, carrots and cranberry sauce dolloped out on paper plates. I grabbed an open seat near some folks that turned out to be from western Canada and had long heard of the Celtic Colours festival — it seems to be better advertised in Canada than south of the border.
Tonight’s concert was a few miles down the road at St. Peter’s Parish Church and featured Paul McKenna whom I’d seen the first night, followed by Anita MacDonald and Ben Miller. Anita played fiddle and sang, which Ben played Scottish border pipes, which are slightly different than regular bagpipes. Paul’s set was very similar to what he’d played on Tuesday, and while Anita and Ben’s pieces were interesting, the miles of driving and maybe the turkey dinner started to catch up with me. I had a hard time making it through the set to intermission. The church was packed, including occupants of a couple of tour buses that I hadn’t seen at any other concerts. The closing set was by the Hanneke Cassel Trio, let by Hanneke Cassel herself on fiddle and vocals, Mike Block on cello, and Keith Murphy on guitar. Each are supremely talented musicians but somehow their set was just a bit more esoteric and less upbeat which was not what I needed at that moment. I stayed through most of it, but bailed out before what they said was their final number so I could get on the road before the rest of the masses and the tour buses. I’m glad I did because the road back was long, twisty and very dark. It was a challenge to make it back to the hotel in one piece awake.
Along the way I passed a cluster of cars at The Gaelic College where the musicians and hard-core fans gather each evening for the Celtic Colours Festival Club. This is an after-hours concert and picking session for the performers which evidently goes on until 3 or 4 in the morning. I have no idea how they do it. I suppose if I ever came back it would be something to aspire to see. Maybe.
Friday, Oct. 13
I’d given myself the option on Friday to stay in Nova Scotia for the day or start heading back toward Boston, perhaps to catch Acadia National Park. I decided on Wednesday that I was enjoying myself enough to stay and snagged a ticket to the Celtic Colours finale, the Big Ceilidh at the Big Fiddle.
After sleeping a good bit of the morning, I headed to the Fortress of Louisbourg, a Canadian National Historic Site not far from Sydney. The Fortress has a long history, playing an important role in the battles between France and England for Canada in the 18th century, and an interesting comeback reconstruction story in the 1960’s-1970’s. 
This is sort of Canada’s Williamsburg, a reconstruction of the fort and surrounding town area. After wandering through the town for a bit on my own (and finding that many of the buildings were already closed for the winter) I joined a walking tour in the afternoon. It took me a while to sort out the back-and-forth history of the fort (and I still don’t really have it sorted) but it figures in the 18th century tug of war between France and Britain (and the War of Austrian Succession, which followed the War of Spanish Succession and led into the Seven Years’ War…no wonder things were a mess, these main wars each had localized sub-wars and are sometimes all lumped together as the Second Hundred Years’ War) that dominated Europe, North America and much of the rest of the world through that century.
About one-quarter of the site is reconstructed, the rest is open field on a small point of land across the harbor from today’s town of Louisbourg. During summer it’s more of a thriving recreation of 18th century life. On this sunny, chilly October day, there were only a few period “residents. My favorite was the guy walking the geese; he also handles a small assemblage of goats, chickens and other animals that were getting ready to go to their winter farms off-site. There was also a very bored young “guard” near the cannons, trying to stay warm and awake until his shift ended. That evening, the Fort was to host one of the top Celtic Colours attractions, a night of 18th century song, food and revelry that costs $150 per person and was long sold out. I was there in the afternoon until closing at 4pm but there was precious little evidence of incipient revelry.
One of the most unexpectedly interesting exhibits was actually the “making of” the Fort. The entire project was conceived and financed in the 1960’s and 70’s in part to give displaced miners something to do and learn new skills, as well as to create a tourist site and National monument. The late 20th century seems to have done Cape Breton few favors. Coal mining and other industries dried up. The population decreased, unemployment was and is a continuing problem, and tourism seemed to be one of the only growth options (echoes of what’s going on in Hawaii). As recently as 2016, some were offering a job and two acres of land if you commit to living in Cape Breton for five years. A conscious part of the Fort reconstruction project was to teach former miners and others (in a region with 25% unemployment) construction, bricklaying, carpentry and other skills. A (relatively) fascinating thesis paper from 1994 by Melanie Townsend explores the project in detail, including the concept of historic sites as regional economic engines and their effect on historical interpretation. The overall subject and presentation opened a new layer of depth for me as a visitor to these sites. I’m slowly gaining an appreciation of how malleable history is in the hands of the re-teller, and the ongoing economic roles of a historical site. I didn’t expect any of these insights when I set out that day, and to be fair, they didn’t all come to me at once but over the course of time and writing this journal. Not coincidentally, it ties into the book I’m currently reading, The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan.
The Fort closed down at 4pm so I headed back to Sydney to scope out dinner before the evening’s show. Turns out one of the best restaurants in town, Flavor on the Water, is in the same wharfside building as the concert. 
Though it was getting crowded with the pre-concert crowd and I had no reservation, I asked for a table for one and they found the last spot for me. I ordered their seafood chowder and the recommended lobster club sandwich. Both were quite wonderful and with wifi in the restaurant I had a very lovely meal. After snapping a few pictures of the Big Fiddle that gives the wharf its touristy name, I headed in for the concert.
The venue at the Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion was by far the largest of the Festival, with maybe two thousand seats and a professional stage, lighting rig and sound system. Artists for the evening began with Imar, a fun and energetic young Scottish quintet whose set was too short. Dwayne Cote, a solo local fiddler, was due to follow though I’m not sure he actually played — apologies to Dwayne but I don’t remember. I definitely remember J.P. Cormier, and great hulk of a man and local hero who had a long, illustrious career in Nashville and the States before returning to Canada. He played a solo guitar set (example from 2015 at what looks like same venue) that featured reels and tributes to guitar heroes a la Tommy Emmanuel’s Beatles Medley. He was impressive and certainly could have gone longer. Next was my by-now old friend Alison Brown for the third time in four nights, each a little less impressive than the last, unfortunately, but enlivened whenever she brought any of the other musicians up to play with her band. The big closers were Cherish the Ladies, whom I’d heard of by name but didn’t know their music. They were fun, very much led by self-described Broad from the Bronx, Joanie Madden, and very entertaining. A fine ending to the Festival, even if the whole evening was a little too large scale and glossy compared to the rest of the venues.
Saturday, Oct. 14
My task was to get back to Boston on Sunday in time for an afternoon with Allie in advance of getting to the airport by 7pm or so. That meant a full day of driving and an overnight somewhere along the way. I was aiming for Bangor, Maine, as my overnight spot, which was about a 10-hour drive. I pushed along, made it there by 7pm, and started looking for hotels. I quickly learned that it was homecoming weekend for the University of Maine and I think several other local colleges, the upshot being that most hotels were already full or charging more than $300 for rooms. I decided to push on to the next town, Augusta. There I was able to get a reasonable room at a Fairfield Inn, and snagged a late dinner at a Red Robin nearby before they closed.
Sunday, Oct. 15
The long drive Saturday meant a short, easy drive on Sunday. I made it to the Logan Airport rental car return shortly after noon and Allie picked me up. We had an afternoon to wander around Boston and get dinner. We decompressed at her apartment for a bit, then headed over to the HUBweek robotics expo that happened to be going on at City Hall Plaza. We wandered for a bit, found a couple of FIRST teams, and contemplated our future robotic overlords and their impact. It was mildly interesting and killed an hour or so. Since it was a nice day, we headed over to the Aquarium where I showed Allie the harbor seals, then went out to the end of Long Wharf and watched the harbor traffic for a while. At Allie’s suggestion we ate at Gennaro’s 5 North Square, a relatively new seafood place in the North End. We had a pleasant enough meal of pastas, shrimp and scallops but were not overwhelmed by the place. I’ve subsequently come to learn that the restaurant has closed. It’s tough competition in that neighborhood. We walked back to Allie’s car and she shuttled me to the airport. My flight was on time and Barb was good to pick me up at BWI at 10pm on a Sunday.
Thus ended a very fine trip for me, and I hope a nice enough one for Barb and Allie. We certainly ate well in Boston in celebration of Barb and Allie’s birthdays. I certainly enjoyed my solo trip to Nova Scotia and the Celtic Colours Festival. I ended up spending a lot more time driving than I’d really contemplated, but the sightseeing and concerts were generally worth the effort. I like the potential of returning to Nova Scotia and a Celtic Colours Festival in the future, though not immediately. If I return, I will take more care to pick concerts that are near my hotel/base to cut down on the long drives late at night. In the meantime, I look forward to exploring more of the music I encountered, and reliving the memories.
Travel Details
Barb SW Res #VJGVDM $336.97
BWI – BOS 10/5 #4782 1:40pm – 3:10pm
BOS – BWI 10/8 #2899 3:35pm – 5:05pm
Bill SW Res #VJ7IH7 $299.97
BWI – BOS 10/5 #4782 1:40pm – 3:10pm
BOS – BWI 10/15 #3907 8:30pm – 10:05pm
Take Passport!
Wyndham Boston Beacon Hill Confirmation Number: 5136B15913703
5 Blossom Street Boston, MA 02114 +1-617-742-7630
Thu, 10/05/17 – Sun, 10/08/17 1 Room, 3 Nights
Thu Oct. 5 — Fly to Boston, Bday dinner w/ Allie
Mamma Maria, 8pm https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60745-d322986-Reviews-Mamma_Maria-Boston_Massachusetts.html
Fri Oct. 6 — Shopping/Apartment?
Girls have Tea, 1:30 Langham
Bill Lunch – Sam LaGrassa’s https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60745-d876959-Reviews-Sam_LaGrassa_s-Boston_Massachusetts.html
Fri evening — Post 390, 8pm
Sat — Day in Boston
Brunch — Island Creek Oyster Bar, 11:30am
Afternoon — JFK museum?
Sat Dinner — Saltie Girl? — Eataly?
Sun — Dim Sum?
Bill rent car — Boston Airport 2pm; Barb flies home
Alamo Conf # 290681417 Intermediate Hyundai Elantra, $378.09 total
Drive to Saint John, New Brunswick (7 hrs)
Travelodge Suites Saint John
1011 Fairville Boulevard
Saint John NB, E2M 5T9, Canada
Hotel Confirmation Number: 97222521
Total Charged: $199.80
Mon — Alma/Fundy Park for day
Tue — Drive to Sydney (6 hrs)
Sydney, NS Hampton Inn — 60 Maillard Street, Membertou
Conf # 828522235
Tue Oct. 10 – Fri Oct 13; C$548.26
Cow Bay Ceilidh on Tuesday October 10 2017 at 7:30 PM in the Port Morien Legion / Community Centre BACK/L/6 Regular day
Governors Pub. 233 Esplanade Street, Sydney, NS B1P 1A6
Wed — Drive to Baddeck, Bell Museum, music evening
Concert by the Canal on Wednesday October 11 2017 at 7:30 PM in the St. Peter’s Lions Hall LEFT/N/3 Regular
Thur — Cabot Trail, music evening
Glenora Whisky Distillery 13727 Route 19, Glenville, NS B0E 1X0
Celtic Roots on Thursday October 12 2017 at 7:30 PM in the St. Peter’s Parish, Ingonish General Admission Regular
Fri — Louisburg/Baddeck/Sydney area
Big Ceilidh at the Big Fiddle on Friday October 13 2017 at 7:30 PM Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion LEFT/R/41 Regular Order 58996
Sat — Drive toward Boston, overnight in Bangor, ME
Sun — Arrive Boston, turn in car by 2pm; Afternoon/dinner w/ Al.
To airport by 7:30pm, fly home
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