Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddick, NS

Alexander Graham Bell lived a good part of his life in Baddick, NS.  Known for inventing the telephone, he also built the first airplane to fly in Canada.  The plane was the "Silver Dart", and it flew in 1909.  It was copied from the Wright Brothers plane that flew four years earlier.  

In addition, he designed hydrofoils.  The HD-4 held the world's speed record for water craft with a speed of 71 mph.  It was made of wood and had two airplane propeller drives on it.  We visited the museum on our way from Cape Breton to Halifax.


Below are some pictures of the museum in Baddick and of the "Silver Dart" and HD-4 hydrofoil.

Georgia at the entrance to the Alexander Graham Bell museum.

 The "Silver Dart

 HD-4 Hydrofoil

Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and the Keltic Inn

After leaving Prince Edward Island, we took the ferry to Nova Scotia and spent three wonderful days at the Keltic Inn on Cape Breton.  Located at the northern most part of Nova Scotia, the coast, vistas, and natural forests were wonderful.  The Keltic Inn is located in one of Canada's National Parks, so everything is non commercial.  The resort has all of the comforts of home, but the quiet of the remote coast.  Today we took a 2.4 mile hike with a park ranger that was both invigorating and informative.

These pictures don't quite represent the beauty of the location:

 Bogwort Plants in a Bog on the Cape

 The Beach at the Keltic Lodge

 The Keltic Lodge as Seen from the Beach

 Cape Breton Water Edge

 Trail to the Middle Point

 Cape Breton Sea Scape

 Georgia in the Cape's Wind

"Anne of Green Gables"

After leaving Maine in July, we traveled to Prince Edward Island (PEI) in Canada and spent two nights in Charlottetown.  The purpose of the visit was to see the setting for the series of books by Lucy Maud Montgomery with "Anne of Green Gables" as the first book.  Lucy's mother died when she was 21 months old, and she was raised by her maternal grandparents.  All of the sites we visited were located on the northwest part of the island.  We visited the museum, the home of the maternal grandparents, and the green gable house that was the location of Anne's adventures.  We got some great pictures that are shown below:

The Piano in Lucy's Grandparent's House that was Played at Her Wedding

 Georgia on the "Lover's Lane" Path

 Georgia in a Carriage with an Anne of Green Gables Hat on her Head

 Georgia in a Carriage that Represents the Transportation of the Times

The House of "Green Gables

July Visits in Maine

On July 1st, we flew to Boston and took the express bus to Portland to visit Hugh's brother and sister-in-law in Brunswick, Maine.  While there we visited the Central Maine Botanical Gardens, did some shopping and saw the fireworks in Freeport (Home to LL Bean), and enjoyed seafood and lobster dinners.

At Dave and Debbie's home also visiting was Lucy Chuying Luo, the Bowdoin College student that they sponsored for her four years in college in Brunswick and her friend Yffie.  Both Lucy and Yffie, a Cornell graduate, were mathematics majors and now work in the financial industry in NYC.  They both wanted a July Maine vacation away from NYC before returning to work after the 4th.

After leaving Brunswick on the 6th, we visited with some friends, who have a summer home in Stockton Springs on the Maine coast.

Here are some pictures of our visits:

 Georgia and I at the Portland Light House

 Central Maine Botanical Gardens

  Lucy Chuying Luo, Debbie, Yffie, and Dave at the Botanical Gardens

 Georgia and I with our Friends, de Chantal Riley and Michael Kozak at the Cellardoor Winery in Lincoln, Maine

Sunset from the Porch at Stockton Springs, Maine

Dedication of USNA Crew Shell

April 21, 2018,  I went back to the Naval Academy in Annapolis for the dedication of a shell for one of my former rowing buddies.  Mike Pero and I , along with seven other classmates, were members of the 1960 "Plebe" crew that went undefeated in freshmen races and then was good enough to go to the 1960 Olympic trials.  We made it to the finals race and lost by only 4 seconds.  Something that had never been done before.  As freshmen we had beaten all but three heavyweight crews in the United States.

Mike passed away a little over a year ago and was a great supporter of Navy crew.  We raised enough money to purchase a 4 without a coxswain shell in his name.  It was a great tribute to a good friend, classmate, and oarsman.

Here are some pictures of the dedication:

Craig Thrasher, No 4 Seat on the Freshman Eight

 Hugh Schall, No 5 on the Freshman Eight

 Jim Fontana, No 6 on the Freshman Eight

The Three of us from the Freshman Eight with the Mike Pero Shell

Banner Made Up for the Dedication

Rancho Cucamonga Visit

After we left Palm Desert in March, we visited with our daughter's family in Rancho Cucamonga.  While there we had lunch with Georgia's cousin Nada and her husband, Galen, and watched Melissa go on one of her weekly horse riding trips. Here are pictures of the visit:

 Lunch with Nada and Galen at Bardot in Claremont

 Melissa Brushing Down the Horse Before Riding

 Coming Out of the Stall

Melissa Heading Out

Cairn's 10th Birthday in Palm Desert

We spent two weeks in Palm Desert in March and during our stay, grandsons, Cairn and Lain joined us for a birthday celebration for Cairn's 10th birthday.  Time was spent shopping for something Cairn would like, stuffing animals, and of course, pool time.  Attached are pictures of the pool time:

 Cairn and Stuffed Tiger

 Lain After Extensive Pool Time

Cairn on the Water Slide