Happy Labor Day everyone! I hope your day was as enjoyable as mine... we had amazing weather this weekend which culminated in a perfect day today.
First, I wanted to share a few photos from Tyler's birthday week. Susie and Dennis were in town for a cross-country camp around Tyler's birthday, and they delivered a few gifts:
Gifts from the Garden
Gift of Grill (to cook gifts from the garden!)
I gave Tyler a tent for his birthday which we put to use this weekend at the Calvin Coolidge State Park in Plymouth, VT. We didn't leave until Saturday morning because Tyler had a miserable cold, but once he was feeling better we packed up our gear and headed out.
First stop, the Quecheee Gorge near Woodstock.
Then, we went to the Billings Farm & Museum and the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Park (they are adjacent to each other). We toured the M-B-R House first; we had a very knowledgeable Park Ranger as our guide and there was only one other couple in our group so we were able to learn a lot. The house was donated by Mary and Laurance Rockefeller in 1998 - and is the newest National Park in the US. You can read more about the house here. (They were also playing a sneak preview of Ken Burns' newest film, National Parks: America's Best Idea, but we didn't have time to watch it.)
The Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller House (left as it looked in 1998 - which was sort of amusing as it included "ancient" artifacts like a tape player and a tv, next to priceless paintings by Hudson River School artists.)
Norway Spruce planted by the Billings' family
After our tour we rushed over to the Billings Farm to watch the milking demonstration.
We also visited the cow nursery where we got to see a 1-day-old cow!
Our camp site at the state park... the floor of the lean-to could have been a little more cushy!
On Sunday we went to the Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site at Plymouth Notch. It was a beautiful little town and we enjoyed our morning touring the site, checking out old farm machinery (including this "dog or goat treadmill" below), and petting some sheep.
Dog Treadmill
The Plymouth Cheese company still makes cheese in Plymouth Notch.
Seven generations of the Coolidge family are buried here.
We left Plymouth Notch and traveled about 15 minutes down the road to the North Branch Bluegrass Festival. The weather was absolutely perfect this weekend, which made relaxing on a blanket listening to some bluegrass music all the more awesome.
As you can tell, it was difficult to get a good seat near the stage. :)
And finally, last night we grilled hamburgers and corn and spent a few hours watching the fire. It was a great way to end a perfect weekend.
I know some of you are interested in how school is going but I'll have to post about it another day... my kids are great little people, but it will be a very challenging year!
First, I wanted to share a few photos from Tyler's birthday week. Susie and Dennis were in town for a cross-country camp around Tyler's birthday, and they delivered a few gifts:
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| From Labor Day Weekend |
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| From Labor Day Weekend |
Gifts from the Garden
 |
| From Labor Day Weekend |
Gift of Grill (to cook gifts from the garden!)
I gave Tyler a tent for his birthday which we put to use this weekend at the Calvin Coolidge State Park in Plymouth, VT. We didn't leave until Saturday morning because Tyler had a miserable cold, but once he was feeling better we packed up our gear and headed out.
First stop, the Quecheee Gorge near Woodstock.
 |
| From Labor Day Weekend |
 |
| From Labor Day Weekend |
Then, we went to the Billings Farm & Museum and the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Park (they are adjacent to each other). We toured the M-B-R House first; we had a very knowledgeable Park Ranger as our guide and there was only one other couple in our group so we were able to learn a lot. The house was donated by Mary and Laurance Rockefeller in 1998 - and is the newest National Park in the US. You can read more about the house here. (They were also playing a sneak preview of Ken Burns' newest film, National Parks: America's Best Idea, but we didn't have time to watch it.)
 |
| From Labor Day Weekend |
The Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller House (left as it looked in 1998 - which was sort of amusing as it included "ancient" artifacts like a tape player and a tv, next to priceless paintings by Hudson River School artists.)
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| From Labor Day Weekend |
Norway Spruce planted by the Billings' family
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| From Labor Day Weekend |
After our tour we rushed over to the Billings Farm to watch the milking demonstration.
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| From Labor Day Weekend |
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| From Labor Day Weekend |
We also visited the cow nursery where we got to see a 1-day-old cow!
 |
| From Labor Day Weekend |
Our camp site at the state park... the floor of the lean-to could have been a little more cushy!
On Sunday we went to the Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site at Plymouth Notch. It was a beautiful little town and we enjoyed our morning touring the site, checking out old farm machinery (including this "dog or goat treadmill" below), and petting some sheep.
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| From Labor Day Weekend |
Dog Treadmill
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| From Labor Day Weekend |
The Plymouth Cheese company still makes cheese in Plymouth Notch.
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| From Labor Day Weekend |
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| From Labor Day Weekend |
Seven generations of the Coolidge family are buried here.
We left Plymouth Notch and traveled about 15 minutes down the road to the North Branch Bluegrass Festival. The weather was absolutely perfect this weekend, which made relaxing on a blanket listening to some bluegrass music all the more awesome.
 |
| From Labor Day Weekend |
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| From Labor Day Weekend |
As you can tell, it was difficult to get a good seat near the stage. :)
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| From Labor Day Weekend |
And finally, last night we grilled hamburgers and corn and spent a few hours watching the fire. It was a great way to end a perfect weekend.
I know some of you are interested in how school is going but I'll have to post about it another day... my kids are great little people, but it will be a very challenging year!
Who cares about school! I like to see all the camping/historic site stuff - much more fun!
ReplyDeleteV. jealous of the bday GRILL. Next time I am in America, I will come for a meal!
What a beautiful weekend you guys had! So much fun. Sounded like you really needed it. Hope your week goes better.
ReplyDelete