4th of July weekend in Vermont!

This has become the summer to explore New England!  We visited New Hampshire over Memorial Day weekend, so we decided to explore Vermont over 4th of July weekend!  And I am SO happy we did!  Vermont is one of those places that you don't realize is so beautiful and majestic until you visit it.  I remember having the same feeling when I visited Oregon back when we were living in California.  Vermont is truly a natural wonder with its beautiful mountain ranges interspersed with huge lakes and amazing wildlife.  I feel absolutely relaxed and refreshed after spending 3 days out in nature in Vermont!

We rented a 2 bedroom house in Walden, Vermont, which is a small town in North/Central Vermont.  As of the 2010 census, the population of Walden was 935.  The house we rented is on Far View Tree Farm, which is a Christmas tree farm (where Christmas trees are grown for people to buy)!  It is very secluded and quiet, and has amazing views all around!  There is a pond near the house that Keshav loved to go down to and skip rocks in or yell "ECHO" to hear his voice echoing in the peaceful air!

Finding the fish in the pond

Sparklers for 4th of July!

The Christmas trees!

Picnicking in the back yard 

Cutie pie in an old-fashioned tub

Cuddling with Daddy

The kids became one with nature up at the top of the property, where we had amazing views of the White Mountains and where Vidya did some yoga and Keshav danced in the wind! :)  It was such a tranquil place to stay!

While we did spend a lot of time at the house in Walden, we also ventured out each day to explore things nearby!  Our first trip on the 4th of July was to a place that Vivek and I have been wanting to visit ever since we moved to New England: the Cabot cheese factory!  We discovered Cabot cheddar cheese when we were in California, and it became our absolute favorite cheese of all time!  We always have some Cabot in our fridge, and Keshav and Vidya both love it as well!  Well, Cabot cheese is made in the town of Cabot, Vermont, which was only an 8 mile drive from our cottage.  We had so much fun sampling the different types of cheeses, taking a tour of the factory and watching them make and box the yellow cheddar they were making that day, and of course stocking up on cheese from the shop to take back home with us!

Mixing the yellow cheddar

Vidya loves Cabot cheddar!

On the tour of the factory

The next day, we drove about 10 miles to the town of Greensboro, Vermont to hike at the Barr Hill Nature Preserve.  Keshav has really started to enjoy hiking, and this hike was a 1.2 mile loop through cedar and spruce trees that opens to amazing views of Caspian lake and various mountains.  Both kids enjoyed the fresh air during the hike!

Superdad!

Mr. Navigator with his map!

Wearing the wildflower bhai picked for her!

Finally, on our last day before we drove back home, we visited the town of St. Johnsbury, VT and explored their natural history museum and planetarium!  This was Keshav's first visit to a planetarium, and he absolutely loved it!  He got so excited when he saw the stars, milky way, and sun!  We can't wait to take him to another one soon!