A Vermont Adventure

  Being a grandparent means having opportunities to enjoy the successes of grandchildren.   Four of my grandchildren currently attend the Lake Champlain Waldorf School in Shelburne, Vermont.   One of the traditions of the school is to have a Grandparent's Day when grandparents and special friends are invited to spend a day at the school.   So Thursday May 17, 2012 I travelled to Vermont to enjoy some time at their school and to attend a concert by the students and community members.   This school requires every student to learn to play a stringed instrument so there was a large orchestra with significant talent.    Voice instruction is also provided.
    The Thursday night concert was all Vivaldi performed with extraordinary competence.   Granddaughter Jenny had a solo part that she performed beautifully.   The setting for the concert was the Carriage House of the Shelburne Farms estate.   The grounds and buildings are magnificent and are set on the shores of Lake Champlain.  
   Grandparents day started at  8:30 A.M. with an introduction by the Waldorf School leader.   After the introduction we adjourned to be with our grandchildren.    There were only two sessions so it was not possible to visit all three grandchildren in K-8.   Since Carson is graduating from 8th grade to public school next year I made a special effort to get to his display of accomplishments during his tenure at the Waldorf School.   He has become a capable photographer and his iPad display of his work was exceptional.    After my visit with Carson I was off to join the kindergartners and granddaughter Kiara at play in their room.   Yes,  this old geezer can still get down on the floor to play with the young ones.    We grandparents were also treated to the morning snacks of soup and bread that their group had prepared and baked.   A delicious treat.    On the way out I still had a chance to visit grandson Turner's 4th grade class to say hello and see his schoolmates.
     Following my school visit I travelled to the Shelburne Museum to spend several hours examining a variety of exhibits.   Because I am anticipating setting up exhibits of the artifacts from the Cornell Agricultural Museum I was especially interested in the manner of displaying antique tools and devices.
     The Vermont visit continued with time at son Colin's house and a stay through Saturday at daughter Tange's house.    We even had time for some tennis.
     Although I travelled to Shelburne via the Essex ferry, I chose to return via the new New York - Vermont Champlain Bridge.    It is a stunningly elegant design.   The grand opening was this past Sunday so there was all kinds of activity at the bridge as I passed over it on Saturday.
     All in all the three days were a great geezer adventure.

Tange, Turner, Kiara 

Granddaughter Jenny right and friend at Shelburne Farms

Carson and projects display

Kiara, right front in kindergarten - Snack Time