(09.04.22) Sunday
After the craziness of Saturday, we were very happy to have a restful Sunday. We attended church, got to hear Gaby baby’s blessing (Christening), some of us took naps, and we just hung out at home.
We decided to do some more “Drawful” because it was such a success the other night , the kids wanted Dad to experience the awesome.
Drawful was a hit again. And then we played some of the other Jackbox games as well. And of course we had a great time.
09.05.22- Monday- Labor Day
We woke up to the sound of rain. Aka the sound of happiness. I love rain so much. And I got to wear fall clothes!!! SO HAPPY!!
Today’s adventure was the Boott Cotton Mill Museum. We woke up, got ready, and got on the road to Lowell, Massachusetts.
On the way, we learned that I own a roast beef and pizza place. Sweet.
After some struggles to find the parking garage (the garage that has partnerned with the National Park Service so that you can get free validated parking), we made it. And since it was chilly, we bundled everyone up in their coats. I loved it!!
🎶 🎶 It’s beginning to look a lot like FA-aaaLLL!!!! 🎶 🎶
As per usual, we first made our way to the gift shop and visitor center. We ended up watching the introductory film about Lowell about the Industrial Revolution in the United States and it was super interesting.
Apparently the guy who brought cloth manufacturing to Lowell, Massachusetts did it after touring a British mill. After his tour, he came home and recreated the machines FROM MEMORY! This was necessary because the British were pretty determined to protect those secrets.
It is truly staggering to me that he did that. Those are seriously complicated machines!
We then started walking down toward the cotton mill itself. Lowell is a very cute town. Very picturesque.
The buildings were huge. One of the things that made Boott Cotton Mills unique is that the entire process all occurred under one roof. Raw cotton would go in one end, and a bolt of fabric would come out the other end.
And it was all powered by water. Man-made canals made it all possible.
There are a couple of exhibits at the beginning of the tour to help you get a feel for things.
But let’s be honest, the real star of the show is the weaving room. The room is packed with over eighty historic power looms from the 1920s. Some of them are still weaving cotton cloth (which you can purchase at the gift shop.)
Only a fraction of the looms were actually running, but it was still deafening.
I cannot even imagine what it must have been like to actually work in these places.
Breathing in cotton dust and injuries were just par for the course.
To add to the already uncomfortable and dangerous conditions, the rooms were kept hot and humid, to prevent thread breakage.
And the people worked 12 hours a day, 6 days a week.
This place was a good reminder. It is so easy to forget how good we have it. So, this was a good reminder.
Also, the docent that was working in the weaving room when we went was AMAZING. He was so happy to answer our questions, he was really good at engaging the kids, and he even dipped into his lunch break to talk to us. We loved him. He really made it all come alive for us.
We went and checked out the other exhibits after we exited the weaving room.
There were a lot of hands on exhibits, Evie and I carded some cotton and Clara and I did a little bit of weaving on a small hand loom. Jonathan and the boys worked on knots.
The kids were getting hungry by this point, (it was 2! So not too suprising) so we went through pretty quick.
In the lobby, we passed out snacks to hold everyone over until we were able to get real food. As we learned in a previous blog post :
snacks + children= sanity * parents
After everyone was feeling a little more human, Logan and Jonathan walked back to get the car.
And then we went in search of sustenance. It is always a little bit fraught trying to find places to eat that will be reasonably well accepted by everyone. But then we saw that there was a Cracker Barrel.
And it was a total no brainer. Seriously, the kids love this place. And so all was well.
This trip to the Boott Cotton Mills Museum was, to me, one of the most interesting places that we have been able to visit while on this nomad year. I am so glad that we went.
And I loved that it was a cool rainy day too.
Best day ever.
