Day 28: Swan Boats, Make Way for Ducklings, Orchard House, Lowell National Historic Park, Family Dinner

 Today we headed in to Boston to do a few things we weren't able to do when we went to the Freedom Trail.  Unfortunately, the state house was closed so we couldn't do a tour.  We went to see the statues from the book Make Way for Ducklings, so cute!  Then we headed over to the swan boats.  The swan boat drivers must get a major work out peddling all day!  We took pictures in front of the state house even though we couldn't go inside the building.















 We drove around Harvard to try and find a good spot for a picture, but it became overwhelming.  So, I just took this picture out the window.  This is where troops gathered before marching to the battle of Bunker Hill.
 The Wayside House.  This house is called the home of the authors.  Hawthorne and the Alcott family, plus additional authors, lived there at different times.  We didn't have time to tour this house, but it looked beautiful!
 I was so excited to tour the Orchard House.  This is the home that Louisa May Alcott lived in while she wrote Little Women.  I love that the book is based so closely on her family.  Because this house was only lived in by one other family and was deemed a historic residence in 1911, about 80% of the furnishings in the house actually belonged to the Alcott family.  The home was so odd!  It was a combination of two houses, and as a result, has some of the most uneven floors ever!  I loved learning that May Alcott (whom Amy March was modeled after) actually was an artist. One of her students was an MIT drop out.  She taught him how to sculpt, and he eventually was the sculptor of Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial!   As we were leaving, we ran into some good friends!  We knew that they were in town, but didn't think we would see them.  What a surprise when we saw them as they got off their bus!



 Last stop, Lowell National Historic Park.  This wasn't an original stop, but I saw it when we drove into Massachusetts, and I couldn't pass it up.  I love the history of the manufacturing that occurred here and remember reading stories about it when I was younger.


 It was so loud in the factory, and they only had a few machines running!  I can't imagine what it would have been like at full capacity.  One of the employees showed us how the looms worked, so interesting!





 Despite the difficult working conditions, the boarding houses were actually seemingly nice places for the working women to live.

 Junior Ranger program number 5!
 Dinner with family!  It was great to see Chris's cousin Jenny and her family.  Bekah loved little Natalie.


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