Vacation Quickie, "The Beginning"

You may recall that ever since a cas show last spring, my antique car had carburetor issues.  Getting them repaired was a major task, since most of today’s mechanics are trained on fuel injection systems and computer controls.  Being a 1967, mine has neither, and to complicate matters, it also has an intact prehistoric California smog control system . Fuel-injection and computer emission training is useless on old-fashioned antiques.   

And trying to make a 1,200-mile trip in a freshly-repaired car, without some significant shakedown runs, would be a "real fool's errand."  Thus I decided to take the daily driver on this trip, and extend our agenda exponentially.  What started out to be a simple antique car tour for my better half and myself, with a bunch of friends, ended up being an epic vacation.  We were gone for so long (two full weeks) that it was easy to lose track of time!

The above will introduce each  following section, as a prelude.

A nice first day’s stop on our vacation was Slater’s Mill in Pawtucket, RI. 

Built in 1793 on the Blackstone River, the old Slater Mill was the first successful factory in the US. It was dedicated exclusively to the production of cotton thread until 1829, and then continuously occupied until 1921 with various owners and renters who altered its physical structure to suit whatever enterprise they pursued. 

Today, Slater Mill is a museum complex that includes the Old Slater Mill, built in 1793 and restored to its c. 1835 appearance; the Wilkinson Mill, built in 1810; the Sylvanus Brown House, built in 1758; archival materials, collections of hand-operated and powered machinery, a gallery and a recreational park. Highlights of the site include demonstrations of flax processing, cotton spinning, and weaving in an 18th century artisan's home, exhibitions of 19th and 20th century machinery, and an operating 16,000 pound water wheel.  It was a fascinating trip back in time, to the early days of the Industrial Revolution here in the US.

Sylvanus Brown House, Slater's Mill

Slater's Mill

Not much happened that day, gender-wise or otherwise, but I was wearing my one and only pair of jean leggings, which I brought for the first day of sightseeing.   Since I didn’t spill anything on them, they actually were worn again a couple of times!  And with two pairs of daily-wear leather ballerina flats, with one pair in patent leather, and my white Keds,  I had shoes for all occasions.

They're now my everyday shoes - I really love wearing my ballerina flats!

More sections (and more pictures) will follow in the days to come.