Trips away from the boarding house were uncommon; the Lowell girls worked and ate together. However, half-days and short paid vacations were possible due to the nature of the piece-work; one girl would work the machines of another in addition to her own such that no wages would be lost.
While trips outside the boarding house were rare, the Lowell girls worked and ate together.  However, they could take half-days or short paid vacations due to the piecework system; one girl would often work on another's machines in addition to her own to ensure no wages were lost.