Our last stop of the day, and of David and Vicki's vacation, is the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. We arrived at 5:00 and were whisked into the lobby with our 5:15 group. Here's a display of $1 million in $10 bills in the lobby.
I would guess the tour groups are about 40 people or so. They start with a video of the process, then you walk through the building above the operation and actually watch money being printed and cut and quality checked. When the printer jams, they do the same thing I did millions of times, open up the printer (of course, it's a much bigger printer than I every worked with), find the jam, and pull out the wrinkled or torn piece of paper. Looks strange when it's money. They emphasize that each piece of paper is accounted for so no one walks out with trash. And just like Disneyland, the tour ends in the gift shop where you can buy uncut sheets of bills and lots of other money related items.
In 1991, another currency printing facility was opened in Fort Worth, Texas. So to all my Fort Worth relatives, you can tour that facility, too. Unless a Code Orange has been declared by the Department of Homeland Security, then they are both closed to the public.
It was almost 7 p.m. when we hit the road back to Andrews Air Force Base. We have the option of sleeping in tomorrow. We don't have to be to the airport until 2 p.m.
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