Touring the Bureau of Printing & Engraving in Washington, D.C.

When Eric and I were planning our trip in Washington, D. C., I emailed my U.S. Representative, Paul Tonko, to request tickets for tours.   A date and time for a tour of the Bureau of Printing and Engraving was arranged.






Banners at the Bureau of Printing
& Engraving celebrate Japan's gift 
of Cherry Trees in 1912.

The visitors entrance to the

Bureau of Printing &

Engraving.

Tickets for tours are also available at Raoul Wallenburg Place.  

Before automation, money
was printed by hand.

It was a laborious process.





Paper money needs to be durable.  The Bureau of Printing and Engraving turned to automation to test their bills ability to stand up to months and years of use.

The Schopper Folding Machines,

circa 1920, folded and refolded

bills up to 4,000 times to test

durability.

$1,000,000.00 in Ten Dollar
Bills is over two feet tall.

Eric & me with an over-sized

$100.00 bill.

Photos are not allowed during the tour.  These photos are from the internet.

Money isn't printed in just one day.  The back of bills is printed and the bills sit for three days for the ink to dry.  The front of the bills are then printed.  Still, the bills are incomplete.  A separate process adds the Treasury Seal and Treasury Secretary's signature.  

Sheets of freshly
printed money.

I call this step, "money fluffing."

Bills are sent through a machine for automated inspection.  Perfect bills continue into machines to be precisely cut.

Bills are sorted into stacks
which will be bundled
& sent to Federal Reserve
Banks.





The Federal Reserve Banking system was created to help stabilize the economy and reduce the boom and bust cycles that plagued the US economy in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

This central banking system was planned at Jeckyll Island, off the coast of Georgia in 1912 by Nelson Aldrich, A. Piatt Andrew, Henry Davison, Arthur Shelton, Frank Vanderlip and Paul Warburg.

Walking Around Adventure Bound Resort in Lothian, Maryland

Adventure Bound Camping
Resorts took over running
Duncan Family Campground
during the summer of 2015.

Eric registered at the

Welcome Center.

The Laundry Room &
Rec Hall







The Rec Hall is under renovation.

New washers

& dryers

The cost per load
is $2.00.

The Bath House & Laundromat

is under renovation.

Rest Rooms & Showers

The swimming pool waits

for warmer weather.

I like the sail boat sand box

adjacent to the playground.

Dumpsters are tucked away

at the back of the campground.

The Dump Station is located
next to an occupied campsite.

There are many campers here.

Adventure Bound Camping

Resort is open year round.

I notice large propane canisters next to some of the RVs.  Electric heat pumps don't work below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.  Propane heat is a necessity during the winter.

Some RVs, like this one,
have insulated skirting
around the base of their rigs.

I wonder how many campers live here and work in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. area.

Two cabins with gambrel

roofs.

There are more cabins like these in another section of the campground.

These cabins with gable
roofs line one of the park's
roads.

Some of the cabins are occupied by workers that are in employed in the area for a limited time. I wonder if any of them are construction workers at the site of the large crane I off of Maryland Route 4 on our drive in.

North to Lothian, Maryland

Another day, another drive....  Today's drive is mostly highway driving, much of it on Interstate 95. This is the busy East Coast Corridor and Eric has chosen Rest Stops so he and I get out of our motorhome, stretch our legs and switch drivers along our route.

Eric starts our drive on

Interstate 40/North Carolina

Highway 24 West.

A crew works on the
right road shoulder.

Here comes the rain....

The Interstate 95 North
sign is a bit blurry.







Eric and I have traveled this route three times since we retired in 2012.

The Nash County Water Tower

blends into the grey sky.

Much of America's East Coast
highways look like this, with
trees bordering the roadway.

Eric gets a picture of his

 trademark socks while I

drive.

Welcome to Virginia

Virginia is for lovers.

 The Prince George County

Water Tower welcomes

 visitors.

In Colonial America, the

Pineapple was used as a

 symbol of hospitality.

Imported from the Caribbean, Pineapples were an expensive and highly prized fruit.  Its cost and scarcity led to the Pineapple's display as a symbol of prosperity by wealthy ship captains, bankers, etc. 

I follow the signs to 

Interstate 295 North,

the beltway around

Richmond.

I am an unabashed fan of technology.  The satellites that provide information to the GPS free Eric and me from a lap full of maps and allow both of us to enjoy our drive without checking maps and searching  for turns.
.

Traffic moves to the right to

 pass a road crew working

in the left most lane.

Just 131 miles to
Washington, D.C.

A barge heading east on

the Appomattox River.

The Varina-Enon Bridge
spans the James River.







I think cable-stayed bridges are beautiful.

It's cooler here & the trees

aren't leafing out yet.

We take the Interstate 95
North exit toward
Washington, D.C.

I took this photo of the

Caroline County Water

Tower when we fueled

up at the Flying J Travel

Center in Ruther Glen.

I take another shift behind the
wheel at the Rest Area just
before the Virginia Welcome
Center.

The National Museum of the

 Marine Corps in Quantico looks

 ethereal on a cloudy day.

NCIS fans are familiar with Quantico.  The show's offices and labs are in Quantico.

We follow Interstate 95/
495, the Capital Beltway to
Baltimore, Maryland.

The George Washington National

Monument in Alexandria.

This monument shows George Washington's Masonic activities and the organization's activities during the Revolutionary War and the early years of our country.

It's always a challenge to get

a photo of the Woodrow

Wilson Memorial Bridge

marker.

The Potomac River is the boundary between Virginia and Maryland.

The Maryland Welcomes You

sign is at the north end of

the Wilson Memorial Bridge.

MGM has a hotel & casino
at the National Harbor.

The Water Tower at Andrews

Air Force Base.

We take Exit 11A toward
Upper Marlboro.

That is one very large

crane.

Maryland Route 4 South

takes us to Lothian.

This is the Star Spangled

Banner Trail.

Traffic is pretty heavy
at 2:20 pm.

The last leg of today's drive

is on Maryland Route 408

East.

We arrive at Adventure
Bound Camping Resorts,
formerly Duncan's Family
Campground.

Eric & I stay here when we

 visit Washington D.C.

Our campsite has water and 30 amp electric service, no sewer.  Eric and I are paying attention to our water usage during our stay.  We can watch TV because our DirecTV dish was able to find its satellites.  The campground provides free Wifi.