Boeing

Today was a cold snowy day so I decided to go on the Boeing Factory tour; only 4 miles from the house.  Unfortunately, they don't let you take pictures inside so you'll just have to make do with photos that I stole from the internet, but the pictures really do show what you see on the tour.

The image across those doors is the largest mural in the world

I learned all sorts of cool facts about the building.

- It is the largest building in the entire world (by volume)
- All of Disneyland could fit inside the building and you would still have space for a 12 acre parking lot
- When they first built the facility, clouds actually started to form near the ceiling and they had to install a special ventilation system to clear them.  This factoid I find very strange and don't really understand.
- The place is so big that employees ride bicycles around inside to get around.  I actually saw a lot of people doing it too.
- They have 6 Tully's coffee shops and a whole bunch of restaurants for the employees

I got to see them actually constructing 747s, 777s, and 787s.  I learned that the fancy new 787s are actually "manufactured" all over the world (Japan, Canada, Italy, etc.) and they have to fly the pieces in a giant plane to Washington where the planes are really just assembled, not built.  That really doesn't seem efficient at all, cost-wise, time-wise, or energy-wise so I asked the tour guide about it.  He said, "You know, every single day some one asks me that question and I agree with you that it doesn't seem right, but I guess all the executives thought it was a good idea".  Hmmm... that's not very reassuring, but I guess it does explain the $158 million price tag.

A new 787

My other fun adventure on the tour was "Cherry".  Once the tour started I was immediately approached by a little Indian man who commented on the fact that I was on the tour alone.  Guess what?  He was also on the tour alone.  Oooooh!  What a coincidence.  He introduced himself to me as "Cherry".  "Cherry?" I asked.  To which he started laughing at my silly mistake.  "Oh, my friend's mother used to call me that" he said.  "Uhhh, like Cherry pie?" I asked again, confused, waiting for him to correct me.  He laughed a little more and smiled at me and then continued talking.  So what the heck was his name if Cherry isn't right???  Oh, well.  I wasn't too concerned.  He sort of followed me around for the rest of the tour and then asked me out to lunch afterwards.  I'd had a huge lunch before the tour started which I told him, but he persisted,  "Coffee some other time?"  Awww, I felt bad for the guy, but I guess not bad enough.  "No thanks."  I know, I'm a terrible person!