Day 29: February 1, 2013 Pinwheel of Death

   It is pretty unbelievable how many field trips we have been able to go on. Today was our third factory visit and we have only been here a month! American Axel Manufacturing was our destination today and was only about an hour and a half away. I took advantage of the free time on the bus to study and wrote my 1000 word paper and then spent the rest of the time relaxing. 

American Axel

     Upon arrival, we got to sit down and listen to a presentation and meet a few people, including 3 Purdue grads! The presentation was pretty interesting and very educational, having a lot to do with axels, gears, and differentials. After the presentation, we got a tour around the plant and got to see a lot of cool stuff. At one point on the tour John mentioned how big all of the gears were for this one truck and how he was so amazed and I thought it was really funny because they all looked so small to me compared to all of the Caterpillar parts I got to see this past summer. After the tour, we went back to the meeting room and had a delicious lunch of deli sandwiches and fruit. The food really hit the spot and it was fun getting to talk with some of the employees. We could’ve stayed much longer as the employees had so much knowledge to share but we had to catch our bus back. I think my favorite comment was when one of the guys referred to the lazy susan as the pinwheel of death, which is pretty relatable considering you never know what is going to be on it (like a goose foot).

     After the bus ride home I chilled around the hotel until dinner when we decided to go get some Mexican food and some happy hour margaritas at this restaurant called Maya that was a few subway stops away. After a little difficulty finding it, we were pleasantly surprised with a really cute and nice restaurant attached to a hotel. I got the three tacos: chicken, blackened fish, and mushroom. John and I also split some choriqueso and tortillas. All of the food was amazing but pretty expensive for not a lot of food. They had really good frozen mango margaritas that were also way overpriced but the happy hour price helped a little. After a satisfying meal we headed back to the hotel and decided to have a chill night and watch a movie. We put in Seven, but I ended up missing half of it to Skype with friends and family which was well worth it. After finishing up the movie and ruining the ending for myself, we all headed to bed so we would be ready for our weekend trip in the morning.