Passport to adventure - renewed!

We used to be able to travel across the border to the states with only a driver’s license for ID. In the last two decades they tightened up security – needing a passport to fly to the U.S., but we were still able to drive across the border with just a license.

Then they tightened up the border as well and we came out with an enhanced ID that you could get instead of getting a passport. Since I don’t fly a lot, I got that instead. It was a bit cheaper, but you had to go for an interview to get it done.

When it was came up to expire in 2012, I was told that I had to interview again. Since we were travelling too soon and their office hours were not good, I was unable to get an appointment before we had to travel so I rushed a 5 year passport.
I then got a renewed enhanced license in the mail.
On the upside, when we went to Disney World last year, my passport was still valid so I didn’t have to get one.

This summer, I kept mentioning that I should probably check to see if I needed to renew it. When I finally got around to digging it out and checking, it turns out that my instincts were right. So I had to scramble to get it renewed before it expired.
The office close at 4:30 pm but I was able to squeak in and get it done in time. I ended up getting a 10 year renewal. This should cover most of my remaining travelling days. It works out to under $20 a year, which I consider a bargain for the ability to go anywhere at a moment’s notice.

Not that I often get a chance to do that. But I could.