We had been planning to travel to Mexico with about 300+
members of Rotary District 5420 for more than a year … but it didn’t occur to
me to get out my passport until the Monday night of the week we were to
leave. “Good to go,” I confidently
thought until Ed – passports in hand – said, “oops, you’ve got a problem.” Seems my passport was expired a full year
ago!!!
After my brief mini-panic attack, I decided we’d just not be
able to go … after all, a passport is vital for crossing borders (I’ve personally
had some memorable experiences with immigration people … and it wasn’t fun). But, on Tuesday morning, I woke up with a
resolve to find a solution. My solution
was U. S. Senator Mike Lee’s southern Utah representative … my good friend
Bette Arial. She put me in the able
hands of Yolanda, the Senator’s Constituent Representative (aka “problem solver
extraordinaire”). Yolie spent about 30
minutes on the phone talking with one government worker after another until she
finally connected with my solution … the Western Passport Center in Tucson.
Dropping everything, we loaded the car and headed out … 3
days earlier than we had planned. My
early morning Thursday appointment took the better part of the day, but at 2:30
I had my expedited passport in hand at a cost of only $170 (compared to $135
for a standard passport).
While waiting for Kelly and Gary and with two days to kill
before we could get into our condo in Mexico, we decided to explore Tucson and
surrounding communities (so, here’s a question … why is it pronounced Too-san
when it is spelled Tuck-sun?
Anyone?) Not much to see in
Tucson (except two good movies at a nearby Cinemark Theater) so we decided to
drive to Tombstone (about 45 miles SE of Tucson). Had a great day in this historic Western town,
took lots of pictures … and, even got a hug from Wyatt Earp himself.
Next stop … Mexico!
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