On Friday, Keith and I made a quick trip to Chicago to request second/temporary passports. Ours are currently in London, being reviewed one last time for our New Zealand visa.
We’re cutting it close, and FedEx has once already misplaced the package holding our passports, so we needed a back-up plan.
I’m sure it’s standard procedure for most federal buildings to be well protected and on high-alert. Makes sense. But this one was so well guarded it made my skin crawl a bit. Either they were trying to keep us in, or some very scary people out.
No bottled water was allowed in the passport office. No cell phones. No early arrivals (we were sent down to the lobby to wait).
And no jokes about not having a U.S. birth certificate, either.
Aside from having to throw away my just-purchased water bottle, due to having to wait in the lobby, due to being early, it was a painless process. We were able to explain our situation, gain the necessary passports, and get on the road a few hours later.
It was good to say good-bye to Chicago one last time. It’s one of the only cities I know in which the best view is up. I will miss the skyscrapers, the Magnificent Mile lit up for Christmas, the drive down Lakeshore Ave.
And my very-possible sightings of Oprah.
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