Panama Travelog #1
SJC Airport - Sat, 21 Dec 2024. 10pm.

We're leaving for Panama this evening. In a sense we've left already. We've left home. Though we're only ~10 miles away from home so far, at the airport in San Jose ( Read more... )

Australia Travelog #2
SYD Airport - Sun, 24 Dec 2023, 7am

We've arrived in Australia! We're still at Sydney airport, and I'm just jotting down a few things.

1. The flight was long. It was scheduled at 15 hours 20 minutes. We left a bit late and arrived a bit early, so our actual flight time was about 14.5 hours ( Read more... )

Grand Cayman Travelog #28
IAH airport - Sat, 20 May 2023, 3pm

We're halfway home from Grand Cayman, making a connection in Houston. We had to clear passport checks for the first time in 4 years. (Covid dealt a last blow to our overseas travel plans.)

Like the last time we entered the US at an airport- which coincidentally was this same airport, ( Read more... )

I had my interview for renewing Global Entry yesterday. After all the frustration with the process the past few weeks- seeing basically nothing available for weeks, then by chance finding an online interview the next day- the actual interview was so basic it was ridiculous. The interviewer asked me a bunch of simple questions that I already ( Read more... )

Twoe weeks ago Hawk and I applied to renew our Global Entry credentials. They expire in December and January. The government quickly approved us conditionally- meaning our credentials were provisionally extended for several more months. We'd need to complete interviews to renew fully for another 5 year term. That sounds like a sensible process, ( Read more... )

Last Friday our renewed passports arrived- by Priority Mail, no less. It only took 4 weeks including mailing both ways. That weekend we used our new passport numbers (yes, the government changes your number every time you renew 🙄) to apply for renewing our Global Entry memberships ( Read more... )

My new passport arrived in the mail today. My last one, quite well used (I had traveled overseas extensively years ago) expired in 2020. With the Coronavirus pandemic and all I let it lapse and then procrastinated renewing it. Finally I drew a line in the sand last month and pushed myself to submit the application for renewalGetting my new passport ( Read more... )

Pacific Northwest September Travelog #17
PDX Airport - Mon, 5 Sep 2022, 6pm

We wrapped up the last our our three-day weekend in southern Washington today after hiking Panther Falls and hiking a few falls at Beach Rock State Park. (Update: links added.) Around 2:30 we grabbed a late lunch at a drive-in burger stand in the 'burb of Washougal, WA ( Read more... )

Pacific Northwest August Travelog #4
SEA Airport - Sun, 7 Aug 2022, 7:30pm

It's been another day, another busy day, of vacation on our three-day weekend trip to the Pacific Northwest. But busy in a good way! We hiked a bunch more waterfalls in Mt. Rainier National Park ( Read more... )

Hawaii April Travelog #18
Kona - Tue, 12 Apr, 2022, 1:30pm

Today we've flown from Honolulu to Kona, on the "Big Island" of Hawaii. The trek started sometime after 6am when we rose from bed. We were too wrecked for a morning beach walk (previous blog) so we took it easy in the room and packed leisurely ( Read more... )