We aren’t sailing anywhere, at least until Easter. Our passports expire in April 2024. Since it’s March 2023, most people might not consider this a priority. That’s not us because we learned about the six-month passport validity rule. Many countries want your passport to be valid three to six months beyond your date of arrival. (1) So why is that a problem?
If our passports expire next April, this means we enter the six-month window in October 2023. We have booked a Caribbean cruise on Cunard for December 2023. Unless we want to get left at the dock in NYC, we had to do something. In early February we sent our passports in for renewal using the expedited service the State Department offers. Our checks for $206 each were cashed on Valentine’s Day. We are hopeful we will have our new passports in hand by Easter, about eight weeks later. We shall see.
We chose to renew now because we don’t have any late winter travel plans. What can we do since we cannot fly to Europe or take advantage of a really great cruise fare? What can you do if you find yourself in our position?
- Visit the really great shopping mall. We live in Bucks County, PA about 40 miles outside Philadelphia. The King Prussia shopping mall is about an hour away. For years, this mall was the highest grossing mall in the country based on sales revenue per square foot. There is an indoor intersection featuring Tiffany, Cartier, Hermes and Louis Vuitton. It’s the 3rd largest mall in the US with 450 stores. That number includes 19 major restaurants. It’s great for a day out and there is a Marriott Fairfield Inn on the property.
- Take a luxury hotel city break. New York City is 70 miles away, about 90 minutes from the nearest commuter train station in New Jersey. Why visit Tiffany and Cartier at a mall when you can walk into their flagship stores on Fifth Avenue? New York is considered by many to be the center of the universe. A visit combined with a couple of nights in a hotel is an ideal city break. We ask ourselves “What would be do in London” and just do it here.
- Consider Kohler, WI. OK, Wisconsin isn’t the ideal winter destination for most people. We will probably wait until it gets a little warmer. Kohler is a company town 60 miles above Milwaukee. As the name implies, it is the headquarters of the famous bathroom fixture company. The jewel in the crown is The American Club, the former worker’s dormitory transformed into a luxury hotel. All the rooms have great bathrooms. The restaurants are fantastic. They offer factory tours and they have an unbelievable design center! If you like both enjoying luxury bathrooms and imagining what is possible, this is a great destination.
- Become a tourist. New Hope, Pennsylvania is nearby. The population of this 2,400-person town grows to about 20,000 on weekends as people wake up in their homes and say: “It’s a beautiful day. Let’s take a drive to New Hope.” This one square mile town has about 200+ stores plus a steam train, horse drawn carriages and Broadway quality playhouse. It’s fun to be a tourist in the US once in a while.
- Sail on American Cruise lines. You have seen their name if you watch Antiques Roadshow on PBS. As the name implies, they sail in the US. You do not need a US passport to sail with them, unless your voyage goes into Canada. You can still cruise, even without a passport.
- Take a road trip. We like the idea of overnight trips to places we can reach by car. We have more control. There is a great auction house we like in North Carolina. It is about seven hours by car from our home. Since we follow them online, when we see something we might buy, it makes sense to drive down, stay a night or two, attend the auction and pack our finds in the trunk before driving home. How many interesting places are within a reasonable drive from your home?
- Consider Amtrak. We have friends who live just beyond reasonable driving distance. It makes sense to take the train, relax for a few hours and let them do the driving on the other end. Amtrak fares can be surprisingly reasonable and the coaches have lots more room than airplanes.
- Does glamping work for you? Glamor camping is that theme you have been considering if you ever take an African safari. You are living in a tent, but it has a floor, toilet facilities and champagne. Someone does the cooking for you and the other guests. There should be some sites near you. Maybe you can even bring your dog.
- Vineyard tours. Wine is produced in all fifty states. In case you are a wine snob (like me) and contend some states have no business producing wine, they likely bring the grapes in from elsewhere. This answers the question why there is a winery in Brooklyn, NY. You should have a wine trail beyond the city limits. Expect tasting rooms, picnic areas and quaint inns.
- Don’t forget the quaint inns. You should be able to find a few within driving distance of your home. A drive of an hour or two isn’t bad if you can relax in a small-town environment, eat great food and walk around a quaint village. If you can get away for a midweek break, the rates can be quite reasonable.
Waiting for your passport to be renewed does not mean you are stuck in Limbo until they arrive.
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