Passport

 

As I was riding on Interstate 44 through Missouri, on June 30, the second day of my trip, something flew past my face and startled me. It took a few minutes for me to realize what it was. I checked my inside pocket of my motorcycle jacket where I had put my passport and ID after leaving the border. I frantically checked the pocket as I was riding at 100kph. The passport was gone! I got off at the next exit, which was about 10kms further. No doubt about it, it was gone. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t think there was any chance of finding it, but I couldn’t just carry on without a passport. So, I crossed over the highway and went north on the interstate for two exits north and then came south again. I hoped that it would be lying right on the highway and I could manage to get it, but there was no sign of it. There was lots of traffic traveling at speed and I had to keep up. I retraced the route twice, but no luck. I was distraught. I finally decided to keep going and figure it out later. As I rode the rest of the day, I ran all the possibilities through my head: what is my status in the US without a passport?; how do I get back into Canada?; Whom do I have to tell?; can an embassy or consulate help?... I did decide one thing: I wasn’t going to tell anyone back home for two reasons. One, I didn’t want them to worry needlessly and two, I seem to have a reputation for losing things, so I didn’t need the teasing, or chastising, or ridicule.

When I finally stopped for the day and found a hotel, I researched it on the internet. Turns out I had to report the loss to the local police in order to get an official report and I had to contact Passport Canada and report the loss so they could cancel it. So, the next morning, July 1st, I went to the Joplin Police station and reported it. The officer was helpful and sympathetic but wrote up a rather sketchy report. Then I tried phoning Passport Canada. This involved turning on my phone and incurring roaming fees. There was a recorded message about the delays in getting passports, but no number to push if you have lost yours. They said due to high volumes of calls no one can answer and it hung up! No place to leave a message or anything. I tried four times that day and never got through. A couple of days later after the holiday weekend I got in touch with a consulate line and they told me I’d have to go to one of their offices in LA, Chicago, Phoenix, etc., and apply for a replacement if I needed it to fly home. I told her I was on a road trip, so she told me to call Border Services. Which I did and they told me that if I could prove I was Canadian they couldn’t refuse me entry at a land crossing. Whew! I have a photo of the passport, I have my drivers license, OHIP card and ownership and insurance on the bike. So, I think I’m good.

But for the whole trip this was a niggling problem going through my head… I was also worried about how I would get home if something really bad happened, like an accident, or an illness or an exhausted motorcycle… if I couldn’t ride across the border, and had to fly, then I’d really be in a pickle as you can’t fly without a passport. I would have had to rent a vehicle to drive home.  However, when I got to the border the custom’s guy who was very friendly said ‘let’s start with a passport’ and I told him I didn’t have one. That started a conversation but he asked if I had any other ID and my driver’s license did the trick. Whew! So, all the stress and upset didn’t really cause much problem, except of course now I have to apply for a new one, and that will take time.

However, it could have been worse.… I could have lost the passport the day before and I wouldn’t have even got into the States and the whole trip would never have happened. If the trip to the Arctic this September hadn’t been canceled I’d be scrambling around now trying to get a new passport. I could have lost something even more important to the trip itself, like credit cards or my driver’s license. So all things considered it was a stupid mistake or unfortunate accident, depending on your take on it, but luckily it didn’t ruin the trip, thankfully!

Stay tuned, one last post tomorrow... summary.