Passport In!

Well, I got my passport in the mail today. Quite a fast process, that expedited renewal option. My thanks to the lads and ladies at the U.S. Dept. of State. Well worth the extra $60. Actually brought the priority envelope in from the mailbox a couple days ago and realized only now what it might contain. So, that's out of the way, and I guess I can start preparing for the trip.

Still need to bolt together some more concrete plans with a hotel reservation or two, etc. Need to look into "Ryan Air" I think. That's a European regional air service that I may use rather than the TGV to get to England/Ireland. I met someone at a bar in Newport who said I should most definitely visit Kinsale, Ireland if I head over that way. Apparently, it is the official sister city of Newport.

Need to start going over my preliminary list of supplies and gear and then figure out exactly how I'm going to pack for this trip. So far, it looks like I need to fit everything I'll need for three weeks into a single pack. Then there is a money belt, traveler's checks, the new cell phone... I swear I won't be finishing the last details the night before my flight. I did get a new knife already, though. Gerber AR 3.0. Great damn knife. Same as the one I lost in San Fran, except it's all stainless. Of course this means I must check my bag at the airport. Probably better anyway because I may go ahead and buy a new, larger pack for this trip and it will be too big for carry-on anyway.

Still debating whether or not to bring my great-grandfather's WWI compass with me. He was in France during the war, I think. And I just think it would be amazing to navigate through a bit of the french countryside with it about a hundred years after it was first there in his hands. But the thought of losing it or having it stolen makes me think twice. I will have Houdini with me, of course.

I'm heading to my dad's in NJ tomorrow for Thanksgiving, and he is holding on to Pop Pop's war diary for me, so maybe I'll at least look up some of the specific locations where he was and be sure to set foot there in respect of him and the country of France.