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Entry bubble If I knew then what I know now

By: Jess | January 29, 2009 | Category: Travel

Man holding passportWho hasn't had one of those "Duh!" moments? You know, the ones where you realize after the fact that there was a much easier way to do something?

I had one of those moments as soon as I started my job with the Federal Citizen Information Center in November and learned about USA.gov.

As a child of the Google generation, my first instinct is to Google anything I want to know. If only I had known USA.gov is like the Google for government information.

Unfortunately for me, my dreaded experience trying to get a passport might be the perfect story to illustrate why I wish I would have known about USA.gov when I was in college.

At the beginning of my junior year, I wanted to spend winter term studying in Italy. It was a three-week program touring all the art and architecture in some of Italy's most famous cities, culminating in a final paper and three upper level elective credits.

It seemed financially feasible if some scholarship money came through. The only thing I needed was a passport.

I Googled how to get one, followed what I thought were reliable directions and showed up at the post office only to be told my photo wasn't acceptable. It followed the size dimensions, but wasn't zoomed in enough, or some detail like that.

I was caught off guard and frazzled, but the helpful woman working that day offered to take another picture for me.

I took a minute to catch my breath and compose myself so I could look pretty in my glamour shot. It didn't work.

Jess and roommates in BahamasI never went to Italy, but I used that passport on my graduation cruise to the Bahamas, and to this day my roommates cackle with laughter when they think about my horrible, horrible photo.

Makes me wish I had known about USA.gov a few years earlier to check out all the passport requirements. I could have looked like a superstar in my photo. Or at the very least, not like a crazy person.

Please tell me I'm not the only one with an unfortunate passport picture. Feel free to share your horror stories in the comments.

| Post a Comment | View Comments [5] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: jess   passport   usa.gov  

 

Entry bubble Inauguration Withdrawal...Hero Pilot

By: Colleen | January 21, 2009 | Category: Travel

plane

Washington, DC has been a whirlwind of celebration the past few days. As we all try to get back to business as usual, I wanted to take a look at events from last week that still have me fascinated.

As a fairly nervous flyer, I usually steer clear of any reports of plane crashes, knowing it'll do nothing but add to my paranoia. But last week's plane crash into the Hudson River had me riveted.

More than anything I was blown away by the skill and professionalism of the pilot. As a former Air Force guy, my Dad said the second he heard about it, he guessed that the pilot must have served in the military. As per usual, Dad was right.

The pilot, Chesley B. Sullenberger is a true hero. (a little fun coincidence- I'm watching Mariah Carey sing "hero" at the Neighborhood Ball as I type this....guess my invite got lost in the mail.) He managed to land his plane safely in the Hudson River- when it just as easily could have gone right into Madison Avenue.

All reports are that the passengers remained calm as Sullengerger warned them to "brace for impact." Those in the emergency rows performed their duties as instructed and all passengers and flight attendants made it out and relatively unharmed.

What really got me thinking is that I've been on countless flights, and how often do I actually listen to the emergency instructions regulated by the FAA? Where is that life-vest thingy again? Usually when I'm seated in an exit row, I'm just excited about a few more inches of leg-room. I really need to start paying attention to the assigned duties, should I ever have to perform them.

 I'm glad to be reminded, once again, that I need to be prepared, should something terrible happen. It's also good to know that there are people like Mr. Sullenberger who know how to perform in times of trouble.

| Post a Comment | View Comments [3] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: air_travel   airline   colleen   fly   planes  

 

Entry bubble Show Your Passport at the Border

By: Jake | December 08, 2008 | Category: Travel

Passport picture

We've been getting a lot of calls at the National Contact Center about the new passport requirements that take effect on June 1, 2009. People want to apply for or renew a passport now because these new requirements state that U.S. citizens traveling to Mexico and Canada will be required to present a passport or passport card to enter or re-enter the U.S. on June 1. Currently you only need a passport to enter or re-enter the U.S. from a border country by air, but the new requirements will require a passport or passport card to enter or re-enter by land, sea and air.

If you don't have a passport, I suggest you get one ASAP because it could be cheaper, you'll get it quicker and you'll save yourself some headaches. Earlier this year, I found out firsthand that passport fees can rise at the beginning of the year. I know from past experience that processing times will take longer as the deadline approaches and you don't want to pay extra money to expedite your passport.

The current routine processing time for passports is three weeks. Here are the new rules from the Department of State:

On June 1, 2009, the U.S. government will implement the full requirements of the land and sea phase of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). The proposed rules require most U.S. citizens entering the United States at sea or land ports of entry to have a passport, passport card, or WHTI-compliant document.
Please Note: Children under age 16 will be able to continue crossing land & sea borders using only a U.S. birth certificate (or naturalization certificate) after the new law takes effect in June. The original birth certificate or a copy may be used. See the Department of Homeland Security's Ready, Set.. Go! for more information on the changing travel requirements.

The good news is if you're going directly to Puerto Rico or another of the U.S. territories, they're considered part of the U.S., so you don't need a passport! Makes a great case for visiting the U.S. Virgin Islands!

| View Comments [3] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: canada   jake   mexico   passport   travel  

 

Entry bubble Museums and Halls of Fame

By: Jim | September 29, 2008 | Category: Travel

Museum at nightA recent weekend away got me thinking about some of the historic and artistic destinations in the DC area that I’ve not yet seen. A lot of them free at that! Why is it that so many of us who live in cities with a variety of attractions rarely take advantage of them? For example, I have yet to finish touring all of the museums of the Smithsonian Institution or go to one of its Folklife Festivals.

If you're like me, you probably have the usual excuses, like being too busy or wanting to wait until you have houseguests. Others of us may have children and think the kids may not enjoy a trip the local museum. Not to fear! Museums and Learning has tips on how to prepare for and enjoy a trip to the museum with your kids. If you think you're not ready for a trip to the Museum of Modern Art with the kids, then maybe a visit to a children's museum is in order.

For something a little unusual, try a hall of fame. Back home in Northeastern Ohio there are such diverse venues as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, and the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Akron. If you or your kids have a particular interest or hobby, do a quick search using your hobby with the term "hall of fame" or "museum" and see what you come up with, like the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum in Gatlinburg, TN. Another way to find about interesting cultural opportunities is to go to your town's chamber of commerce or department of tourism. Check out USA.gov's history, arts, and culture page page for more ideas, too.

Does your home town have an unusual attraction?

| View Comments [6] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: art   children   culture   hall_of_fame   hobby   jim   kids   museum   travel  

 

Entry bubble The Climbing Chinook at the Bonneville Dam

By: Stephanie | July 18, 2008 | Category: Travel

Bonneville Dam fish ladderHere's a ladder that you can't use to paint your kitchen or screw in that hard-to-reach lightbulb. It's reserved for use by Oncorhynchus tshawytscha and Acipenser transmontanus. That's chinook salmon and white sturgeon, for short. At the Bonneville Dam in Cascade Locks, Oregon, venerable fish such as these swim up "fish ladders" made just for them. The ladders, which are used across the U.S., allow fish to bypass dams and natural barriers, usually on their way upstream to spawn.

As my husband and I stopped in to the Bonneville Dam's visitor's center awhile back, Woody Guthrie's "Roll On Columbia" played in my head. While we were interested in seeing the historic dam, who knew that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could make watching fish swim a truly captivating endeavor?

Outside the visitor's center, I could clearly see the fish ladder coming from the Columbia River. Designed to simulate a set of rapids, it has helped an average of more than one million salmon and other fish migrate past the dam each year. Inside the center, we were greeted by huge windows that surprised us with an underwater view into the fish ladder itself. Schools of steelheads and jacks swam by in the cloudy water as we ran to the windows like little kids to get a better look. We also were lucky enough to spot a lone lamprey, which stopped to rest on the glass with its suction-cup mouth before it continued its fight against the current.

Bonneville Dam fish counter in her office

And file this under "cool government job." We met one of the fish counters at the dam—a very nice woman who sits in an office with a huge window for hours at a time, counting and identifying the various fish that swim past her window through the ladder, for conservation and other purposes.

If you want to see a murky view of what the fish counters see in real time, visit the Bonneville Dam's Fishcam. It sure beats watching an aquarium screen saver any day.

Have you been to an interesting government visitors center?

| View Comments [5] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: bonneville_dam   columbia_river   fish_ladder   government_job   salmon   stephanie   visitors_center  

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