Noticing xlv - passport

Today my newest passport—my ninth—arrived in the mail. My old one didn't expire until March, about ten days after we'll be returning from a big trip, but the tour company advised that I get it renewed, simply to avoid any difficulties. It's always a little nerve-wracking, sending such an important document in the mail—but I was able to track it to its arrival in Irving, Texas, on November 10, and after that . . . it was just a matter of waiting. Optimistically.

Optimism paid off, and the new one arrived today! (But not my old one. I sure hope it's coming under separate cover. It's got a lot of memories tucked into those pages.)

I wrote about my old passports and visas almost three years ago, with a photo of the first five I've had on my own. Here are the photos from my first two, when I tagged along on my mother's:

The first one was issued in 1957, hence the special message about Hungary—also Albania, Bulgaria, and Communist China, Korea, and Vietnam (but not, surprisingly, the rest of the East Bloc, including the USSR). And here are the varying covers of those first two and a more recent one:

In any case, I am now good to travel anywhere in the world until November 25, 2029. And you can bet I will.