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8.03.2008
Mistakes: The Trip from Hades, Pt. 2
We finished shooting for SI and retreated to Coronado Island, outside of San Diego, for a few days rest before heading south to cover the Baja 1000 for Micron. Needless to say, this was quite different than the previous job I had in college, working part-time for a mid-size daily newspaper. Joe reminded me of this as we sat having breakfast on the patio one morning, overlooking the harbor and city, surrounded by palm trees and beautiful weather.
I was enjoying my stay on the island, walking around the nearby area snapping pictures, driving down to the village and shopping for flip flops, and visiting the beach at The Del. Yes, all was going well until the day before crossing the border to Mexico...
As I'm getting things organized, preparing to cross the border, I decide to ahead and pull my passport out of the camera bag pocket I had packed it in. I unzip the pocket, stick my hand in, and don't feel anything.
What. The. Crap.
I proceed to empty every single pocket of every single bag I have with me. Every zipper unzipped, every pocket emptied, every nook uncrannied. Nothing. It's official...
I... have lost... my freaking passport!
The passport that I had just gotten for this trip. The passport that had never been outside of the United States. The passport that had no stamps on any of the pages. Gone.
I go down to meet Joe for breakfast, having absolutely no idea what I'm going to do or how he is going to react. He walks in and greets me, but sees the look on my face and immediately asks what's wrong.
"I can't find my passport."
He looks displeased, to say the least, but gains his composure and immediately begins thinking about how we're going to pull this off. Luckily, this is taking place in 2006, and access to Mexico is still possible with a U.S. driver's license.
Once we figure this out, a sigh of potential relief is breathed (you never know for sure what's going to happen until it happens). We enjoy the rest of our time in Coronado, then prepare to venture south of the border.
The next morning, we awake, load our rental vehicle, and drive south. We arrive at the border, pull out the instructions that have been emailed to us on how to get our visas (the process involves a lot of going from one office to another and then back to the previous office, and it has to be done in a very particular order).
At one point, I am asked for my passport. I smile and say, "Driver's license?" as I hand it toward the officer.
"Passport...?"
Big, friendly smile. "Driver's license...?"
He rolls his eyes and accepts my license, finishes processing the paper work, and we're on our way.
Sweet! I made it into Mexico without my passport! It was a moment of joy for me. Unfortunately, it would be short-lived...
Labels: mistakes
posted by Brad @ 1:05 PM,
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