Passports

For years registering a vehicle and getting a driver's license in our part of New Jersey has been a nightmare - a long line to get a number, another long line to process the paperwork and still another to pay the bill and pick up the plate or license. It could take most of the day! A few years ago the computer age hit the NJDMV and we could renew these privileges online. Then came 9-11. Now we have to renew our driver's licenses in person and prove who we are with an arm load of paper documents. Then we can look forward to doing it all over again in four years because a driver's license isn't considered valid identification. To be fair to NJDMV, they have become a lot more efficient. Shorter lines and wait times have reduced the time investment to a half day. But it's still not a pleasurable process!

Government bureaucracies being what they are, getting a passport had to be worse. The same redundant proof of existence and citizenship is required and if past experience is any guide - we had to make several 30 mile trips to our county seat - there was bound be as much hassle as getting a driver's license - or more. But if we wanted to do any traveling outside the country, which we are planning to do, we needed passports. Yesterday we bit the bullet and made our way through sleet and rain to the US Post Office to apply for them. What a pleasant surprise! 20 minutes after walking in the door we were walking out with the promise that we would have our passports in about 6 weeks. Unlike the State of New Jersey, the US State Department accepts a New Jersey driver's license as proof of existence and citizenship. The only other document we needed - we'd come armed with the works - was our old passports, 20 years expired.