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These past couple of years have been light on travel, obviously. All of our best laid plans had to be postponed or cancelled.
Even though the travel industry has had to deal with a lot of adversity, some of the big players did try to do right by their customers. For example, extending status, extending point expiration, and the best of all, extending the expiration date on the hotel free night certificates offered to holders of certain credit cards.
Which is how we found ourselves with 7 free nights that had to be redeemed in the near future.
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I remember the first time I heard about Global Entry with its promise of quick and easy re-entry to the U.S. from international trips without having to wait in the ridiculous lines that so often pile up at immigration. Not only that, it came with TSA PreCheck which allowed skipping some of the inconveniences involved with domestic travel – all for $100 and valid for five years. Sign me up!
Recently, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) started piloting a new option whereby you can renew your Global Entry subscription via a remote interview vice in-person. I tried it out and was surprised with the result!
Almost exactly a year ago, my wife and I resigned from our careers as Foreign Service officers with the U.S. Department of State at the completion of our overseas tour in Islamabad, Pakistan. Having met our financial goals and ready to transition to new adventures, we returned to my home state of Maine to see friends and family before spending the winter in Mexico. During that trip, I decided that I wanted to spend the majority of the next summer outside. Though I was already doing some writing and instruction for various outdoor companies and outfitters, I wanted to immerse myself in the outdoor industry and get some more hands-on experience.
Becoming a whitewater raft guide seemed like the perfect fit for several reasons: it’s in-demand (outfitters are always hiring), has a relatively low barrier to entry (just a license, explained below), and you can work as little or as much as you want. It seemed ideal across the board, so I went for it. Having just finished up my season, I can attest to the fact that this is a fantastic seasonal gig for early retirees or those on sabbatical.
The past several years we spent the summer jetting around the globe for grand adventures… Costa Brava, Provence, Hoi An, Bali, rural Minnesota…
… but Winnie’s pregnancy is now in the 3rd trimester so travel isn’t really something we aspire to. And there is that global pandemic thing still raging… so this year we are mostly nesting, but also slipping in a few mini-adventures in Taiwan (aka a COVID-free island sanctuary.)
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Last Thursday was Jr’s last day of school. In each of the 3 prior years, at this time of year we were on a plane to Europe. Paris, Barcelona, Florence…. ahh, the good life. After a few months, we would hop across the pond to the good ole U S of A to visit friends and family before returning to Asia.
But when it came time to plan this year’s epic adventures, none of us were feeling very… epic. Or adventurous.
Hi Jeremy, thanks for all you do. I really appreciate everything you share on GCC. You guys are really living the dream. The thing is, we really love our life here in the US. Traveling the world and having grand adventures might be fun for a year or so, but we ultimately want to just enjoy a simple life in a (TBD) nice place in the US. I know this is different than what you guys are doing. What do you think?
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