T minus 99 Days & Counting

Visa or Visa Waiver Programme? Excuse me? I don't get it...

This has already turned out to be really confusing and I've only just started to looking into the documentation required to enter the country. I know that my passport is not the biometric type because it was renewed just after I got married and went on holiday to my parents apartment in Tenerife - my God was that only 4 years ago? There as been a lot of water under the bridge since then.

But it is an exempt passport with the digital photograph and machine readable zone? I honestly cannot remember, when was the last time you actually looked at your passport? All I can remember about it was that it replaced my original black passport that I had owned since I was 16 and is encased in a leather wallet in the motif of the Flag of St George... that's me English; not British; English and proud of it (check out my birthday, 23rd April. St George's Day). 

But I haven't a clue where it is. I remember that when she decided we were to "split" she kindly went through all the joint paperwork, separated out my Driving License, old savings account book with Nationwide Building Society, pension information and my passport. I did not take much notice of where she stored them because (1) I didn't think she was serious at first (2) You never do, do you?

I presume she has a box file somewhere with "Paul" written on it in her child-handwriting (she is left-handed and prints everything she writes so it looks like a small child had written it - that's not a critique, it's a fact) and contains everything from my birth certificate to my A Level certificates and pictures of when I was a 6 year schoolboy. I'm not going to ask her just yet, the same way I'm not going to ask her about the Visa situation even though she has been twice is six months. I hate having to ask her for anything.

Anyway, I think my passport has the machine readable section & digital photograph, she has not mentioned anything about Visas so I can only assume that she does need one - so neither will I as we both got our passports at the same time. But I will check it out with someone else who knows more than I.

According the the US Government Consulate website I don't need a Visa is I'm a holder of a machine readable passport. But according to the FCO (Foreign & Commonwealth Office) I am going to me murdered, raped, kidnapped for sex tourism, contract malaria/small pox/ HIV & AIDS/ebola and other nasty diseases. I'm going to visit the United States of America NOT ECCLES!

Anyway, I'm going to look for my passport tomorrow, make a list of the other things I will need, review my luggage allowance and price up some cool looking suitcases because I'm going to need a new carry-on bag that I can get my MacBook in as I refuse to be parted from it.

That's the start of my to-do list.

1. Passport - where is it and is it the right one?
2. Luggage - how much can I take over there?
3. Luggage - are my cases cool enough?

And so begins my weekend...