Passport check!
Before leaving for Mexico, I always do a visual "passport check" with everyone in the van, be it middle schoolers or adults. The reason is that the 2 leaders of the very first group I ever worked with, after I had asked everyone if they had their passports and they had all responded that they did, inadvertently left theirs behind. It resulted in a drive to the complete opposite side of town and Chris walking across the border to retrieve them, then walking back and hopping in the van, thankfully before we had reached the guard station. Hence Erin's policy, which has been strictly enforced ever since.
That being said, I just got back from Mexico WITHOUT my passport! I used my SENTRI card for the first time and it was sweet!!! We've finally jumped through all the hoops and now we're good to go! A couple teensy-weensy glitches:
1. They're only good at the Zaragoza bridge, so when driving back from San Lucas, Sin Paredes, or Cristo Rey it's a bit of a drive. BUT, we have to head back east one way or another, whether on the way to the Zaragoza bridge or on Loop 375 after crossing the downtown bridge, so it all evens out in the end.
2. Anyone who doesn't have a card (aka all servant event members) have to get out and walk. They can pay the walking toll ($0.50 I think) or climb over a 3ft. high or so fence that's actually pretty easy to scale since it has rungs like a ladder. Today, however, our first day of using the express lane, we encountered a unique problem that I hadn't really thought of before: the walking line was SUPER long so Chris and I in the van beat Jan and Andrew from Messiah Lutheran Church in Lakeville, MN, by a mile! I felt awful at first, but less so after I thought about it logically. They spent less time standing in line than we would have spent sitting in line, it saved gas/maintenance on the van, and it gave us time to get some things accomplished at the mission before heading back to pick them up. Plus the walking line is NOT normally that long!
Small sacrifices to make in exchange for waiting sometimes 2+ hours. I was thankful for our investment today...I REALLY will be in July!
That being said, I just got back from Mexico WITHOUT my passport! I used my SENTRI card for the first time and it was sweet!!! We've finally jumped through all the hoops and now we're good to go! A couple teensy-weensy glitches:
1. They're only good at the Zaragoza bridge, so when driving back from San Lucas, Sin Paredes, or Cristo Rey it's a bit of a drive. BUT, we have to head back east one way or another, whether on the way to the Zaragoza bridge or on Loop 375 after crossing the downtown bridge, so it all evens out in the end.
2. Anyone who doesn't have a card (aka all servant event members) have to get out and walk. They can pay the walking toll ($0.50 I think) or climb over a 3ft. high or so fence that's actually pretty easy to scale since it has rungs like a ladder. Today, however, our first day of using the express lane, we encountered a unique problem that I hadn't really thought of before: the walking line was SUPER long so Chris and I in the van beat Jan and Andrew from Messiah Lutheran Church in Lakeville, MN, by a mile! I felt awful at first, but less so after I thought about it logically. They spent less time standing in line than we would have spent sitting in line, it saved gas/maintenance on the van, and it gave us time to get some things accomplished at the mission before heading back to pick them up. Plus the walking line is NOT normally that long!
Small sacrifices to make in exchange for waiting sometimes 2+ hours. I was thankful for our investment today...I REALLY will be in July!
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Carol