Ugh. I'm still in Atlanta and won't be in The Netherlands until Tuesday. Really long story. The short version is that, previously unbeknownst to me, you can't get on an international flight if your passport is set to expire within three months of your flight. Now, although my passport isn't supposed to expire until after I return to the States, I still wasn't allowed on the plane, despite all sorts of attempts to get around the rule.
So, I spent four hours at the airport today laboring over how to fix this whole mess and still salvage some sort of trip. As it turns out, the most cost-effective way to do this is to pay the $650 extra for the difference between my ticket and the last-minute one I bought to be on Candace's flight on Monday, meanwhile driving eight hours to and from New Orleans to go pick up an expedited passport on Friday morning. Why New Orleans? Because there are only so many passport-issuing agencies in the country, and the closest one to Atlanta was New Orleans (D.C., Miami, and Chicago were other appealing options, but in the end I went with the shortest drive).
Overall, I would say I kept my cool pretty well today, despite freaking out a bit on the inside. I still can't get over why Delta (and other airlines) don't ask you for your passport's expiration date when you buy the ticket so they could send you an automated response letting you know if your ticket is getting dangerously close to the three-month rule...
Ugh. At least we're still doing the bulk of our international itinerary and I'll get to see New Orleans for the first time on top of it all. Gotta stay positive here! =)
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