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Nashville, TN: Part of my job / paranoid work tendencies is to make sure everyone's passport is up to date before we head out for an international show. Usually the band & crew are at least aware of the year their passport is going to expire, but in some cases I have to send an urgent email to let them know if the month it's scheduled for is coming up sooner than our upcoming travel date.
This year, I had a chance to shock myself when I realized my own passport was about to expire this month.
Before I sent off my worn book to the government, I took some time to go through and review my travels through the last 10 years of my life.
From 2003 - 2005, I had used the passport for entry into the British Virgin Islands, the Bahamas and Canada. But in 2006, when I made my first international / across the pond trip to London was when the travel bug bit hard.
Since then, I have made it a point to travel out of the country every year. Usually (and luckily), it is a work-related trip, but if it looks like it's not going to pan out that way, I make sure I figure out a way to get myself overseas to explore new frontiers.
Not knowing if I'd ever see my old passport again, I scanned some of my favorite stamps from my journeys:
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October 2006 -- Japan Visa while on tour with John Mayer
(enjoy the fact that I'm listed as an entertainer) |
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November 2006 -- New Zealand Visa while on tour (still) with John Mayer
(NZ remains one of my most favorite places in the world) |
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A smattering of various trips, including:
February 2006 -- Bahamas (on tour with Kenny Chesney)
November 2007 -- Australia (on tour with Brandi Carlile)
May 2008 -- Israel (personal visit with friends / photo journey)
March 2009 -- Haiti (personal visit with friends / photo journey)
December 2010 -- Mexico (personal visit / Christmas vacation)
April 2011 -- London (on tour with Mom with the "When She's 64 Tour")
March 2012 -- Germany (on tour with Reba) |
On a metaphorical level (what would this blog be without some emotional tie-in?), some other places I visited from 28 to 38, but never got a stamp from have been:
- The Land of Poor Decisions (usually following a stop at The Bar of Binge Drinking)
- The Wide Open World of New Opportunities
- The Sea of Hopelessness
- The Planet of Perfect Timing
- and a personal favorite: The Space Between
Though I was sad to have to say goodbye to the book I've been guarding for a decade, I'm excited to fill the new one up with future travels and memories.
And happy to finally have a better picture.
