Having a passport that was due to expire in April and not knowing for sure if a spring trip was in the plans, I decided to be proactive and renew early. I did the renewal form myself, got pictures at AAA and entered our passports into the mail stream via Priority Mail on Jan. 12. Bear in mind, there was a federal holiday, a very short government shutdown and some nasty weather across the country. I was shocked to receive the new passports today, Jan 25. A total turnaround in less than 2 full weeks and approx. 7-8 working days. Pretty impressive considering there was no expedited service.

Now all I have to do is find the resources to make a trip.