The time my passport was no longer valid

I'll always remember it, it was December 2011. Friday evening, I finished my work week and stopped by the SAQ to buy a little sparkling wine to celebrate the holidays. Our first romantic getaway, my boyfriend and I, we had to celebrate!

We drank our wine, ate a good meal, and did a final quick check of our suitcases to make sure we hadn't forgotten anything. We were leaving Trois-Rivières for Montreal Sunday morning, our flight being late afternoon. We were going to Cayo Santa Maria! It was my partner's first time flying, and I think I was more nervous than he was… a real weather vane!

But it seems that in the excitement of leaving and the whirlwind of preparations, I forgot to check one small detail: the validity of my passport…

It's about 9:30 PM, and my boyfriend is rummaging through the "paperwork" pouch in my travel bag. He's curious, looking at the travel documents and passports. I make him laugh by showing him my pretty face on my passport.

Suddenly, his expression changed and he said to me, "The date on your passport has expired!"

Me: "EXCUSE ME?!?!"

I'd been in the travel industry for a while, so I was well aware of the entry requirements. I spent my days reminding my clients to check the validity of their passports. And I didn't even look at mine...

General panic! What do we do?

On Saturday morning at 6 a.m., we left Trois-Rivières heading towards Pointe-Claire, the only place where the passport office was open on a Saturday.

The clerk at the counter then gave me an emergency phone number to get a passport right away. I called, and a man gave me an appointment at the passport office in downtown Montreal. He asked me to have my photo taken, my references found, and my renewal form completed beforehand.

The race continued; I went to get my photo taken, called a few friends for references, and arrived in downtown Montreal in the early afternoon. The Passport Canada officer who had arranged to meet me was there and took all my documents before disappearing for a good hour.

He came back with my new passport in hand. Which cost me, get this: $300! We returned to Trois-Rivières exhausted, but ready to leave the next day with a valid document!

The shoemaker's children go barefoot, you might say? Perhaps a little!

The moral of this story: ALWAYS check your documents to avoid a mishap like mine!