As we move into the second year of this blog, I’m realizing how fast time can fly. Its almost Thanksgiving and we leave in just a short 5 months! As we get closer to our dream of traveling everywhere but nowhere as Chuck puts it, the busier we are becoming with our planning and preparing. We decided to make our air travel simpler so we applied for Global re-entry. This would help us to re-enter the U.S. with a pre-approved expedited clearance. This also allows us to have the TSA Pre-check in U.S. travel. We had to fill out an application and wait for an interview. After we pressed submit, we waited, and waited, and waited. We were almost to the point of thinking they either forgot about us or we weren’t approved. Then suddenly, 3 weeks later we were granted an interview! At first we thought we would have to go to Miami and then after some research found that we could go to the Tampa airport. It was so easy! I was trying to prepare for interview questions and had my itinerary. For the first 15 minutes the TSA Agent and I carried on a conversation about traveling in general, then he fingerprinted and hand printed me, took my picture and that was it. It was so uneventful. He did mention that he wished more people would obtain the TSA Pre-check or the Global Entry status so they could concentrate more on the bad guys. We also received a card, like your drivers license, that allows you the same pre-approved clearance when crossing the border by car/bus/on foot through Mexico and Canada. There is a cost to get this clearance. About $80 for TSA only or $100 for Global Re-Entry. The good news is we have two travel credit cards that took care of that expense for us. One of the nice perks. These expire in 4 years before we will need to renew them.
Its called Addalock and cost around $35 each. It fits into the doorjamb and the person would have to bust the door down to get in. But what about when we are not home? How safe are our “things”? We don’t plan on carrying any expensive “stuff” with us. For example, we are storing our jewelry, including our wedding rings in the safe here in the states. We are now wearing silicone rings. It’s amazing how comfortable they are. Anyway, back to security. We will have cash, foreign currency and a couple of credit cards to mention a few. For a little added security while we are away from our temporary home, I bought a nanny-cam.
Its a Wyze Cam Pan 1080p. This is the 2nd generation. They also make a smaller stationary version that’s cheaper. This one was around $40 and is about 5 inches tall and 2 inches wide and lightweight. Its motion activated and will send an alarm to my phone when motion activates the camera. Then I get a short video clip. I can then open the software on my phone and watch in real time to see what is activating the motion. I can pan the camera 360 degrees. It even has two way voice so I can tell whoever it may be to get the heck out of my house!!! It records to a microSD card and is set to overwrite so time will never run out. These extra measures aren’t 100% foolproof but it’s almost enough to make me feel a little safer. Some places have a safe but many don’t. We’ll need a good hiding place if not on our person.
This will help eliminate the high cost of buying bottled water. The bottles with filters were around $20. I’ll buy about a dozen filters to take with us. They have more expensive filtered bottles that get high reviews but I went in the middle. Not the worst, not the best.
Until next time. May God bless you always!
WorldTravelReynolds 