I got married in Pebble Beach, CA in November of 2003. It was a destination wedding, so we had to apply for our marriage license once we got there. I did not have a passport at the time, only a driver's license and birth certificate. We were going to Mexico two days after the wedding, and I was planning on using the birth certificate to get in.

So, we got the license, got married, and I packed all of the cool weather clothing, the marriage license and my birth certificate (accidentally) and sent it home with my family. I wanted to travel light to Mexico.

Of course, we discovered this at 5 am at the Monterey, CA airport when we tried to check in. I tried everything, crying, offering cash, etc. The first person said no go. After the plane took off, once of the AA gate agents started calling around, and discovered I could get an affadavit of US Citizenship to get in and out of the country.

We drove to San Jose, CA and met a notary in the airport who asked me if I was who I claimed to be, and gave me the Affadavit of US Citizenship. I got into Mexico via SJC and DFW with no problem. My mom faxed my birth certificate and driver's license to the hotel, and I carried it with me on the way back. (Side note, Fed Ex, UPS and every other carrier we tried could not get to Cabo San Lucas within a week for any price.)

In Dallas, the custom's agent said he would not let me back in on the affadavit, but he was willing to use the photocopy of my driver's license. As we've seen many other times on FT, if you don't get the answer you want the first time, keep trying or ask someone else!

I now have a passport and two driver's licenses, so hopefully this won't happen again!