other things to consider i'd suppose. My orig birth cert is lost in Cali somewhere, and I do not have a passport, I assume you need one, do they take a long time to get?

thanks
Angela.

Angela, you need the original or a certified copy, issued by the governmental office in charge of birth records for where you were born. Ideally this copy will have a raised seal on it, though some locations don't have the latter. The time it takes to get one depends greatly on where you have to send for it - large cities sometimes take quite a while. A photocopy of your b.c. or a hospital certificate are not acceptable. If your name has changed since your birth (usually due to marriage) you will need a certificate for that too. In addition you need a valid, government-issued photo ID, such as a driver's license.
Passports take anywhere from 2 to 8 weeks to arrive, after application is made (but the clincher is, you will probably need the birth certificate to apply for one.) Good luck!

You can usually call the City Hall in the city where you were born, and they can put you in touch with the necessary department. We always keep ours in our wallet, and my husbands was lost or stolen. I gave them the information, parents name, date of birth, etc., as well as a credit card. All done over the phone, and received in a week. It's a few dollars more, but I would suggest the laminated one which is a little larger than a credit card, and always carried with us. This comes with the raised seal. When you get that, I would suggest that you get the passport if you plan on any further traveling. From what I understand, passports will be mandatory in the very near future. You could possibly try to get it now if you have a photo drivers license, and a voter ID card. Different passort locations take different things. Just pick up a phone and call your nearest passport office. They're located in larger Post Offices.
Hope this helps a little