GLAD WE TOOK

On the whole we did pretty well with the things we took with us. When we were packing we wondered if we needed some things or not while other things we just plain forgot about. Anyway – here’s a list of the things we took with us which proved to be really useful and also a list of things we regretted not taking for one reason or another.

Glad we took:

• New digital video camera - this was a really great trip and we were so pleased to have got so much of it on video. We have watched it time and time again since returning and I'm sure we would not have taken so much video (if any) if we had not got a new video camera before we left. The one we were advised to get was a Panasonic NV-GS17 from InternetCamcordersDirect (they were the cheapest we found).
• Juha Bag - On the beach this big bag was just great. It seems to be really well made and holds loads of stuff. We bought it online from PicnicShop along with a small cool bag.
• Gameboy - Although Oliver had too much other entertainment to keep him occupied on the flight out, we did drive a long way while we were in Florida and so Oliver's Gameboy (which we got from Amazon at Christmas) proved to be a ideal for keeping him occupied. Alice is a bit too young for one really.
• Walkie Talkies - A friend of ours had got some walkie-talkies for when they went skiing and raved about them. They suggested we might find them useful in Disney and as it turned out they were brilliant - saved us getting lost several times. We go this BT Two Way Radio from Amazon and they worked excellently.
• Money pouch - while we never felt nervous about being pickpocketed having a money pouch which we wore around the waist was very useful for cash, credit cards, travellers cheques, passports (if we need to take them out) and tickets for Disney parks. I think we got this from a local bag shop.

Things we wish we had taken:

• A new digital still camera - We have an oldish Sony digital camera. The pictures we took with it were pretty good but the battery is on its way out and the pictures taken inside are pretty grainy. On reflection, we probably ought to have thought about getting a new one before we went as we will need to replace this one soon anyway - we have our eye on the Sony DCS-T33 - we'll probably get it from InternetCameraDirect.
• Power adapter - we totally forgot to take a power adaptor and ended up getting ripped off in a dodgy electrical shop in Miami. You can get them from lots of places at home such as Woolworths I think.
• Map - the hire car company gave us a small map but this was only of the local area and we really could have done with a proper map of Florida for the amount of driving we did. We looked for one in a few placed but never found a suitable map - as a result we got lost a couple of times and doing without the wasted time and frustration would have need well worth the cost of getting one before we went. Amazon sells quite a few maps of Florida - this Holiday Map looks quite good.