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We decided yesterday to make the drive from our home in Cape Coral to the Everglades & what a day it was! We started the day at with an airboat ride and lunch at Sawgrass Recreation Park and then stopped for a short hike at Big Cypress National Preserve on the way home. Packing is not what I’m best at, when we travel with friends we’re usually put in charge of alcohol because they know we won’t forget that, but we often have to stop and buy everything from clothes to beach towels and even shampoo. With all the exploring we plan to do now that we call Florida home I’m determined to do a better job of having everything we need before we leave the house. It’s way more expensive to buy stuff on the road last minute and it wastes valuable time that we could spend exploring! Here’s what I packed for our day trip yesterday and I’m proud to say we didn’t have to buy anything on the road (other than lunch!)
1. A Backpack
This should go without saying, but if you’re anything like us, it’s best I say it anyway. A quality backpack is a must for any adventure around Florida. This FENGDONG waterproof backpack is lightweight and has lots of compartments for keeping things organized. Plus it’s a great price and perfect for day trips and light use.
2. Water
Another item that should go without saying, but it’s a whole lot cheaper to bring it from home than buy it on the road!
3. Sunscreen
Upon moving to Florida I’ve renewed my commitment to using sunscreen ALL OF THE TIME. I’ve not been the most responsible about it in the past but I don’t want to age any faster than I already am and I definitely don’t want to spend valuable exploring time recovering from a sunburn or worse! I’ve been using the La Roche-Posay Oil Free sunscreen because it’s Ozybenzone Free, is great for sensitive skin and comes recommended by many dermatologists.
4. Healthy Snacks
Snacks are easy to find almost anywhere, but healthy snacks can be a little harder to come by. Since we’ve moved to the land of “always swimsuit season” but also “tons of great restaurants” we’ve been trying to keep our unhealthy snacking to a minimum and once I’m hungry I’ll eat just about anything so it’s best if we have some healthier options wit us! I didn’t want to take a cooler so we just packed mixed nuts and some beef jerky for this trip.
5. Bug Spray
Another must for basically anything in Florida, never leave your bug spray behind. We actually didn’t need it yesterday but it’s one of those things it’s best not to leave home without down here! I keep both Avon Skin-So-Soft Bug Guard on hand at all times – it has the added benefit of having SPF 30 as well as the OFF ! Deep Woods Spray because I find it works really well for mosquitos. We found a decent selection of both at Sawgrass Recreation Park but you know the drill, if you forget you’re going to spend more money.
6. Umbrella/Rain Jacket
We’re in the middle of the dry season in Florida but you just never know when it might rain so it’s a good idea to keep an umbrella close by all the time. We left almost all of our belongings in Georgia so we’re still on the hunt for rain jackets we love but we did manage to remember an umbrella. Thankfully we didn’t need it yesterday!
7. Camera
Your phone will work but we like to have a camera with us on all of our adventures. We’re currently using the Canon Rebel EOS 7T and love it. To be fair we aren’t professional photographers (or anything close) but the price was right, it’s compact enough to easily carry with us on our adventures and is easy to use. Hopefully with more practice our photos/videos will get better! We have two ancient GoPro’s back in Georgia which we’ll either need to pick up very soon or replace so we can capture more of our water adventures.
8. Hiking Shoes/Boots
We didn’t remember to pack these, actually, I don’t even own any! However, we learned quickly yesterday that we’ll definitely want to have them on future day trips. On the way home from Sawgrass, we made an unexpected stop at Big Cypress National Preserve. We didn’t make it very far on the first trail we attempted due to muddy conditions. Luckily we met a couple in the parking lot who directed us to another trail across the highway that we were able to hike without destroying our tennis shoes but the first thing I did when I got home was to order these Keen Hiking Shoes for future adventures!
9. Sweatshirt/Light Jacket
This is probably dependent on the time of year (and possibly where you’re from) but I never leave home without a sweatshirt or jacket even if it’s 90 degrees when I walk out the door. Even if the outside temperature never cools enough that I need it, I will often find myself grabbing it if we stop of dinner or to shop! It was overcast and windy yesterday and we were both glad we had them when we got on the airboat!
