I think I packed really well for this trip. There wasn’t a single item of clothing that I took but didn’t wear. Although at times I wished I’d taken a jacket, I made do with long-sleeved shirts worn as a jacket/cover-up, and not having a jacket meant one less thing to carry. And there was never a time where I really wished for something I hadn’t brought. Here are some of the really essential items I took with me to Orlando and Amelia Island. (None of this is sponsored; I‘m just sharing what works for me)

Dream Duffel – I‘ve mentioned the Dream Duffel in many of my posts. We have two — one large, one small — for different situations. The small holds 3-5 costumes, according to the manufacturer, and the large one holds 10-15. I can tell you those numbers are conservative, in that they hold that many costumes plus shoes, accessories, steamer, first aid kit, etc. We use the big one when we need to take more than a few costumes, and when we travel with all her costumes. Last year Madeline had eleven competition dances, and we easily fit everything we needed for dance, plus a toaster, in the large Dream Duffel.

[Side note: if you‘re wondering why we carry a toaster, it‘s because some call times are before any restaurants (or even Starbucks) open, so it‘s nice to be able to make yourself a bagel or a piece of avocado toast in the hotel room]

Last time we flew to Nationals two years ago, we took along the Dream Duffel carry-on, which we bought specifically for nationals. But it‘s not as well engineered as their other products. Each of the bags comes with two telescoping rods that come up out of the duffel, and then a hanging bar that fits onto the rods, making a handy garment rack for your costumes to hang from in the dressing room (or hotel room). The carry-on is designed to sit vertically when the hanging bar is up, and at nationals two years ago, it kept falling over. This year, Madeline insisted that we should not take the travel Dream Duffel, so I came up with a different plan.

I measured our small Dream Duffel, and it was just small enough to fit within Southwest Airline‘s checked bag size without us paying for oversized luggage. I put all the costumes (in plastic bags because I was paranoid about them getting destroyed in transit) and shoes in my good carry-on, which I discussed a bit in this previous post. Then I put the more easily replaceable things like hangers, garment bags, etc., in the small Dream Duffel and checked the Dream Duffel for the flight. When we got to the room, right after the bed bug check, I set up the Dream Duffel, hung up all of the costumes, and let the wrinkles start relaxing. With three of us in the room, there wouldn‘t have been enough closet space for all our hanging things plus all eleven costumes. On competition days, I‘d put the costumes she wasn‘t wearing in the closet, and then we‘d pack the Dream Duffel and take it to the convention area. It worked out really well, and I think this will be our practice from now on for nationals, and maybe other regional competitions involving travel.

Kate Spade bag – a couple years ago, right after the winter holidays, I saw a Kate Spade bag on super sale that I couldn‘t live without (it was mostly the color, which I think is gorgeous). It was on final sale, so I assumed they were discontinuing it. I splurged to treat myself, and I have never regretted it. It was the Schuyler medium tote, but it is large enough for everything I need. I have a giant, heavy, laptop from work, and it fits in this thing, along with my iPad, small bound notebook, eyeglasses and sunglasses, a small zipper bag full of chargers and cables, my rain hat (which I carry at nearly all times), and more. I have a few work bags I like, and I‘d been carrying a different one recently, but I switched to the Schuyler tote for the trip because it zips. When I‘m putting my bag below the seat in front of me on an airplane, I don‘t want to worry about anything falling out. This thing is also durable enough to handle whatever dirt is in the airplane carpet. And it hangs on my shoulder properly, hits me at a good spot, and the straps don‘t slip. On the way down, in addition to my normal items (sans work laptop, which I did not take on this trip), I also included a swimsuit and some snacks. I love, love, love this bag, and I can‘t imagine a better one for the trip. (P.S. The Kate Spade website says one can‘t link without express permission, but when I tried to contact them to link, their form wouldn‘t let me submit. So, I‘m sorry if you wanted a link)

Reusable shopping bag – For Christmas last year, a friend/colleague gave me a gift basket with some wonderful home-baked bread, other food, and a nice, compact, reusable shopping bag. I keep it in the van so I can take it into stores like Target, where I think I‘m buying two things but will probably end up with a dozen things instead. It‘s so compact that I decided to throw it in my carry-on for the trip, and it came in really useful. I used it for shopping, when I went to the pool, etc. I‘ll probably take it with me on every trip from now on. (Picture below is it all folded into itself for easy carrying)

Oi shampoo and conditioner – I‘ve been using Davines products for quite a few years. My stylist, who I‘ve been seeing for a couple decades now, uses and sells them. They make a huge difference in my hair‘s behavior. But I don‘t usually take my own shampoo and conditioner on vacation. I‘ll use whatever the hotel provides, and hate my hair for a few days in the name of convenience. But since I was going to be gone for eleven days, and because I knew my hair would be subjected to sun, chlorine, and saltwater, I took travel-sized Oi shampoo and conditioner. Smart move! My hair was still not great, and I had to do a serious deep conditioning when we got home (I‘ll take that along, too, next time!), but it was manageable the whole time. (I also took Oi Oil and a texturing serum from Davines, but those always go with me.)

iPad with Magic Keyboard – as I mentioned above, I didn‘t take my work computer with me on this trip. Instead, I worked from my iPad, and I typed on my Apple Magic Keyboard. They are small, lightweight, and powerful. There was nothing I wanted to do on the trip that I couldn‘t do on those things.

Water shoes – In early 2020, when I thought I was going on a spring break cruise and a bunch of other trips that year, I bought some water shoes. I certainly didn’t wear them on a 2020 cruise, and I haven‘t worn them much since then, but I took them on this trip because I knew we were going to the water park. And then I made a dumb last-minute decision to leave the in the hotel room when we went to the water park. Bad idea! However, I did wear them on Amelia Island every time we went to the beach, and that was a good idea. I‘m not sure these are the world‘s best water shoes, but they fit comfortably and do their job.

Sunscreen – I took SO MUCH sunscreen. A large bag of sunscreen. And we used it a lot. Almost every day (not Friday, when Madeline danced from early morning until after midnight). Most of it was various sprays I‘d picked up here and there. My tinted moisturizer has SPF 40 (maybe I’ll talk in another post about how much I love that), but I also used copious amounts of Unseen Sunscreen on my face and neck, and sometimes my shoulders. We reapplied a lot, and Madeline and I both got a little sunburned (her on the first day, me on the last), but for eleven days of serious sun, I think we did well.

Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask – The sun, chlorine, and saltwater didn‘t just take a toll on my hair. Those things, plus hotel air conditioning, left the skin on my face, shoulders, and arms dry. Every couple nights I would use Jet Lag Mask on those areas, and I‘d wake up much more hydrated.

Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant – I get pretty regular facials, and my aesthetician uses Dermalogica products. I had some samples in my travel kit, including the Daily Microfoliant. After her first couple days of marathon sun at the pool and water park, Madeline‘s nose started peeling. It did not look good for her dance performances, and so I started thinking about what to do about it. I remembered that sample, and I told her to try it. It worked like a dream! It took off the dead skin so the makeup could sit evenly. I‘ll keep some around from now on. (If you super zoom in on this picture, you can kind of see how her nose is two-toned)

Phonak hearing aids – I‘ve been wearing hearing aids for years now. I have mild hearing loss and could get by without hearing aids, but they make my days so much better. And they are indispensable at dance competitions. The music at the competitions is way too loud. I have a “dance competition mode” setting that takes the “noise” way down but still allows me to hear the people around me talk to me. I am a huge advocate of hearing aids. If you feel like you’re struggling to catch words in conversations, or if you have a problem in restaurants hearing over the background noise, talk to your doctor about a hearing check!

(Links are all to company web sites, but keep in mind I‘m not responsible for any privacy practices or issues they have)