The most useful things I had on the trip, in no particular order.
- A pocket map of London, double-side and laminated, very simple. Came in very handy figuring things out.
- A good road atlas. A drop-dead necessity if you’re driving in the hinterlands. AA (the UK equivalent of AAA) puts out a good one, but there are several others.
- A pocket Tube map, available for free from any Tube station. A requirement for getting from Here to There in the City. Doyce had a keen Palm ap with this info on it, but I could look up the route just as fast (though sometimes not as efficiently), and it didn’t require, ahem, recharging.
- A visitor’s Tube pass. Can’t remember the number of days it was good for, but it covered our entire trip. No worries about having the right change, or queueing up to buy tickets. Just flip it through the turnstiles and be on your way. We just bought the the one for Zones 1 and 2, and never needed more. It also covered our (one) bus trip. Brilliant. This must be ordered in advance of going to the UK; it is not available there.
- My Canon Elph digital camera. Wildly convenient. If I can get something with a decent zoom for next time, my photographic life will be complete.
- A cell phone (and calling card). We could split the party without worrying about how we’d meet up again. I could leave Margie without worrying that she’d need help while I was gone. We could call the States whenever we wanted, for however long we wanted, without finding a pay phone, from the “comfort” of our own room.
- Plastic. Dealing with cash (especially when splitting up checks) was always a hassle. Dealnig with travellers checks would have been likewise. Between using a credit card for the major transactions and using an ATM card to occasionally take out the still-necessary blocks of folding (and jingling) money, life was much simpler.
- Gorp. Margie made a trail mix of M&Ms (various types), mixed nuts, raisins and cran-raisnis, in a couple of big ziplock bags. Yes, it was insane carrying a couple of heavy bags of the stuff in our luggage. But you will not have the time (or possibly the opportunity) over there to do it, and having some ready handful of protein and sugar available saved all of our butts at times.
- My photographer’s vest, which was my constant companion, and which had enough pockets to carry most of the crap above (except the road atlas and the gorp). It also served as my wallet, too.
- My tennis shoes. I had a couple of new, well-fitting tennis shoes from CostCo that I walked everywhere in. They were comfortable and sturdy, and made my bringing my hiking boots with me (for Wales) unnecessary.
I can’t think of anything I wished I’d brought with me that I didn’t. Yay, us.
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