This weekend, my spouse, Michael, and I decided to take the boys for a little adventure so we headed south, way south, to Everglades National Park. Besides having the boys in tow, I brought along my new Kodak Zx1 video camera. It shoots in HD quality and it's small, like a cell phone, so we decided to try it out. You can see the video below!

First thing you need to know if you go to Everglades National Park is that there are no restaurants and no lodging onsite (except camping) and the only facility to eat at is the Marina Store down in Flamingo (which is the end of the road in the National Park - 38 miles from the entrance). So pack a cooler and bring a picnic or plan to eat the refrigerator sandwiches at the Marina Store. They also have chips and ice cream so you will find something your kids will eat there! (We found cheese sticks and crackers.)

I would recommend a walk along the Anhinga Trail. It's a paved wide sidewalk that leads to boardwalks over the water. You can see birds, alligators, fish, and reptiles. There is an air-conditioned store at this site with nice wildlife things for sale (from books to jewelry) and there's a couple of soda and snack machines. It's a nice respite from the heat so be sure and duck inside. Take the ranger tour at 10:30 for some great information and insider tips.

The drive to Flamingo is really quite pretty. Sawgrass is everywhere, crooked trees, dwarf cypress and blue sky that goes on forever. Watch for gators crossing the road, white-tailed deer and birds galore. Once we arrived at Flamingo, we grabbed some food from the Marina Store, sat at picnic benches right outside by the water, took a tour of the VIsitor's Center (more air conditioning!) and kept an eye out for the 12-ft. crocodile that hangs out in the marina. They offer boat tours from here for a reasonable price $26.50 for adults, $13.25 for 5- to 12-year-olds, and 4 and under are free. The tour's nearly two hours --and if you can, take the late one and you'll enjoy the sunset.

Enjoy the video!

Jill Martin, Family Insider, VISIT FLORIDA