When I went in the ONLY things I could bring in were two forms of ID, and my person, and that's it.
And yes, the whiteboard they refer to is an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of laminated paper that you use a dry erase marker and eraser on that they give you.
I have heard others talking about some centers that give you a paper and pencil, but I searched at every one in all of southern California and I couldn't find one. I'd suggest going to kinko's and laminating a few pieces of paper to practice. It's really not that bad.