first i would like to mention the extra day...
as this year is leap year, i have been blessed with an extra day with family and friends before i say good-bye. i did not do anything special, but all i can say is thank you God for an extra day! (it is the little things that i notice more often...who knew? GOD DID!)
okay now back to the fun stuff!
my childhood dream of being like Ariel is a little closer to coming true. under the sea is my favorite song from the little mermaid. (why is it that we always want what we can not/do not have? Ariel wanted legs and to live on land, and i would like fins and to be under water)
open-water certification. (complete 5 dives, with various skills)
Santa Rosa, New Mexico. a cute little town whose main attraction is the Blue Hole.the drive down was very interesting...it was snowing...and i am thinking to myself...i am going diving! but the weather turned out to be very pleasant. (upper 50s lower 60s)
the water however...was 64*...
when i went to get fitted for my gear, they gave me three wet suits to wear, i thought that would keep me warm...not so much.
day 1...snorkel and 3 dives. a total of 4 dives for the day. (in open-water certification, it is the only time you can count a snorkel as a dive)
it was a little windy so when we were out of the water it was hard to warm up. i completed the snorkel and first 2 dives with out a problem. (funny story...since i had so much neoprene on...when i did the snorkel i could not dive down for a surface dive) the 3rd dive i was so cold (actually i was frozen!) i could not think straight and had to end my dive without completing my skills. (i was upset, but really i was frustrated because i knew i could do the skills...i was just too cold)
day 2...redo dive 3 and do dive 4.
today we started off by fixing my issue of being frozen. i got another thicker wet suit, and i wore a cap to keep my head warm. they also duck taped around my ankles so that water would not leak into my booties and up the legs of my wet suit. (another funny story...today since i was wearing even more neoprene...i could not get under the water!) i had to be weighted down with 24 pounds! even then i was still having a hard time descending. i completed my 3rd dive, yea! but it was a little tough...my feet kept on floating up because a little water did leak in my booties and since i had them taped the water just stayed in and created like a little buoy. we ended up cutting the tape off. (it was only 9 am and it was already a long day!) finally the last dive...tour dive...this is the 'fun' dive of the class. go to 30' swim around for 15 minutes, it was fun to be able to float around in water that deep.
i did it!
i am now a certified diver! yippee!!
and now my dream of being a mermaid is that much closer...Micronesia here i come!
the part i am most excited about is getting to see God's underwater creations up close!
