Mike - Certified Open Water Diver

I am so proud of Mike! This weekend we went down to Florida and he completed his open water SCUBA diving certification. And I was lucky enough to get to tag along for his first dives out in the real world. Unfortunately the weather was nasty so we haven't yet tackled the ocean...but after seeing Mike dive like a pro in Vortex Springs, I am sure that the Sea of Cortez will be meeting him soon.



Vortex was an interesting though super-commercial place and had a really cool cavern that Mike's instructors saved until the last training dive. There were tons of fat koi and bluegill everywhere and even some cool freshwater eels! They were really interesting. But the best part for me was seeing Mike diving for the first time! He would look at me and I could just see his smiling eyes...he was loving it! After he was certified, his instructors said we could go diving on our own. I asked Mike how long he wanted to stay under for his last dive of the weekend. His reply? "As long as possible!" That was music to my ears!

As much as I didn't want to admit it before, I was really hoping that he would love diving as much as I do...I think we have a convert. You can't pressure someone to dive...it is a sport that not everyone enjoys, you either love it or you don't...and you can't make someone get into it. Working as a divemaster I saw way too many couples where one person really wanted to do it and the other was being pressured into it...it turned into a dangerous/not fun situation every time. So as much as I love the water, I knew Mike had to want to do it for himself and decide for himself if SCUBA diving was for him. He decided he wanted to try it and I think if you ask him what he thinks about it he'll say...wait a minute let me ask him...ok ;) he says "yeah it's pretty cool main." :D lol. YAY!! so now we have another new hobby to get into together. Our friends Jolynn and Roy took the class with Mike, so we even have some friends to take weekend trips with so we have a lot to look forward to!

In a little more than two weeks, we'll be heading to Baja and the Sea of Cortez on our honeymoon, WHOPPPEEEEE!!!! We can't wait!! And Mike is so stoked to hit the ocean underwater. He tried snorkeling for the first time when we went on our cruise in Dec. 2006 and now he'll get to see the fish eye to eye.

I also want to stop and give some props to Mike for trying something he knew meant so much to me, even though he wasn't sure he liked water so much. It means a lot that the person I love so much and am about to marry would do that for me without me even having to say anything. He did it all on his own and was a "natural" from the beginning, according to our friend who took the class with him. I have to say that he's also a natural and the best ever future hubby! YAY MIKE! Now I just have to learn how to ski and we'll be even ;)

Mike gets knighted by snorkel into the diving world.