SCUBA Spendy

I did it. I finally caved to peer (& sister) pressure. I got SCUBA certified.

Here I am in my gear, preparing for the class portion of certification.

I think the title of the textbook was "101 Ways to DIE Under the Sea"

I did two nights of classes, one FULL day at a pool, then two mornings at the very cold and mucky Lake Pleasant (talk about a misnomer). The second day of dives at the lake, my blogging side got the best of me and I worked up the nerve to ask somebody to take a picture of me with all my gear on.

It's just too bad it's not a side view... you can't see the heavy 40lb air tank on my back.
Good thing this isn't an equipment heavy sport... ;)

I did ok... I made it through and certified. It's been a roller coaster of a month for me and it took all my courage to not freak out and break down and cry during my last day of dives. The scariest part was having to completely remove my mask, replace it and clear whilst under 6-8 feet of water. The first time, I failed, freaked, hyperventilated and bolted to the surface... all of which are no-no's in the sport of diving. But I made it second time around and I certified!

And I'm forever grateful to this man:

Gary Gilb, my instructor, my SCUBA hero.
There's tears in my eyes for this picture.
Seriously, the man was my strength.

And this is random, but on the way home from the lake, my car hit 88,888 miles. I'm a weirdo for numbers and like to take pictures of car mileage marks. I know. It's silly.

So anyway, it's done! And where will I initiate my certification?

COSTA RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRICA!!
5 days and counting...