Best diving motel in Santa Rosa

[boulderjohn]

We stayed in the Days Inn again this weekend, and it looks like I will be back to looking for a new motel. The door to the bathroom would not close. The ice machine did not work. At 7:00 AM the breakfast was pretty much gone--a couple of hard boiled eggs, no yoghurt, a few slices of bread, and oatmeal. We had not intended to eat there, though. we planned to have breakfast at the Santa Fe Grill next door. We had eaten there the night before, and they had a decent breakfast menu. The menu said the breakfasts were served until 11:00, but it did not say when they started. When we left to get our tanks filled (about 7:30, they were still not yet open. I wonder why you have a breakfast menu if you are not open during normal breakfast hours.

So I am still looking for motel suggestions.

 

[Sam Miller III]

John,
According to your post this week on the "Divers house" thread you were taking all of the following items of diving to Santa Rosa

"I am almost packed. I have a cargo van that I use almost exclusively for scuba. Here is what is in it so far:

1 300 cubic foot supply bottle of oxygen
2 300 cubic foot supply bottles of ultra-pure helium
An electric booster to enable me to get the most out of those supply bottles
10 scuba cylinders, including doubles, stage bottles, and deco bottles
2 scooters
1 dry suit
Dry suit undergarments
Both single and double wings (complicated weekend coming up)
Both aluminum and steel backplates
Fins
2 masks
2 computers
2 canister lights
4 backup lights
7 regulator sets
Extra hoses just in case
1 tool kit
1 First aid kit
Various and sundry items"



All of that ? For a dip in a hole not much larger and just a little deeper than my back yard swimming pool ......
John -- That is a truck full of equipment !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would sincerely suggest that in addition to your van that you might want to investigate a small travel trailer. Mrs. Miller and I traveled and dove through out Baja, Mexico for over 20 years in a 13 foot travel trailer pulled by a 4X4.

It was small, it was cramped but it had all the comforts of home, including 3 burner stove, 20 gallons of water a bed , a flush toilet and storage for equipment.

SDM .

 

[WarrenZ]

John,
According to your post this week on the "Divers house" thread you were taking all of the following items of diving to Santa Rosa

"I am almost packed. I have a cargo van that I use almost exclusively for scuba. Here is what is in it so far:

1 300 cubic foot supply bottle of oxygen
2 300 cubic foot supply bottles of ultra-pure helium
An electric booster to enable me to get the most out of those supply bottles
10 scuba cylinders, including doubles, stage bottles, and deco bottles
2 scooters
1 dry suit
Dry suit undergarments
Both single and double wings (complicated weekend coming up)
Both aluminum and steel backplates
Fins
2 masks
2 computers
2 canister lights
4 backup lights
7 regulator sets
Extra hoses just in case
1 tool kit
1 First aid kit
Various and sundry items"



All of that ? For a dip in a hole not much larger and just a little deeper than my back yard swimming pool ......
John -- That is a truck full of equipment !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would sincerely suggest that in addition to your van that you might want to investigate a small travel trailer. Mrs. Miller and I traveled and dove through out Baja, Mexico for over 20 years in a 13 foot travel trailer pulled by a 4X4.

It was small, it was cramped but it had all the comforts of home, including 3 burner stove, 20 gallons of water a bed , a flush toilet and storage for equipment.

SDM .

I believe that John was going to rock lake which is a very deep swimming hole.

 

[Sam Miller III]

@WarrenZ
Note Johns previous post on this threads

"@ KevinNM said: ↑
Was that you in the SUV and tent across the trail from Stella's, with the white doubles?

John:...
No. I was teaching an AOW student, so I was in single tank gear.I was located close to the door going into the center, where you pay your fees.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sounds like Santa Rosa to me and a AOW student

Still a truck -van load of equipment for a simple dip-- Why not also a small tale a small onme place chamber just in cse>?

It is 6:30 My dear wife has made her famous waffles amd she is calling me for Monday morning breakfast

SAM

 

[WarrenZ]

Ok I stand corrected. thought I saw a Rock Lake expedition posting recently. Rock lake is also in Santa Rosa and could be the driver for the helium it wouldnt be uncommon for them both to be done in a trip.

 

[boulderjohn]

Check the dates on that post. You will see I was talking about two different trips. Last weekend I was working with an AOW student in the Blue Hole. This past weekend I was diving in Rock Lake. There is a difference. Rock Lake is about 400 feet across at the top east-west, and it is about 500 feet across north south. The depth varies, and the deepest spot we have found so far is about 280 feet. We have some old maps that identify 300 foot areas, but so far those have been wrong.

Our first dive Saturday morning was to set a new ascent/descent line at the north end. We had a heavy weight and hundreds of feet of line we needed to get it to the edge of the ledge at 40 feet and then drop it, which took some doing to make it a safe drop. We were surprised when it only went 250 feet, and we found out later that it had landed on a steep slope we did not know was there. (This was to be an exploration dive.) I used single tank gear for that because all my doubles gear was set for deeper diving.

For the real dive, we descended on that new line and tried to move it, not easy because of its weight and the silt. For that dive, we had doubles with lots of helium in the mix, a travel gas/deep deco gas with less helium, EAnx 50 and pure oxygen. The three of us then headed due north. We knew the shelf undercut, and we wanted to see how much. One diver used the compass and the second laid the line. I brought up the rear, securing the line above the thick layer of very very fine silt using PVC stakes. We got to the wall much more quickly than expected, but I will have to take their word for it. Being third in line, I was working in a total siltout, feeling the line with one and putting in the stakes as I went with the other. I caught up with the guy laying the line as he was tying off to a huge boulder, and we went back to the new ascent line for our ascent. Masimum depth was 268 feet, and total dive time, counting decompression, was a little short of two hours.

The next day we explored an area on the east side of the lake between 160-200 feet.There were some intriguing gaps in the rock formations we wanted to explore. After that portion of the dive, we checked out a shelf at 100 feet that has some nice selenite gypsum crystals with goethite coatings. Total dive time was less than 90 minutes on that dive.

After that we enjoyed ourselves with some scooter diving.

I needed the extra helium and oxygen because I was supplying it for the other divers.

Does that make a little more sense?

 

[boulderjohn]

I have spent the last two trips at the EconoLodge, and I think I will stay with it.

It used to be something else, but they had some kind of a problem and had to completely remodel. As a result, the rooms are new, the heating and cooling works, and there are multiple electrical outlets (rare in Santa Rosa). There is ice in the ice machine (also apparently rare in Santa Rosa). The staff is accommodating.

The breakfast is not great, but it's better than the Days Inn. It at least has waffles. I don't usually eat them, but some people do. Its choice of pastries is better than most.