A lot of shops host free fun dives. If you have dates, I might be able to scout out possible sites.
Barring that, if you're open to shore diving most shops can find you a DM for $50 a dive or so. (For one person; I don't think they'd double it for 2 but don't know for sure.)
Or ask in one of the Facebook groups (or here) and see if anybody would be willing to dive with you on a site they're familiar with.
On suits: You absolutely will want to leave the 5 mm suits at home, unless you can wear them under the 7mm suit. You're going to need 7 mm with a double layer on the torso. Depending on where you're diving in the area, by
August temps will be in the 52-55 deg. F range. So 11-13 deg. C. This summer is not setting up for warmth, so likely toward the low end of that range.
I dove for decades around here in just a wetsuit. Don't believe the "you can't dive here except in a dry suit." Several things switched me over to diving dry:
1. I'm now older and can afford to buy suits I couldn't in college and grad school.
2. I'm now older and get cold easily. And have a lower tolerance for discomfort just to prove I'm tough.
3. The culture has shifted toward doing multiple dives the same day. That's where dry suits really come into their own. It's that 4th dive of the day in January that you realize wetsuits aren't just uncomfortable, they're dangerous. I suspect the culture shifted due to increasing wealth in the area. Now a lot more folks can buy dry suits and figure if they're going to invest their time in start up/clean up for a dive they might as well do 2-3.
4. Dry suits have gotten more reliable. I almost shifted to dry 10 years in to my diving career. The one I bought had a catastrophic neck seal disattachment from the suit. I gave up on dry suits for another 10 years.
