Hello from (of all places) North Idaho!

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TNEngineer

Registered
Messages
47
Reaction score
32
Location
Tennessee USA
# of dives
100 - 199
Greetings to everyone. Self-introductions are popular when you're a new member, so here's mine....

I grew up in San Diego, where I originally got certified in 1976 while still in my teens. I still have my original PADI cert card and it's always good for a few laughs at dives shops around the world. I generally have the oldest cert card anyone has ever seen {grin}.

My high school sweetheart and I got married just out of high school and moved away from the coast, which stymied my diving for a long time. However, during that long "dry spell" one of my best diving memories was inland at the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton AB Canada. They used to have a huge dolphin pool with four bottlenose dolphins and through an amazing sequence of miracles I was able to dive with them without any restrictions for almost an hour. They were as curious about me as I was about them, and I formed a special friendship with one named Mavis. The stories I could tell... utterly amazing creatures whose intelligence is profoundly apparent as you interact with them.

Over the years I dove on the Great Barrier Reef off Port Douglas QE Australia. I got up close and personal with the largest sea turtle I've ever seen just off the Low Isles there one day.

Fast forward to two years ago, when my sweetheart finally got certified. In November. In a bone-chilling inland lake. After her last cert dive I promised her I would never again ask her to dive anywhere that requires a wetsuit. We started making frequent trips to the Caribbean (quite a long trek from Idaho!) and have visited perhaps a dozen islands so far. We love them all, with favorites including Aruba, Barbados, Roatan, Grand Cayman, and St. Kitts.

COVID-19 shut down our international diving for a while, but we're ramping back up now. Next trip is to Bonaire+Aruba in June. We're taking our college-age son and his girlfriend to complete their own certifications while in Bonaire, knowing that we'll be seeing them less as they get involved in their own adult lives. We want to create as many memories with them as possible before they get too distracted with "real life".

Thanks for creating and maintaining this diving community. I hope to contribute as we gain experience!
 
Welcome to scubaboard :) Have a great time here
 
Greetings to everyone. Self-introductions are popular when you're a new member, so here's mine....

I grew up in San Diego, where I originally got certified in 1976 while still in my teens. I still have my original PADI cert card and it's always good for a few laughs at dives shops around the world. I generally have the oldest cert card anyone has ever seen {grin}.

My high school sweetheart and I got married just out of high school and moved away from the coast, which stymied my diving for a long time. However, during that long "dry spell" one of my best diving memories was inland at the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton AB Canada. They used to have a huge dolphin pool with four bottlenose dolphins and through an amazing sequence of miracles I was able to dive with them without any restrictions for almost an hour. They were as curious about me as I was about them, and I formed a special friendship with one named Mavis. The stories I could tell... utterly amazing creatures whose intelligence is profoundly apparent as you interact with them.

Over the years I dove on the Great Barrier Reef off Port Douglas QE Australia. I got up close and personal with the largest sea turtle I've ever seen just off the Low Isles there one day.

Fast forward to two years ago, when my sweetheart finally got certified. In November. In a bone-chilling inland lake. After her last cert dive I promised her I would never again ask her to dive anywhere that requires a wetsuit. We started making frequent trips to the Caribbean (quite a long trek from Idaho!) and have visited perhaps a dozen islands so far. We love them all, with favorites including Aruba, Barbados, Roatan, Grand Cayman, and St. Kitts.

COVID-19 shut down our international diving for a while, but we're ramping back up now. Next trip is to Bonaire+Aruba in June. We're taking our college-age son and his girlfriend to complete their own certifications while in Bonaire, knowing that we'll be seeing them less as they get involved in their own adult lives. We want to create as many memories with them as possible before they get too distracted with "real life".

Thanks for creating and maintaining this diving community. I hope to contribute as we gain experience!
Welcome to Scubaboard! Really looking forward to your continued participation and especially sharing your knowledge of the diving at the various islands you've visited.

Get your young new divers to join us here too! They may have questions that may best be answered in our New Divers subforum and from there, naturally progress into participating Scubaboard members in all of the Subforums.
 

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