tombiowami once bubbled...
So how did you like the springs? I am trying to get a couple guys here to go down once it gets colder up here in NC. (no jokes from you Jersey guys 
)
Lol...
The springs... Blue Grotto, Devil's Den, and the Ginnie System... All completely rock.
You can check out specifics at:
http://www.sfdj.com/springs_issue/bgrotto.htm for Blue Grotto
http://www.devilsden.com/ for Devil's Den
and
http://www.ginniespringsoutdoors.com for Ginnie Springs.
All of them are highly recommended. If I could just choose one place to dive, it'd have to be Ginnie... There's simply more to see there, and the dive shop there is top notch. Night diving is available, too. The only bad thing I can think of is the fact that you have to share the water with non-divers... So it's sorta a "social" event... Which has it's advantages and disadvantages. Divers are generally treated with respect by the nondivers though.
Blue Grotto's probably got the best underwater environment of them all. The diving bell, the underwater lighting system, and the very cave-like cavern there is great for OW divers. Unlike Ginnie, there is no real cave there, but if you are just looking to get a good feel for what it's like to cave, Blue Grotto's a pretty awesome place. Only divers are in the water there.
Devil's Den is a small place that's really interesting because it's more than just a hole under the water... It's actually a cavern that you dive in. In other words, you go below the ground, don your gear, and get into the water, rather than jump in a pool-like hole above ground and then dive into a hole in the ground underwater. The catfish are huge, too... It's a great place, especially if there's bad weather around, since it's somewhat protected.
Ginnie tends to stay clearest because the springs flow so much perfectly clear water. The other two can have vis of 200' or more, but often get a little silted up, reducing vis to 50' or so when it gets really busy in the water.
I highly recommend all of the places. The diving is wonderful and inexpensive and really cool. Ginnie's website is the best for information, so I recommend going by that and then adding Blue Grotto and Devil's Den to the itinerary. If you're coming for the diving, you will probably want to hit all of the places on a three or four day trip. Ginnie's site tells you about hours, prices, hotels, and all kinds of information. At that site's recommendation, we stayed at the High Springs Country Inn, which was only $39 a night and very clean and well maintained. It was no four star resort, but was very comfortable and nice and perfect for staying overnight for the diving. I'd recommend it too. "Floyd's" across the street, an old '50's style diner, completely rocked us with great huge gobs of terrific food for rational prices. Service there was top notch, too.
Totally worth the trip.
Sea Jay.. Congratulations.. Good to see you have determined what setup best works for you. I had a feeling that if you tried the BP wing setup with a more experienced diver that you wouold see the benefits we have been talking about.
Yeah, with so many people saying the same thing, I figured I was bound to find SOMETHING that I wasn't doing right...
The light really came on when I found myself with bad trim in a jacket, something that up to that point I hadn't experienced. When I realized that all BC's are trimmable for pitch underwater, I realized that I could have my cake and eat it too with a BP/Wing setup.
Now it's a matter of finding the right setup...
