OP
Thank you all for the congrats.
Much appreciated.
Special thanks for the Maui referrals 'diversteve'.
Much appreciated.
Special thanks for the Maui referrals 'diversteve'.
Retiring today!
- Thread starter mddolson
- Start date
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Stoo
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Congrats Mike. That ITC seems like a lifetime ago. I'm actually going to Peter P.'s 75th birthday shindig tonight. I've been about 3/4 retired for a year or so, and officially begin dipping into my pension in a month or so. I hope I managed to put enough away to squeeze in 100 or 150 dives a year or so. 
Enjoy the islands!
Enjoy the islands!
jonhall
Contributor
Congrats Mike! My buddy and I are thinking of diving with Kaimana Divers on Sunday, April 14 or Tuesday the 16th...or both! We would do morning dives. Emailed them yesterday but haven't heard back yet. Maybe we will see you.
The_Goat
Registered
Congrats....3njoy the sun and waves of Hawaii
OP
JBFG
Contributor
jonhall
Contributor
Mike - Have to apologize for not getting back on here sooner. I let my buddy pick who we were diving with and he chose Waikiki Diving. We are going tomorrow (Sunday) morning.
Just a quick note though - we had an underwater encounter with a whale in Kauai. Will post a trip report sometime after I get home.
jonhall
Contributor
As a final post to this thread for me (I think), I end it with a suggestion. If you are the person between you and your buddy who has planned the diving for years and research the dive ops to see what is offered, price, and location, then be sure you are the one who selects the op. I am a planner and my buddy prefers to wait until we get somewhere to plan our activities. Although my buddy has been happy with who we have dived with and I chose the op for our first week on Kauai, he started asking some of the staff, from whom we dove with, if they had recommendations for ops around Waikiki, where we are spending 5 days. Of course no one had definitive, current opinions but named some places (not the one I’d selected ahead of time.) I left the selection and reserving a spot up to him as I could sense that he didn’t want me to be the one to pick it. He didn’t even want to entertain my pick (small group versus 12-16 divers, slightly cheaper, recommended on SB, good reviews by divers) and selected someone else.
This morning we are sitting outside the front of our hotel for a free pickup and after 5 minutes he reads his email that the op is not doing a pickup due to a marathon blocking roads (they are 9 tenths of a mile away) and, upon calling, tells us we need to get a taxi. My buddy asks the valet to get us a taxi in which the reply a few minutes later was they won’t come to the hotel, but we could hail one a block away. As 20 minutes of waiting from the original pickup time, I asked if we could make it there in time for the dive which would have been iffy. We scrapped the 1 day we set aside for diving.
IF YOU ARE THE PLANNER/RESEARCHER, BE SURE YOU PICK THE OP! I really believe that the op I had planned on would have worked things out ahead of time.
This morning we are sitting outside the front of our hotel for a free pickup and after 5 minutes he reads his email that the op is not doing a pickup due to a marathon blocking roads (they are 9 tenths of a mile away) and, upon calling, tells us we need to get a taxi. My buddy asks the valet to get us a taxi in which the reply a few minutes later was they won’t come to the hotel, but we could hail one a block away. As 20 minutes of waiting from the original pickup time, I asked if we could make it there in time for the dive which would have been iffy. We scrapped the 1 day we set aside for diving.
IF YOU ARE THE PLANNER/RESEARCHER, BE SURE YOU PICK THE OP! I really believe that the op I had planned on would have worked things out ahead of time.
I was fortunate to be able to retire early enough to still be able to haul around steel 130s and a camera rig that weighs more than my weightbelt. For many years I watched the swell models and live beach cams every day. The ocean seemed to always be calm enough to dive during Monday through Saturday while I was at work, with the waves picking up for Sunday. My retirement goal was to sneak in some dives midweek. So far, that hasn't happened much, but at least I don't have my alarm set for 3 AM anymore.
Someday, the weather and my retirement plan will get in synch.
Someday, the weather and my retirement plan will get in synch.
OP
We're back from our Hawaii vacation. Time was too tight on Oahu. Too many things we wanted to see & do.
I hooked up with Steve Eady on Maui & we did couple of dives in Lahaina- Kaanopali area. Iposted a few photos & review in the Hawaii section.
Here's the link to my thread. if you're interested.
Vacation Trip in April Oahu & Maui
regards
Mike D
I hooked up with Steve Eady on Maui & we did couple of dives in Lahaina- Kaanopali area. Iposted a few photos & review in the Hawaii section.
Here's the link to my thread. if you're interested.
Vacation Trip in April Oahu & Maui
regards
Mike D
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