From Snorkel to Scuba

Last March, I flew out to Guam to visit Todd for a week and a half. As part of that vacation, he taught me to snorkel in the beautiful Tumon Bay - a great experience - and I think I was spoiled because apparently that ecosystem is a world class place to snorkel. Well, we also flew to Saipan, and I have some cool pictures of me snorkeling to a WWII Japanese tank in the ocean there.

While I was in Saipan, Todd and I got on the subject of scuba diving. He's been certified for three years, and loves to do it. I myself, am not the best of swimmers, but I can get it done, you know? Obviously, I did it there in Saipan, I have the proof in the pictures. So, I don't really know if he was just goading me, but he knows about my fear of deep water and was like, "Kerri, I don't know if you could do it" (meaning scuba diving). Okay. That sounds like a challenge to me. So, I cocked my head to the side and said, "Oh, really?"...

So needless to say, yesterday I attended the first of a five day course to get PADI certified in SCUBA diving. This is something that has been in the works since July of 2008. I bought all the necessary equipment (snorkel, mask, fins, weight belt, bag, course materials, etc.) way back then, but because of the limitations of my job and never having a whole week off to devote to this goal, I haven't been able to actually get certified until now. Since I am a flight attendant, this adds another complication because one cannot fly within 18-24 hours of a dive, not good when a girl's on reserve. Tonight is another 4 hour class, then the next two days I have two "dives" in a heated pool, and then it's on to the real stuff in a lake in Houston for two days (and post script, it will be freezing! Why is my vacation in early spring?)

Well, I have yet to tell Todd about this, I am meaning it to be a huge surprise to him. A kind of "in your face!" moment. I think he only said it in order for me (knowing me very well) to be inspired enough to actually go ahead and do it, and for him to have a dive buddy. I can not wait to see the look on his face!