It's been way too long since my last post. Not that the past couple of months haven't been exciting...just busy. Here are some highlights:Explored the Downtown LA Artwalk. It happens every month on the second Thursday, and there are all sorts of galleries, showrooms, and exhibits that open their doors to the public. Even some of the museums get in on the action. Both MOCAs grant free admission.
We got a map and lost it. Then we spent the time wandering from venue to venue, enjoying live music, mixing with the crowd, and trying to envision how all of this would look 5 to 10 years from now. L.A. is changing so quickly already...
We didn't have the time to do it all in one night, so we revisited it again the next month, and are planning to do so again.
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Timmy and I are now PADI certified open water scuba divers! It was an exciting but intense couple of weeks in route to our certification. We went through Eco Dive Center in Culver City, and had a great experience. They're very knowledgeable and thorough--we felt well-prepared when it came time to test our skills in the ocean.
The course is set-up
really well. There is a Padi Open Water Diver's Manual. It's designed like a textbook and reads like one too--complete with homework and all. There is an accompanying dvd that compliments the textbook, but the dialogue is taken verbatim from the book, which covers everything from the simple science, to dive gear, safety, mechanics, and even conservation. By week one's end we had to have gone through half the textbook and completed three knowledge reviews (no joke about the homework). I got a call from my instructor reminding me to bring in my homework. Early Saturday morning we met at the dive shop for our first classroom instruction. We met the other students and the two other instructors. We went over the material again, and had to take three quizzes. There was a short break for lunch before the meet-up at the local city pool in Hawthorne.
A quick demo on assembling gear, and it was off to real practice in the pool. You could tell that we were all newbies by the effort and length of time that it took us to get into our gear. That scuba cylinder (tank) is heavy--it was nice to get into the water. We worked on different skill sets: buddy breathing, hand signals, clearing and removing our masks under water. I realized I have poor airway control.
Sunday was a fun day. We met in the San Pedro harbor in the afternoon, loaded our gear on to the dive boat and headed out to Catalina Island. More practice with the dive skills--but this time out in the open ocean.
I can't even begin to describe the type of feeling you get from diving. Another world opens up, and you're suddenly surrounded by all kinds of life.
The excitement of the dive trip got us in gear for another week of reading and homework. In week two there were more dive skill lessons to be learned. We had a different instructor this time around, and he was just as great. Pool training first, then we took the final exam.
I went home that night to throw stuff into an overnight bag, and then if was off to the Port of Call where we setup our gear and chose our bunks. It's amazing how many people they managed to fit in such close quarters. We were literally sleeping on top of each other, but it was still fairly comfortable. It helps that the other divers were easy-going, fun people. I think divers in general are mostly that way. I had a great conversation with Ivan--a new diver in our group from Serbia. We talked a lot about American politics and his home country, which I know isn't a subject you're supposed to broach with new people, but it turned into a very enlightening and fascinating conversation.
We sailed at night, and even with the cabin hatch open the weather was perfect. I woke up at 6am feeling the clean sea breeze blowing in my face and the sound of seagulls flying overhead. We were docked somewhere in the Channel Islands. After a hearty breakfast we put on our equipment and got ready for our dive. This was a special dive where we got to swim with sea lions. They encircled us and would swim right up to the face of our masks! It was incredible! They're like energetic, playful dogs underwater. We did a couple more dives and headed back to the mainland. I can't wait to see where our next diving adventure will take us!
