PADI Open Water Diver Certified at last

For the last few years, I've wanted to get SCUBA certified.  I never had the time to do so, but that didn't stop me from planning for it, and that is why a diver is part of Melev's Reef. Often asked if the diver on my business card is me, I replied that it was my goal, a constant reminder of what I wanted to do some day. For the past 30 days, I've been working hard to get this accomplished, and I'm happy to report that as of yesterday I'm now fully certified for open water.  I took the full PADI course, which included five pool dives and four lake dives, and about 30 hours of class & homework.

I documented each step of the process on Reef Addicts, so these are the links for the specific stages:

Buying Equipment: http://www.reefaddicts.com/content.php/363-Getting-Wet-At-Last-SCUBA-gear

Useful tips: http://www.reefaddicts.com/content.php/364-SCUBA-Certification-Various-Tips-I-ve-Received

Closed Water Pool Dives 1, 2, & 3: http://www.reefaddicts.com/content.php/366-SCUBA-Certification-Classwork-first-then-Wetwork

Closed Water Pool Dives 4 & 5: http://www.reefaddicts.com/content.php/367-SCUBA-Certification-More-classwork-and-finals

Open Water Lake Dives 1 & 2: http://www.reefaddicts.com/content.php/368-SCUBA-Certification-Open-Water-Dives-1-2

Open Water Lake Dives 3 & 4: http://www.reefaddicts.com/content.php/369-SCUBA-Certification-Open-Water-Dives-3-4

This new hobby runs hand in hand with our aquarium hobby, as I'll be able to see the natural habitat of the very animals we often enjoy. I've been reading some diving magazines, and it's interesting to see how similar their message is to ours.  Articles about good and bad equipment, about photography, about ethical decisions, and ads interspersed with gear you'll wish you'd had... sounds familiar right?  

A local dive club invited me to join, and I'll investigate it further I'm sure. My next dive will be in Hawaii, over the Thanksgiving holiday.