February Blizzard

Well, we finally a good one. Here are some pictures from digging out of the February blizzard. Reports I heard said we got anywhere from 24 - 28 inches. Yuck!

Danny Boy - Done Muppet Style

I love the Muppets and I thought this was pretty funny. Thought I would share it...

First New Years Day Dive

Barclay, Chris and I went for my first annual New Years Day dive! We headed up to Bainbridge Quarry and joined a number of other divers for this celebratory event.

The first dive didn't go so well. It seems like everytime I get in the water, I'm in a different setup. I rarely seem to hit the water in the same suit twice in a row. This was my first time in the water with my new steel tank. After talking with the guys, we figured that 16 pounds of lead should be enough. Well, we got out into the lagoon and I couldn't get my body below the water at all.

Round 2 - I got out and decided to add another 4 pounds of lead. This should be the amount I had last time I dove this dry suit. I headed back in the water and tried again. STILL couldn't get below the water. Then it dawned on me, I also had an additional layer of fleece on that I didn't have before.

Round 3 - I'm already exhausted. I put the last 8 pounds of lead that I owned into the belt. Between the 28 pounds in the weight pockets and 3 pounds of ankle weights, I have a total of an extra 31 pounds I'm carrying. I head back into the water and I finally got below the surface.

We headed out to the quarry. To get there, you have to go over "the road" which brings you up to a depth of 5 feet. Well, my body surfaced and I couldn't get down again on the other side. In addition, both of my legs decided to start cramping on me. Something isn't right. I aborted and told Barclay and Chris to go ahead. I headed back into the shallow lagoon to figure out what was going on. I think I found an issue with the way I had the valve oriented on my dry suit. Once I realized that, things got better. I played around for a bit and things were working better.

Barclay and Chris finally joined me back at the tables. Chris was a little on the chilly side. He showed us all up by actually diving in a wet suit. So after we were sure he was warm again, Barclay and I did a quick trip out to the bulldozer at 65 feet and came back. All in all, it was a good day of diving!

The Day After the Storm

The day after the first snow, and the cleanup begins. I didn't put a ruler in the snow (because I didn't REALLY want to know), but I'm guessing we got around 18 inches. Now where did I park that car?

The First Snow Storm of the Season

Well, it finally happened. First snow of the season. And boy was it a good one. I'm not sure exactly how much we got, but I'd say it's at least 1 - 1 1/2 feet deep in certain areas. It made for a good day to stay in and goof off. For some reason, when it snows like this, I get an urge to start cooking. The apple bread didn't turn out so well, but the slow cooked chicken and prosciutto ham wrapped asparagus was fantastic!

So I guess tomorrow is going to mean A LOT of shoveling. UUGH!

Swimming with the Fish

Last weekend, we headed back to Bainbridge Quarry for some diving. The difference this time was that I got to go in a dry suit. MUCH BETTER! I'll take diving dry and warm over cold and wet any day!

Some of the group was still doing the cold and wet thing, so we stayed pretty shallow for these dives. That meant lots of opportunitites to swim with the fish. So, I got a few good pictures. Enjoy!

Today, we braved the cold temps and the first snow fall to go diving at Bainbridge Quarry. Here are some pictures that I shot with my new SeaLife DC800 camera.

Me at a freezing 85 feet. Brrrrrr!

Chris taking notes on his quest for Divemaster.

Dolphin memorial statue.

Should have been dinner.

Floating on the surface.

Barclay swings the tanks to go through a truck.