Earlier this week, I started taking Open Water Diver course at Dive World here in Austin, Texas. I've never been scuba diving before, so even the training is kind of an adventure.

Mark Rosseisen is my instructor, and he's doing a good job. He's clear, to the point, and keep things moving. It's helpful that there happen to be only two people in my class, so things go pretty quickly.

I was surprised at how comfortable and at-ease I was right from the start. I was worried that I would have a few false starts when I first tried to "breath while underwater," but I shouldn't have. Using the scuba gear came very naturally, and it even was pretty fun to learn about emergency situations like sharing one's air, breathing from a free-flowing regulator, and how it feels when your air runs out.

The Open Water portion of the training is this weekend, and I'll get my PADI certification after that's complete. This last bit of training will be in Aquarena Springs in San Marcos.

This training is all a preliminary step to a vacation coming up in early May. Me and a couple of buddies from back home will be going to Cozumel to do some diving and other local activities. I have to admit that, with all the dive training and gear purchases, I never put so much preparation into a vacation.

Share this page with family and friends…even complete strangers. It's up to you. Whatever floats your boat.

Click the icon below to select the method of sharing.