Scuba Students, Sacramento, California, 2022.

by Kate Barba

Last weekend we completed our SCUBA Open Water certification!  The kids took the full course and Pete and I decided to take a refresher course because it had been a looong time since we’ve been diving (Thailand maybe?)  After weeks of online reading and quizzes we spent one weekend learning and practicing in a pool, and one weekend of dives in Folsom Lake (reservoir).  Big thank you to Fisheye Scuba for the patient instruction and remarkable organization! They shared their joy of diving as well as their impressive depth of knowledge to make us confident and competent divers.

A few things we discovered:

1: Our kids are dolphins and did amazing!  We already knew they were naturals on the surface, but I think they were merpeople in another life.  They didn’t freak out, they did the skills with grace, and they used their strong wills to overcome all the uncomfortable “newness” to gain a tricky new skill.  We are so crazy proud of them.

2: Cold water diving is not for us.  Some people enjoy diving off the coast of California, or Maine, or Antarctica or whatever, but nope.  Not us!  We’ll take warm, clear water please!  The 7mm wetsuits helped, but the snow melt water of Folsom Lake was really chilly, especially at depth.  The first day Gwyn had to cut her dives short because of excessive shivering!  Again, the folks at Fisheye came through with extra layers and even a heated vest that made her much more comfortable on day 2.

3: I can do hard things.  This is actually one of my mantras and it helps me push through my anxiety-driven self doubt.  I had a rough day on Saturday.  Difficulty equalizing my ears, hood/mask interference, claustrophobia due to poor visibility…I was a mess.  I was also a teensy bit nervous for and about my kids.  I decided to cut my day short too and get myself together.  Pete reminded me that I’ve done this before, I got this, etc and that helped.  (He, of course, was having no problems.  That’s where the kids get their love of the water.)  The next day I took some deep breaths, reminded myself of all I’ve done, and went for it with a positive attitude.  Much better result!

Where should we dive on our trip around the world?

We are for sure going to dive in Aqaba, Jordan on the Red Sea.  We are also planning on doing a tropical beach rest week or two somewhere in Southeast Asia or Oceania.  Maldives is high on the list for the end of the year, especially if we can make the travel points work!  Where do you think we should go?