For Traci and Her Love of Mermaids...
So the girls and I only started this blog four days ago, and we're excited to see that we've had visitors from all over the world. Welcome everyone! One thing you may not know about us is that between us we speak about 7 languages - some better than others! So feel free to post comments in any language and hopefully it will be one of the languages we know. If not, we'll just pretend we know it, and respond in English with something generic like, "Right on!"
New Zealand might be the prettiest place on the planet... it definitely has the most charming people, aka Kiwis that you will EVER meet. I visited Wellington, Martinborough, Featherston, (generally the Wairarapa) and the world famous Wharekauhau Country Estate. You have to see Wharekauhau to believe it... 
So I have ten minutes left before class, so this is a quick one! These photos are blurry because I don't have a great underwater camera - yet! I hear that it's all about the flash. Please leave comments if you have any advice about a good, reasonably priced underwater camera. So this was my first wreck dive - the St. Anthony. And, yes, I penetrated the wreck! However, it's a very SMALL wreck - she's a 65' shrimper. Some of you may recognize it. Jerry Garcia (The Grateful Dead) donated money to have her sank off of Maui in 1997 to create an artificial reef for the beautiful sea turtles that live in the area. She's a great wreck for first time wreck divers. 
The great thing about this event is that ALL the monies raised goes to the Chamber. No administrative fees are deducted from the proceeds, the local SoCal boats donate their time and services, the manufacturers donate gear for raffle prizes, the Aquarium of the Pacific donates their facility for the evening event, hundreds of volunteers donate their time, and you (hopefully) donate your money.The Catalina Chamber is dedicated strictly to the treatment of diving accidents on a 24/7/365 basis. Although we hope you’ll never need it, having the Chamber available gives divers a vital safety net in the event something should go wrong with your dive. Although there is a grant from LA County, and the Chamber gets income from some outside activities, Chamber Day provides a significant portion (roughly 50%) of the Chamber’s annual budget.
Do you want to look H-O-T now? Forget about all those crazy diets which force one to forgo delicious treats, get yourself a super tight wet suit. I am a firm believer that the wet suit camouflages most imperfections. The form-fitting garment creates the illusion of a perfect body; it sucks all the spoogy bits in & keeps them from spilling over one's bathing suit (please observe man in black speedos sans wet suit). Seriously, the wet suit can make one look 15 pounds lighter!!! Besides the slimming qualities, the wet suit is super comfortable and it imparts an added element of self-confidence to the wearer. It is the ultimate must-have for 2008
First, in my experience, rubber flip flops (the ones with the piece that goes between the big and second toe) are just a bad idea for divers. The rubber chafes the top of the foot in humid weather. I have no idea why this happens - I'm in law school, not medical school after all. However, my favorite flip flops that I had worn for months suddenly became torture devices in the humidity of Maui. I think the moisture sticks to the rubber or something, causing friction. Naturally, getting salt and water on those blisters is terrible. Also, all rubber flip flops are just unsafe for being on a dive boat because they're too slick and unstable. One big surge and it's "Man overboard!" The best alternative I have found is a pair of Crocs. Divers were wearing these way before they became the latest rage for the under-5 set. Does anyone else have any suggestions?
Do you ever feel invisible? Like no one really notices you're there? Let's face it: Sometimes it's hard to stand out in a crowd! However, there's a silver lining - it's a pretty good thing to blend in if creatures are constantly trying to eat you. So here we have it - the frogfish! These guys can be so hard to spot because they completely blend into the background. It's even kind of hard to see in this photo. He manages to look like a piece of coral covered in sand. Incredible! Like a chameleon but even more fantastic because his texture even seems to change. But his mouth gives him away, and he always seems to look a little grumpy with the corners of his mouth turned down. I was really excited to see him, though, because they can be very tough to spot! 
So this was during one of my first open water dives, and I'm including a picture of myself to show some really BAD scuba technique. I'm finning all over the place and stirring up sand, my buoyancy - well, I had no idea about buoyancy. I'm way too close to the bottom, and I'm not wearing gloves. I had way better training than that! My instructor taught me about the importance of not touching anything if I can help it so I don't impact the delicate ecosystems. I was also taught to wear gloves so that if I do touch something (especially if I want to clean up trash), I won't hurt my hands. This dive was great other than that. I was with Charlie Dolfin, the instructor at the Grand Wailea where they have an amazing Discover Scuba program you can do if you want to try it out, but you're not sure you want to get certified. Charlie was great. I think he teaches mostly kids, so he's really patient, and that's exactly what I needed on these first dives. 
