Going stir crazy!

Hi one and all, I'm a new diver with a brand spanking new C-card in my wallet (9 dives) and nothing to do with it. AAAAAHHHH! Landlocked in the state of Montana, diving opportunities this time of year are, shall we say, sparse. While the local dive community has been very friendly and supportive, non of them seem to want to do anything this time of year! (Wonder why... it was only -7 this morning) Tried to plan a long weekend trip to either California or Florida with a buddy on 2 different occasions. He had to bale out both times (Something silly about wanting to keep his job, wife and kids??? I had trouble understanding him...blah, blah, blah.) Contacted my scuba instructor and offered to do a bunch of spank work if he let me just tag along to the pool with his class, just so I could get some time in the water. You guessed it... Class got canceled. Last glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel, the afore mentioned friend claimed to have an in with a different pool that would let us sneak in after hours!!! Then we found out that the pool is only 6 foot deep Soooooo, I've been lurking here on this forum waiting for the weather to warm up... only 3 months to go! Yaaah :bonk:Thanks for listing...Hope your having fun diving wherever you are! Does anybody have some Cheese???

yodelhawk, come on over to Puget Sound! It's a long drive, but I know some of the Montana shops do it for classes. You can just about ALWAYS find someone to dive with here; we love showing our local beauty to out-of-towners.

TSandM Thank you so much for the suggestion! As I said, I'm very new to diving. I was hoping that my first "out of town" trip was going to be with someone that I knew and who knows the ropes about diving. I'd feel kind of silly showing up and having strangers babysit me because I'm still unsure of myself. BTW... Puget Sound is on my to do list. It will more than likely be one of the first out of town trip that I make this year

You mentioned your local dive community. I'm assuming there is a local dive club. If not, hang out at LDS or try get connections through your instructor any other students looking for dive buddy. Try booking long weekend CA or FL with others in the dive club. If all else fails try local sub forum here SB for dive buddies then get on a plane and meet new friends.

Maybe you could Pay Bob or Theresa/Peter to work with you, and to Dive. You would have to talk with them but it's an option. Once you had some contacts there it's not a horrible drive. They are all very in tune with the dive world in the Pacific NW. I drive 6 hours each way about 6 times a year to dive. Sounds like you already have made a couple local dive buddies. Over time that number will grow. The Dive community is small and close.

yodelhawk:

TSandM Thank you so much for the suggestion! As I said, I'm very new to diving. I was hoping that my first "out of town" trip was going to be with someone that I knew and who knows the ropes about diving. I'd feel kind of silly showing up and having strangers babysit me because I'm still unsure of myself. BTW... Puget Sound is on my to do list. It will more than likely be one of the first out of town trip that I make this year

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Yikes! Yodelhawk, please reconsider!!

You can't find a better bunch to dive with than TSandM and her friends! After all, that is what ScubaBoard is for, to let divers connect!

From previous stories, she LOVES to dive with newcomers and show off her beloved Pacific North West. Those guys can find some critters, I'm telling you!

Thanks Jax for the encouragement. I think you are right and I just need to step out of my comfort zone. I'll try to get some contacts in the PS area and see what happens