Reefsplorer
New
Hi. My name is Sue and I am 48 years old. I am married, live in West Virginia, teach sixth grade, have two children: Wes -22, student at WVU, and Kate-19, student at University of Richmond. I am experiencing a sense of pride as I just purchased some starting dive equipment for my son, who is becoming a third generation diver in our family. As I purchased it online, this site became available, so I thought I might join.
I call myself an old timer because I haven't been diving since 1975. I have lived in landlocked areas since then. Getting away to go diving hasn't been an option until recently, with some of life's pathways with family.
I am so excited that my son is currently taking a SCUBA course as a college class. I hope this means that he can inspire the other family members to take the training and then we can all go together.
My dad is retired US Air Force and certified in Hawaii in 1961 when I was still a baby. We lived in Hawaii until I was almost five, but I still remember him coming up from the ocean into our yard with all of his equipment, stories, and treasures.
Even after we moved from Hawaii and on to Florida, my dad continued to dive. Then my older brother was certified there in 1970. It was cool that it was becoming a family thing. I was told that as soon as I was old enough I could go through classes and go with them. I got to snorkel with them some, but my dad and brother went diving all over the Gulf of Mexico and in the Keys.
After my dad was stationed in Tainan, Taiwan, and we all moved there, I was old enough to enroll in training. My SCUBA instructor was a Navy captain who put our class through very rigorous training and classwork. I certified when I was 13 and got to do my open water check dives in the China Sea. My dad got to go along with me on my dive with some other classmates. It really was special. I can only imagine what a sense of pride he must have felt. From there we went diving mainly from the southern tip of Taiwan called Olanpi. From one side of the island, we could dive in the Pacific, from the other, the China Sea. We went every chance we could get. My poor mom who couldn't swim sat on the shore and read while we were all in an enchanted world. We lived there two years. Then we moved to the Phillipines where we met another family with an almost identical set up. The mom sat on the shore while the dad took the older teenage son and younger daughter diving. It was perfect. We went diving together a lot. One of our favorite spots was Corrigodor Island. We lived there for a couple of years. That was the end of my dive experiences ,however, because we then moved to landlocked Tucson, AZ and just never got away to go diving as a family again. Diving became fond memories.
Now with my son going through the training, my husband and daughter showing interest, and a family trip planned to go to Cancun this summer, my excitement is renewed and the sense of pride my dad must have felt to dive with his children and share such an interest with is something I want to experience as well.
I hope my lifetime certification with PADI is true to what they told me when I certified. I'll be so bummed if it isn't.
I look forward to getting to know you and hearing about your adventures.
Sue
I call myself an old timer because I haven't been diving since 1975. I have lived in landlocked areas since then. Getting away to go diving hasn't been an option until recently, with some of life's pathways with family.
I am so excited that my son is currently taking a SCUBA course as a college class. I hope this means that he can inspire the other family members to take the training and then we can all go together.
My dad is retired US Air Force and certified in Hawaii in 1961 when I was still a baby. We lived in Hawaii until I was almost five, but I still remember him coming up from the ocean into our yard with all of his equipment, stories, and treasures.
Even after we moved from Hawaii and on to Florida, my dad continued to dive. Then my older brother was certified there in 1970. It was cool that it was becoming a family thing. I was told that as soon as I was old enough I could go through classes and go with them. I got to snorkel with them some, but my dad and brother went diving all over the Gulf of Mexico and in the Keys.
After my dad was stationed in Tainan, Taiwan, and we all moved there, I was old enough to enroll in training. My SCUBA instructor was a Navy captain who put our class through very rigorous training and classwork. I certified when I was 13 and got to do my open water check dives in the China Sea. My dad got to go along with me on my dive with some other classmates. It really was special. I can only imagine what a sense of pride he must have felt. From there we went diving mainly from the southern tip of Taiwan called Olanpi. From one side of the island, we could dive in the Pacific, from the other, the China Sea. We went every chance we could get. My poor mom who couldn't swim sat on the shore and read while we were all in an enchanted world. We lived there two years. Then we moved to the Phillipines where we met another family with an almost identical set up. The mom sat on the shore while the dad took the older teenage son and younger daughter diving. It was perfect. We went diving together a lot. One of our favorite spots was Corrigodor Island. We lived there for a couple of years. That was the end of my dive experiences ,however, because we then moved to landlocked Tucson, AZ and just never got away to go diving as a family again. Diving became fond memories.
Now with my son going through the training, my husband and daughter showing interest, and a family trip planned to go to Cancun this summer, my excitement is renewed and the sense of pride my dad must have felt to dive with his children and share such an interest with is something I want to experience as well.
I hope my lifetime certification with PADI is true to what they told me when I certified. I'll be so bummed if it isn't.
I look forward to getting to know you and hearing about your adventures.
Sue
