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Open water dive #26 was dive #1 of my sidemount course. Straight from there to cavern/intro. No time to learn bad habits. Doesn't work for everyone but I had recently moved to Marianna and had excellent mentors/dive buddies/instructors at my disposal.

Just buy some merino wool base layers . I like Icebreaker but there are many others. You do NOT need dive - specific ones..

I use weightlifting gloves, from Walmart or Amazon. Already fingerless, thin, and cheap but offer the benefits others have noted.

No, we all go east for AN/DP courses. There isn't the requisite depth in a training site in NWFL springs. Deepest in Jackson County is Baltzell but not until well into the cave (and it's not a training cave); Tallahassee has depth but they are also not entry or training level dives.

Jackson Blue. Morrison. Church (no cavern to speak of, cave or open water only) Emerald (once it clears up.) I don't consider Orange Grove NWFL, but it's a nice deep basin and you can poke your head in the cavern (not sure how much is "cavern" and where the cave starts there.)

Right, but she specifically asked for Northwest FL...none of the places you mention are in NW FL

Any particular reason you are looking to go deep? You can practice your trim and bouyancy and bottle handling skills in much shallower waters and save the depth for AN/DP course.

Are you cavern trained? Regardless, aren't going to get to 100' in a cavern either. The deepest I can think of is ~45' for cavern.

You will not find that kind of depth at a NW FL spring without going into the overhead.

What type of drysuit (neoprene or shell), and what is the expected water temperature? If you have any outdoorsy tech clothes already that's going to be your best and most frugal initial solution (think ski or hiking baselayers/thermals, cold weather running gear?) I'm a fan of merino wool...

Marianna area still looking good. Jackson Blue flow is up, viz seems to get milky a few days after each rain and then clear up again over the course of a few days. Hole in the Wall (upstream/right) is good, as is Twin High-flow river caves are fine (Ebro, Maddachalk)

Ah, well with a crushed neoprene suit you will need much less undergarments. I think all of us here responding assumed trilam... I no longer dive a neoprene suit, but friends who do here in N Fl. typically only use wool undergarments. Dives over 4hrs or so they add heated vests.

I'm having a hard time understanding your technique there...no way I would jump in the water with a tank in hand .just saying... I've only got 1 ocean SM dive,...i was the only SM diver on the boat and was the first to splash. I had LP50s all hooked up and ready to go, walked right to the...

Like Lorenzoid, in 68-72F I prefer 200 gm Santi undergarments. For a wicking layer I feel you can't beat merino wool. Maybe a fourth element xerotherm top or polarfleece on top of the baselayer if you don't want to go full undergarment.

I carry on anything not easily sourced at my destination. For me that means my drysuit is in my carry-on. I just fold it up and pack around it, no special bag or prep.

?? Put drysuit in suitcase, get on plane, go diving? A more specific question will probably get you a better answer...I'm not sure what you are trying to find out.

Interesting...I've never heard of Edd requiring much less teaching a drysuit course. Unless of course someone shows up to a more advanced class who can't perform to the level expected.

I'll give a slightly different viewpoint: no need to take a bunch of recreational classes to prepare for cave/tech diving. I took a non-conventional path to full cave, trimix (and now CCR) diving, worked out well for me but everyone's situation is different. Find a solid cavern/cave...

Yep. Millpond caves are good to go: JB is pumping and Hole in the Wall viz is reportedly quite good for winter conditions. Chipola River is too high for Bozel or Maund but Maddachalk should be fine. No recent reports on the river caves further West but Ebro should be good.

Yes. A permit is required to take any vertebrate fossils from non-private land in Florida. Sharks teeth are specifically excluded from the vertebrate permit requirements, but if you hope to take anything else best to be legal. Florida Fossil Permit :: Florida Museum of Natural History