Bring a lemon - loads of fun.
Bring other UW toys (torpedos, frisbees, etc.)
Bring a book (a cheap $.50 paperback crotch novel or western.... it will last 1 dive)
Practice blowing the perfect bubble ring
Bring a camera and work on learning how to shoot in manual mode
Build a reef one cinder block at a time
Calculate your gas usage on the fly
Make your guess at what your average depth for this dive was... then check when you get out. A few times and you'll be able to nail any dive of any length and any depth within a foot or two
Dream of building the perfect home fill station - and do the math so you know how many friends you need to bring in on it to make it pay off... in the next 5 years!
Bring wetnotes and sketch
Think of all the stuff you could eBay when you get home so you can either buy or upgrade your drysuit
See how long you can hover motionless - I mean not a move. No finning, no hand jive, no nothing. Just your breath and your CG to keep you perfectly still for a minute. Then rise up 2 feet and do it again, then rise up 2 feet and do it again
Work on your back kick... unless you think its perfect as is
Laminate a local fish ID card, and start memorizing the names of all of the fishies and creatures in your local environment. Quiz yourself with the laminated card on your stop.
Bring a friend to the site. That always makes things fresher. Become the tour guide instead of the tourist!
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I could go on and on. There are a zillion things "to do" if your current dive sites are getting stale. Some involve honing your watermanship, some involve knowing the site better, some involve just playing around.
There are few dives as boring as Vets park in SoCal. Aside from never knowing what will show up on any given night, its pretty much same ol'. same ol' - and I still dive there 2 to 3 times a week. As principal dive buddy Claudette always says, "you bring your own fun...."
Put your mind to it, and you'll come up with your own list.
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Ken
