Forever friends

Last weekend I took a dive trip to a neighboring state to attend an annual event that is organized by one of the long-time instructors at the local dive store (LDS) that I teach at. I have been aware of the trip for a number of years now, but until this last weekend, I have not been able to make it. Every year something came up and I could not go.

This year, I decided at the very last moment to go to the annual event and the weekend turned out to be a lot of fun. The weather was so-so, a little on the cold side and rainy off and on. The water temperature was actually warmer than the air temperature so it was comfortable and easy diving.

The event was basically a treasure hunt. We had to hunt for specially marked objects. The numbers on the objects were entered into a prize drawing. The prize drawing was held on Saturday evening, and some people actually came away with some very nice items.

I am reminded of something a one of the candidate dive masters mentioned a few weeks ago. He was reflecting on the fact that on his last dive trip, the people he met were from many different walks of life, yet he found it easy to relate to all the participants. The folks I met over the weekend were from many different walks of life, but we had a wonderful time recounting old dive stories, and watching videos from various dive trips. To me, it was almost like visiting family.

On every dive trip that I have gone, I have met some very nice people (without exception). On these trips I have met retired people, young couples, professional people, etc. No matter what walk of life people came from, I immediately felt at home talking to people about their favorite dives, the new piece of camera equipment and so on. In some cases I believe that I have made life-long friends.