It’s been quite a week. Work’s been insane, I’ve been acclimating to a slightly different sleep and workout schedule, and Jeff and I have made great strides in the eating-in department. :)

Still, I managed to squeeze in some scuba trip planning! My work is taking me back to Hawaii for a Thursday/Friday meeting at the end of July. I have a few more vacation days available than Jeff, so I decided I might as well use one and extend the trip through Monday, so I can get some diving in on Saturday and Sunday. (diving over by 2pm on Sunday; plane takes off 1:30 Monday – if you were wondering why I’m diving the day before flying!)

My original plan was to dive both days with friends and colleagues. One of the guys who will be in the same meeting, coincidentally named Jeff, is finishing up his scuba certification this month, and we talked about going out diving with his outfit up near Waikoloa. It sounded like a lot of fun, since I’d probably get to dive some more northerly sites. However, he was only available on Saturday. My old college friend Julie was available both days and up for anything; she’s also a pretty inexperienced diver, though she finished her certification with Jack’s in Kona a few years ago.

So my initial plan was to split up the diving: a day up north, and then a day with Jack’s. This would mean moving my gear around a lot, but no big deal. I also still had to find a place to stay.

After several on-line attempts to discover good rates, I finally found the best deal at the Royal Kona by calling, and booked myself for Saturday and Sunday nights. Then Jack’s Diving Locker wrote back to me that they actually had a THREE-TANK, ADVANCED dive trip going out on Saturday, with 2 spots left. Jack’s, of course, is right across from Royal Kona.

My plans to dive with Jeff went out the window (sorry, Jeff), and I instantly signed on. This meant I was dumping Julie, too (sorry, Julie!), since Jack’s has requirements on divers who sign up for their advanced trips, that she doesn’t yet meet. But now I’m diving right across the street from where I’m staying, and my gear stays in one place – and I get in FIVE dives instead of a measly four.

Julie gave me a call yesterday to say she’s still up for diving Sunday, and is actually quite content to do just one day of diving to ease back into it, so it’s all good. She’ll also keep me company in Kona Saturday night, and probably stay until I head back to the airport Monday around lunch.

I can’t wait! It’ll be a little strange diving someplace exotic without my own Jeff (and his camera). I’m hoping to borrow or buy a video housing, so I can take more footage while I’m there. If not, I might at least lug along our old Reefmaster for some point-and-shoot pics; we’ll see!