Monday, the staff at my office thought I was crazy. Tuesday morning, they all still thought I was crazy. Tuesday afternoon, they were all playing catch up, planning ways to protect their homes, and to get out. I was either lucky or smart and got out early, but many tried to leave on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Most got stuck in the mother of all traffic jams. Certainly, the government could have made this easier by opening the contraflow lanes earlier, but what else could they have done?

disclaimer
First, let me say that I am not a dive instructor and that any advice I give here is not “training.” While some of the things I suggest as practice require diving that is well within the recreational limits of a open water diver (the most basic level), you should seek professional assistance to ensure your safety. In any case, I take no responsibility for any results good or bad that you encounter if you follow my advice. Diving is a sport that is dangerous and requires training from certifying agencies such as SSI, IANTD, PADI or NAUI. Seek professional training FIRST and always follow your training agencies guidelines for your certification level.

I’m a photographic newbie, both underwater and on land. In fact, I’ve shot less than 50 rolls of slide film underwater. Most of them were taken in Truk or in Texas lakes. But, I think I’ve figured out a couple of simple things that help me enjoy under water photography early on instead of being frustrated.

I, along with two dive buddies, Jeb and Bob, recently took the IANTD Technical Cave Diver course from Gary Taylor in Luriville, FL. Under normal conditions, the road trip would have been a simple 13 hour drive down I-10 along the gulf coast. Of course, as anyone who has watch, read or heard any news knows, now is anything but a normal time along the gulf coast. Some even questioned our sanity for trying to drive to Florida only 4 days after one of the biggest natural disaster in US history.