Wow! What a weekend! All I can say is scuba diving in a MN lake at the end of May is NOT a good idea. Especially since it hasn't been much above 70 yet. On Friday Matt and I drove up to Brainerd, MN. It is a pretty nice little town. After we checked into our hotel, we drove around a bit to explore and pick up some groceries for the weekend. On Saturday we headed out in drizzle to the diving site. It was about 14 miles out of Brainerd. We probably could have stayed in Crosby, which was closer, but I didn't know they had hotels there. Instead we stayed in comfort in Brainerd, and just suffered a 10-14 minute drive (it depended on who was driving and what the weather was like). Matt dove first. I took that opportunity to drive into town, get a big warm cup of coffee, and read. When lunch time roamed around, I went to Crosby, MN, and got Subway for Matt and me. I ate my sandwich at the primitive Portsmouth Bay campsite (http://webpages.charter.net/rsouthwick/scubaclub/sites.htm), and then sat in the backseat of my car to enjoy my latest reading, 100 years of Solitude (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060929790/104-9971770-5183925?v=glance) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It is a really good book, but sometime the generations of people with the same name gets confusing.
My diving experience began shortly after 2 PM. I had to attempt to put on this thick, wet, and sort of gross wet suit. After being successful in my attempt, I felt like a giant stuffed sausage. That feeling never subsided during the whole weekend. I guess that should have been my first warning. We started our dive by a quick briefing. That is where I discovered that we would have to spend at least 15 minutes on the surface to change tanks. This did not excite me, as it was only 45 degrees outside and it was raining. Oour first dive was ok. The visability was supposedly abnormally low because of the rain and wind outside. I just remember the feeling of swimming in a tunnel and not knowing where to go. I also remember how cold it was. The first dive was successful, but because one of the divers was a little late, we had to extend out surface time. I froze my butt off. Luckily the second dive was shorter. After freezing...Matt was a saint and helped me clear my gear and warm me up. We enjoyed a pizza and some beer while I warmed up watching Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. I can happily say that I have also seen all three movies now. Why does there have to be so many snakes in them?
On Sunday I woke up...and did not want to dive....at all. I choked it up though, and doned my gear one more time. The conditions were even worse than Saturday. This lead to one guy panicking, but he was ok in the end. At one point I couldn't even see my own glove. The one cool part was when me and one of the instructors went to clearer water to catch me up. Because of the one guy's panick attack, I had not completed all of my skills. I was allow to do my skill by myself in a much nicer area. I even saw some fish.
After the dives, Matt and I ventered up the Dalsted cabin to pick up Jenny. She wasn't having the greatest time at the lake, so we were happy to free her from the rain. We ate at Zorbaz in Detriot Lakes. Unfortunately, the NASCAR club was also eating there, so all we could do was enjoy our excellent pizza in baffled silence due to the annoying amount of car sounds. To quote Jenny "I have never seen that much NASCAR in my life. I doubt I will ever again."
The rest of Sunday was spent watching classic movies. My personal favorite was Arsenic and Old Lace staring Cary Grant.
I have more... but this is enough for now.