My Love Affair with the Ocean

Many of you that know me, and that are my Facebook friends and so forth, know that I have been raving, perhaps to the edge, if not falling off the edge in to pure crazy, about scuba diving, the ocean, islands, the beach and everything that goes with it. My wife can attest to the fact that I may go a bit overboard with my new found love of scuba diving. But allow me to explain myself.

Ever since I was a little kid, actually it's more accurate to say, as long as I can remember, I have always had a fascination with the ocean, especially with warm sunny beaches and it would be even better if it was on an island. I have no idea why, especially when you take into account that I live smack dab in the middle of the country, and the closest salt water is in the Gulf of Mexico a minimum of 16 hours away by car. (Maybe that's it in a nutshell.) Though I can't explain the fascination, there is no question it has always been there. When I was 7 or 8 years old, I had this dream (and isn't life just a sweet dream at that age) that when I turned 16 I was going to hop into my red convertible 1972 Olds Cutlass 442 and take a road trip to California with another dreamer friend of mine. When reality struck, the only part of that dream that came true was I was driving an Olds Cutlass. Only, it was a white 1976 Gutlass Supreme, a major hunk of junk that my parents bought me for $300. (My dad later said he wanted as much steel around me as possible while I was getting used to driving) However, when I turned 17 I got my chance to go to California and see my beloved beach. A family I have been close to my whole life was going to L.A. and asked if I wanted to join them. Next thing you know, I sold my baseball card collection and paid my way to California and had spending money to boot. (HUGE baseball card collection. I sold it at the perfect time.) We didn't get to spend a ton of time at the beach, but we did spend an afternoon at Huntington Beach. We got in the water and goofed around in the waves. That's when I got my first taste of ocean water. Later we found out that the water was only 65 degrees, but we had a great time. We were from Nebraska, we didn't know any better.

The next time I found myself at the ocean was nearly 10 years later in Bar Harbor, Maine. It was beautiful to look at, but Maine in September is not a good time to jump in the ocean. But, I remember just standing on the beach just staring out into the ocean. It was amazing. But still, not what I was looking for, not exactly.

After a few views of the ocean in Washington state, and San Diego, California, I finally got my chance to do the real thing. An island get away! I flew to Grand Cayman with a couple friends. I remember standing outside the airport waiting for my buddy and his wife to get the rental car. I was thinking, "I don't think I have ever been anywhere this hot and this humid." That's saying a lot when you are from Nebraska. Not many places can compete with our humidity level. But in Cayman, it was so humid it felt like you needed your scuba gear on just to breath. The next day, we headed out to the dive sites. From the moment I got into that water and once I calmed down about going 65 feet under water, it's like I was home. It sounds cliche, but it's true. The ocean, islands and scuba diving was everything I thought it would be and more. Which is amazing when you think about it. How many times has a person said, "Oh! You have GOT to see that new movie, it will blow your mind!", or "Dude! You have GOT to eat at this new restaurant, it's AMAZING!", only to see the movie or eat at the restaurant and be utterly disappointed. But, for me, the ocean was everything I had built up in my mind for 36 years, only better.

So, that is why I am obsessed with the ocean and scuba diving. I don't remember a time I wasn't in love with the idea of the ocean. Maybe it was all the Beach Boys and Jan and Dean that my dad and I listened to together? But regardless of the reason, I love the ocean.