April's not a diver, but did understand that I was going to do some diving while we were there. Coming from the cool waters of the Pacific Northwest, there's no way I could pass up the chance to dive in the warmness of Hawaii.

The first challenge was finding someone to dive with. Looking around at various dive stores, and reading flyers, I concluded that the majority of the diving I encountered was touristy. Groups of twelve people, one instructor, experience levels ranging from advanced to baby bubblers. It was also expensive - $65 to $80 for two dives - sometimes not including your equipment rentals. Most of the stores weren't set up like I was used to - no equipment was displayed, didn't have that dive store feeling to it. I was a bit disappointed.

Doing some research on PADI's website, I found a five-star PADI dive center not too far from the condo. Same rating as my "home" store. Off we went.

Maui Dreams Dive Co. was exactly what I was looking for. A dive store without carpeting on the floor, equipment on the wall, and people standing around actually talking about diving. Chatted with Tom for quite some time, he let me copy down a bunch of locals looking for dive partner's numbers in hopes of finding a local diver looking to go out, and wouldn't mind me tagging along.

I called, no one called back.

Went back to the store, and this time talked to a different lady (I really wish I remembered her name.) I told her that I wanted to break down and pay $65 for two dives. Unfortunately, all the shop dives were full and there weren't any openings until the day we left back for Washington. Yes, I was disappointed, and I guess you could see it in my face because one of the guys hanging around the store asked me when I wanted to go diving. We chatted about when, my experience levels, how long I was there for and what I wanted to see. Barrett is a dive-master in training and was willing to let this crazy cold-water diver dive with him this weekend.

And so my Maui diving adventure began . . .