December 01, 2014

Travel Review: Deep Blue Adventures and Atlantis Resort, Puerto Galera, Philippines

December 01, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

Over the past week or so, we've told you all about the diving we did in the Philippines and some of the stuff we did outside of the water. One of the things we haven't talked much about is the place we stayed, and who coordinated it all for us.

Back in the US, we met Cheryl Patterson who owns Deep Blue Adventures through friends of ours (she's a hoot by the way!). They focus solely on dive travel so when we decided we wanted to take a dive trip this fall, naturally, we contacted her. Our agent was Terri and

November 24, 2014

Muck Diving in the Philippines

November 24, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

Last week we talked about the reef diving we did in the Philippines. Today, we are talking about the other type of diving: muck diving. This isn't the kind of muck that is found in inland lakes, the kind that you sink ankle deep into when you step into it, and goes 'sluuuurp' when you pull your foot out (or, would, if it wasn't underwater). This muck is more or less sand, and isn't ''mucky'' at all. When I heard muck diving, I was just a little grossed out (see my description of what I though muck meant above), and I thought there wouldn't be much to see. Boy was I wrong. I had NO idea that we would see that much stuff diving over sand.

November 21, 2014

Reef Diving in the Philippines

November 21, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

Last week, we spent an amazing week in the Philippines diving our tushes off. We ended up doing 29 dives in 6.5 days - 4 or 5 dives each day. Diving is relaxing, but tiring, even if you are breathing nitrox. And after a while, they all tend to run together a little bit. Not that that's a bad thing, but that just means I can't remember if I saw that awesome nudibranch on my 5th dive or 20th dive, so a dive-by-dive breakdown isn't really possible. That being said, there are two main types of diving that we did in the Philippines - reef diving and muck diving. Today, we are talking about reef diving.

September 10, 2014

Nemo 33

September 10, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

This past weekend, Aaron and I headed to Brussels to check off the first thing on our European Bucket List - diving at Nemo 33! We let Friday night after work to drive up there before diving on Saturday morning. With stops, it took us about 5 and a half hours, but it seemed a lot longer. Is it just me or does everything take longer when you'er going someplace you've never been to before? Just me? Ok then....

September 08, 2014

Local Diving...and Pretty Flowers

September 08, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

Last weekend, Aaron and I went to one of the local lakes to dive. We were on our own, but thankfully the people at the local dive shop in Schwetzingen told us everything we needed to know. We dove at a lake called Rheinauer See, that is only about 20 minutes away from our apartment. They require that you schedule your dive ahead of time and pay via Paypal. At only ...

August 20, 2014

Isle Royale - Recap

August 20, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

I promise, this is the LAST post about Isle Royale :) We hope you've enjoyed reading about the amazing diving that we did during the week, and learning more about this national treasure in Lake Superior. Of course, none of this would have been possible without the hard work of planning and logistics from the staff at Divers Incorporated in Ann Arbor, Michigan. And of course, without the expert captain of the Lake Superior Diver - Ryan - and his first mate (for this trip) Rick. If you are ever looking to do a charter to Isle Royale for ...

August 17, 2014

Isle Royale - Day 5

August 17, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

Our final day on the Lake Superior Diver dawned early. We left Windigo and had a five hour or so ride down the northwestern side of the island to the southern edge where we were scheduled to do two dives on the Chisholm engine.