Focus: Hope

In college, Aaron and I were both members of Greek life.  Aaron was a member of Beta Sigma Theta and I was a member of Alpha Sigma Tau.  One of the tenents of Greek life is their commitment to philanthropy and community service.  It's so important that it has even garned a position in the creed of Alpha Sigma Tau: "As a memebr of Alpha Sigma Tau ... I will strive to contribute my share to the progress of mankind."  Each year, members of Greek lettered organizations contribute millions of hours and thousands of dollars to various philanthropic organizations nationwide.

Since graduation, I have maintained a fairly active membership in the Detroit Metro Alumnae Chapter of my sorority.  Many members think that their involvement ends at graduation, but there is still so much more that one can gain from other alumnae.  I have met some great friends, many of whom I would never have met otherwise, through the alumnae group.  Each spring, the alumnae chapter partners with a local chapter (Delta Tau at Oakland University) and Focus: Hope to pack food boxes for those less fortunate.

This past Saturday, we all met at the Focus: Hope headquarters in Detroit at 9 AM, ready to contribute our share to the progress of mankind. 

Of course, we have a little bit of fun with it!  Here, one of the alumnae members is warming up by pressing cheese blocks!

The boxes travel down the line and get loaded with non-perishable items including juice, cheese, beans, peanut butter, milk, and rice.  Then they get loaded on to pallets to be delivered to other local organizations that distribute them to those in need.  These two kept a watchful eye on the pallets, making sure they were removed when full so that we could continue packing as efficiently as possible.

The goal for each year is to beat the number of boxes that were packed the previous year.  Last year, 1300 boxes were packed.  This year, we packed a whopping 2175 boxes in just over two hours!  We actually ran out of boxes to pack.  Below is a picture of everyone who helped.

Aaron even came to help!  We were at the end of the line loading the packed boxes onto the pallets.  Each box weighed about 15 pounds, and there were 55 boxes on each pallet.  Over the course of the morning, we loaded somewhere around 13 pallets.  That amounts to approximately 10,725 pounds of food we loaded!  Boy are we feeling it today.

All the Detroit Metro alumnae who helped!

After we are done packing food boxes, we head to the original Buddy's Pizza, a Detroit classic.  They serve "Detroit Style Pizza" and it. is. awesome.  Detroit style pizza is a deep-dish square, baked in an industrial parts trays, originally used to hold parts in automotive manufacturing facilities in metro Detroit.  The crust is perfectly crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.  

And this was just the start to a fun-filled weekend!  Check back soon to see what we did on Sunday!

First Open Water Dives of 2014

Something magical has happened this week.  Something we here in Michigan, nay, the entire northern half of the United States, have waited months for.  I think...it's possible...that spring is finally here!  However, Mother Nature sure did make us work for it!  Before the sun started shining and the temperature warmed up, it snowed.  Again.  No accumulation.  But still, it snowed.  In April.  In Michigan.  Alas, that is the beauty of Michigan weather for you.

Last weekend, the quarry looked like this.  Not enough ice to ice dive (which was totally fine by me - I've had enough ice diving for a while), but too much ice for open water diving:

WSQ on 3/29/14 Photo Courtesy of Rich Synowiec

But this weekend, the quarry looked like this.  Glorious, beautiful, open water!

WSQ on 4/5/14

Granted, the water level is up.  Way up, which isn't really an issue.

This weekend was the first weekend of open water diving for 2014.  I forgot what it was like to dive WITHOUT a line tied around your waist, without someone on the other end almost constantly tugging on you.  My buoyancy this weekend...nearly spot on.  It was glorious.  Truly amazing.  And we had pretty good weather to boot!  A little chilly (mid-40s), and windy, but it was sunny.  If you could manage to find a spot out of the wind, and squinted your eyes, you could almost trick yourself into thinking it was summer.  Almost.

The dive this weekend had a mission: raise a platform.  White Star Quarry is used extensively for training and open water check-out dives (the first dives that a new diver will do outside of a pool and determine if they become certified or not).  As such, platforms are kind of essential.  The quarry bottom is silty and too much agitation anywhere near the bottom will kick it up and the silt won't settle out for days.  This is where platforms come in - they provide a good place for classes to sit and perform essential skills - mask clears, regulator retrievals, out of air drills - without stirring up the bottom.  Well, stirring it up too much.  In the winter, they sit on the bottom of the quarry.  In the spring/summer/early fall, they are suspended from the surface by four large buoys.  So, this weekend, we had to get one of the platforms up off the bottom and attached to the buoys on the surface.  This involves a semi-complicated maneuver of lifting one side with liftbags (essentially, bags filled with air), attaching that side to the buoys and then repeating the process on the other side.

Since the water is still cold (my computer read 41 degrees), we only did one dive.  But that one dive was awesome and totally worth the hour and 15 minute drive down.  Aside from the diving, we got to hang out with some great friends and spend sometime outside, which really, is also a crucial part of diving.

Divers Incorporated - Monroe

This past week, some good friends of ours opened a second location of their dive shop: Divers Incorporated - Monroe.  The grand opening of the new store coincided with the 10 year anniversary of owning their first shop (Divers Incorporated - Ann Arbor) and the 9 year anniversary of operating the White Star Quarry in Ohio.  To celebrate, they had a Grand Opening party this week.  Scuba diving, good friends, cold beer: I can't think of a better way to spend a Tuesday evening!  We had so much fun in fact that we had to drag ourselves out of there long after the sun set.  Who knows what may have happened if we hadn't had to work the next morning!

New store front for Diver's Incorporated - Monroe

Not long after we got certified, we noticed something about divers: they are all very social.  We've come to the conclusion that diving is not just a hobby, it's a lifestyle.  The actual diving, the time spent underwater, is really quite small compared to everything else we do during a day of diving.  Most of the time, we are socializing with other dive friends - sometimes at the dive site, sometimes around a campfire, and a lot of times over a meal and a beer.  And the Grand Opening party was just another opportunity to spend time with others who enjoy the lifestyle as much as we do!

The new Divers Incorporated location offers divers, and those interested in learning to scuba dive, classes, air fills, rental equipment, and a full line of dive gear and accessories for purchase.  It is conveniently located at 440 North Main St. in Monroe, MI.

View of showroom floor front loft in new store.

The new store is beautiful inside and the staff is welcoming and eager to help you with all of your scuba diving needs.  If you're in the Monroe area, or even just passing though, stop by and tell them the Oaks' sent you!

Update: Photo's from river diving last weekend added to blog post.

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Yankee Air Museum Heritage Night

Jacket worn by some of the Bomber plant employees

Close to our home, there is a small airport with mostly corporate jets and specialty charters that flying in and out.  However, the airport has a long history and the area surrounding it played a critical role during World War II.

Rosie the Riveter hard at work

Willow Run Plant was built by Ford Motor Company from 1941 - 1942 and, during the war years, focused solely on building the B-24 bomber.  Over 8,600 bombers were built and peak production saw one bomber being built every hour - something many thought was impossible. 

It was during this time that the famous "Rosie the Riveter" was born.  As men were being called upon to enter the armed services, a dearth of employees needed to perform manufacturing jobs was created.  It was at this time that women and minorities stepped to fill that need.

While Aaron and I have never been to the museum before, we were really there to attend a presentation from pilot who flew the A-10 warthog during Desert Storm.  It was so interesting to hear about the conflict from a person who flew during that time.  

The A-10 was manufactured by Fairchild-Republic in the Early 70's and was just recently announced that it will be phased out from active duty in the near future.  Lt. Col. Joe Rutkowski gave a great presentation telling stories, and sharing memories from his deployment in Iraq, and many other bits of information that only a veteran can share.  Much more information about the A-10 see the Wikipedia article here.

If you're ever in the area, and have a penchant for World War II or aviation history, stop by the Yankee Air Museum.  And, if you're there in August, you may even catch the "Thunder Over Michigan" Air Show!

You've Got to Know When to Hold 'Em........

This past weekend, we were supposed to be diving the river on Saturday and White Star Quarry on Sunday.  Unfortunately, both days ended up being a bust.  Aaron had an emergency at work and in the span of three days managed to put in something close to 48 hours of work.  Needless to say, I am glad that the situation is taken care of and that I am no longer a work-widow (my own adaptation of "deer camp widow," a Yooper euphemism).

Saturday, it was discovered that there was still ice covering a significant portion of the White Star Quarry - too thick to be considered for open water diving, but too thin to be able to ice dive.  Ahh, spring, how I loathe thee sometimes!  We were not about to let a little ice ruin our dive day though!  Off to the river!  It was a beautiful, but windy, morning.  The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and the river was flowing.  Man, was she flowing!  Current was stronger than last weekend.  Aaron had already planned to not dive since he was so tired from work, but I took one look at it and called it before I ever got in.  Another friend of ours, Jill, did the same.  At least I wasn't alone!  Two in our group still choose to dove; both are more-experienced river divers than we are.  

I had this feeling that THAT would be the day I would find an awesome bottle!  I was so bummed sitting on the shore, waiting for our friends.  Although, I did have fun watching Jill's twin daughters play on the small icebergs that had drifted to shore.  The only saving grace that day was that those who chose to dive, didn't find anything remarkable.  It made my decision not to dive slightly more bearable.  Probably not what they wanted to hear!

There's a saying in diving: "Anyone can call a dive at any time for any reason and not feel bad about it."  (calling a dive: choosing either to end a dive once it has begun or not begin a previously planned dive)  We are going into an environment where we aren't meant to be.  I think it shows great maturity in a diver to know when to call a dive because he or she doesn't feel safe, recognizes that the conditions are outside of their training and experience, or realizes that they may not be fully equipped (mentally and physically) for a dive.  However, it is equally important that one's dive buddies also support the diver's decision and not make him/her ashamed for calling a dive.  It is times like this that I have to remind myself that it's more important to live, and dive another day.

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River Diving

Ahhh, the joys of winter diving!  When the ice is too thin (or, in some winters, non-existent), some crazy divers take to the rivers.  River diving allows for a completely different experience, mainly as a result of the current that isn't really present in lakes and quarries.  However, it is a COMPLETELY different beast.  Not only are there currents, which can be strong, there are also underwater hazards not typically found in protected quarries or even in the Great Lakes.  For years, people used the rivers as a dumping ground (out of sight, out of mind?) and as a result, it's not uncommon to find collapsed docks, wads of fishing line, lawn chairs (seriously?!), cinder blocks, re-bar, and even low-head dams.  While to the untrained diver, this is an environment ripe for something to go wrong, with the proper training, equipment and mindset, the rivers can be a fantastic opportunity to dive locally.  And really, who wants to wait for their next tropical vacation to get in some underwater time?

Entrance to one of the dive sites we frequent.  Thank you to Rich Synowiec of Diver's Incorporated for the picture.

We often dive either the Detroit River or the St. Clair River, but have dove other rivers as well (Cooper, I'm looking at you).  I have had so many people ask me "Why in the world would you want to dive the Detroit River?!  Aren't you afraid of finding a dead body or something?  What is there to see down there anyway?"  Well, while finding a dead body would be pretty horrifying, it's really quite rare (unless you are a public safety diver and it's your job to find that kind of thing).  What we DO find when diving the rivers though are bottles.  Tons and tons of them.  Everything from beer bottles to apothecary bottles and everything in between. Take exhibit A, a bottle Aaron found a few months back in the St. Clair River.  The bottle has "Dr. D. Jayne's Expectorant" embossed on one side.  While we can't positively identify when the bottle is from, best estimates put it anywhere from 1850 - 1890.  

And THAT, my friends, is why we dive the river!

First River Dives of 2014

I apologize in advance, this post is kind of long and picture-heavy.

This past weekend, we set out for our first river dives of 2014.  We had some friends we met on a dive trip last summer come into town from Wisconsin to take the course from a good friend of ours, Rich Synowiec, and then complete their check out dives.  We were invited along to dive with them on Saturday and Sunday.  

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Typical bed of the pickup on a dive day.

Of course, the first step for any day of diving is to load the gear into the truck: two dry suits (White's bag); an argon set up (for me since I get cold easily); dry suit undergarments (Fourth Element bag); two hoods, masks, sets of gloves (wet for Aaron and dry for me) and fins; two sets of regulators (in bag farthest to left); 45 pounds of extra weight; two river tools with two goodie bags; and an extra change of clothes, just in case the dry suit isn't so dry.  We have really gotten this whole thing down to a science and can be loaded up and ready to go in about a half hour.

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Pickup bed of some dive friends.

Have we ever mentioned that diving is an equipment-intensive hobby?  No, we haven't?  Well, it is.  The picture to the right is the gear just for one person.  Well, plus some other, non-diving related, stuff

On Saturday, we were diving on Gross Ile, a small island in the Detroit River.  The weather was nice, relatively speaking.  The air temperature was 38F, no wind, and the sun was trying to peak out.  But the river, well, she was raging, quite literally.  That was the fastest current we had ever dove in.  A couple of things were working against us - the location is shallow, the water level is about 3 feet lower than normal, and the shipping channel of the Detroit river (on the other side of a very small, unihabitated island) was frozen over still.  All the water that would usually flow through both the shallow side where we were diving, and the larger and deeper shipping channel, had to go right past our dive site.  Talking about a ripping current.  The water temperature wasn't terrible, 32F, but with all the work we had to do in order not to get swept away by the current, we barely felt it.  Both of us ended up calling the dive about 10 minutes in.  Better to be alive to dive another day.

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This is why people dive Poseidon regulators.  The first stage is frozen solidly in ice, and still functioned great!

Sunday took us up to Harsen's Island.  Harsen's is in the middle of the St. Clair river, right where it opens into Lake St. Clair, and you need to take a ferry to get there.  It's actually quite interesting to sit in your car as you are crossing a river.  We met with friends (lots of them, actually - Rich even snagged a quick picture of everyone before everyone got kitted up) for breakfast at a local place before hitting the river.  The weather was much colder on Sunday - 16F and windy, but sunny.  Colder weather (and of course cold water), is a problem for some regulators.  It can cause them to freeze and free flow.  However, some regulators are better than others.  The ones below both continued to function perfectly, despite the fact that they were incased in ice.  Note to self: need to get myself one of these 

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Who said Poseidon regulators were rock solid?  No free-flows or failures from the Poseidon's today.

Both Aaron and I got our gear set up, and then donned our undergarments and drysuits, hopped in the water annnd....free flow.  A small one, but still an issue.  Poured in some warm tea (that's all I had on hand) to thaw it, and then try again.  We both were able to get down, but Aaron's started to free flow again, and he couldn't get it thawed  He ended up calling the dive.  I was able to get in a half hour dive before I overworked mine, froze it, and had it free flow on me.  I did learn something interesting this weekend - I can reach my own air to turn it off if need be (don't worry, I was on the surface when I turned it off).  Good to know.  One dive and a frozen reg later, and I called it a day.  Below is a picture of me as I was doffing my gear (dry suit is off, undergarments are still on).  Please excuse the state of my hair.

Unfortunately, since Aaron wasn't able to dive, he wasn't able to find any treasures.  I found a few cool bottles, but I have no idea what kind they are.  They still need to be cleaned and researched, if I get a chance.

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Meghan doffing her gear after a great dive of diving