Question

[Freedive WI]

A couple of years ago I had some freedivers visiting form England. I took them diving up to Wazee and when we got there they all started to pull out their wallets and grab cash to split costs. Since I got four of us, and all of our dive gear, packed into the Honda Civic I owned at the time I told them to keep their cash because I felt guilty. They insisted on paying as we had driven so far and gas was expensive. I asked them just HOW much did they pay for gas back home and it was over $5 a gallon at the time! Since gas was around $1.60 at the time, and I used so little of it, I just couldn't take their cash.

I recently read where oil economists are predicting $7 a gallon by 2010 in the US. At that point I will be strapping my fins to my bicycle! :o

I have to admit to staying more local and not traveling as much to go dive. I can dive for free in Milwaukee off of the charter boats, but for what it costs me in gas for one trip (Honda CRV) I can pay for two nights of kayak rental, and ice cream afterwards, to take my daughter out with one of the local lakes.  If I ever sold off one of my dive kayaks and replaced it with something a bit more "family freindly" I'd be doing even better. I still make road trips to dive there, but not near as many as I used to and all of those trips will have multiple purposes when I do make them.

Fred, you better still have Freedive-A-Palooza on your list of destinations! Although, I'm not sure if your brother will want to drag his fifth-wheel along this year. 


Jon