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Unexpected Encounter

This morning I drove up to Koloa Landing to meet two DSDs students and their certified diver friend for a local shore dive. I was pleasantly surprised to run in to Cole Abbott. Cole was in my IDC class. As a matter of fact we graduate 366 days earlier. I must admit that at first I failed to recognize him and when I did I could only recall the unappreciated nickname bestowed upon him by our course director, Tom Witmer. The nickname was "the colinator". Not very flattering but definitely memorable. I never thought I would just run into someone I knew on such a small and isolated island. He has been here for the past 9 months so maybe he will show us some hidden gems for diving.

The diving on Koloa was very nice. The visibility is finally improving after all the rain we have been having. We saw two turtles, two eels, and countless other tropicals. My two DSD students enjoyed the dives but were doubtful that they would ever dive again. They were on Kauai from Korea for a conference and were playing hookey from the conference and their families. Their certified diver friend talked them in to the experience. The important part was that they enjoyed themselves and had a totally new experience. Nature transcends most language barriers; let's appreciate the beauty.

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