Beaver Lake, Arkansas

   Chuck & Renee invited me to practice diving with them at Beaver Lake, in preparation for Playa del Carmen and Cozumel. I guess Chuck wanted to make sure his dive buddy could actually keep up with him. Without, you know, dying and stuff. I headed out to meet them at their home in Harrisonville, south of:

 Funny name for a town: Only in Missouri!

   Chuck was kind enough to drive us for our adventure, giving me a totally relaxing, easy weekend!

Delicious & aromatic peaches from a roadside stand in Arkansas. Washington peaches.

...why, I don't know. But they were great!

The marina, where we rented our tanks

   Their friend and Scuba shop owner, Mark, let us take the keys to his beautiful A-frame lake house. It looked small from the front, but upon entering we realized it could easily sleep 8-12 people. And here we are, just the three of us. I have my own bedroom in the loft and an extra bed to hold my suitcase. Rough weekend. ;)

Mark's lake house: Too cute. Lucky us!

Just steps off Beaver Lake!

Beaver Lake vistas

Diving...

...requires a LOT of gear.
Me & my fearless friend/coworker/dive master, Chuck:

Post-dive glee

   We dived twice today, 2.5 hours total. The water was cool, and the visibility was poor (about an arm's length, if that. Lake diving + rain = disaster), but despite all that, I DID IT!!! I'm so excited to get more comfortable while diving, and let go of my fears for good. We dived for 1.5 hours or so on Saturday afternoon & Sunday morning, which heightened my excitement for Mexico!

   After our dives, Chuck & Renee went back up to the lake house to shower and prepare for dinner, leaving me lying on the shore in the late day sun,  soaking up the sun & spotting animals in the clouds. I don't remember the last time I felt so completely relaxed.
   We all pitched in to grill steaks, corn and veggie skewers, with the goat cheese/spinach/berry salad I'd brought, with some wine. Yum. A perfect way to end a successful day.