Air Dive in Seattle

This was a freaky and unsettling experience. To wander through passages underground with rusted pipes overhead, wooden planks piled up either side, and railings canted at odd angles, and yet NOT BE UNDERWATER. I tried a deep breath but it did not raise me off the ground, and after a while i stopped checking overhead nervously to make sure my tanks didn't bang or stick on rusticles.

We took the Seattle Underground Tour, a guided walk under the sidewalks and dipping into basements of buildings around Pioneer Square. This bizarre underworld is the rescued remnant of a historical accident; the streets were heaped up higher than the mud, and much higher than the original ground on which the buildings were planted. eventually the city put roofs over the pavements. This was better than climbing a ladder to get up onto the road, and better than tumbling off the street 12-30ft down to the sidewalk to go into a bar or shop. Insanity, greed, and commercial expediency combined to make this tour a) exist and b) good fun.

on not diving

so here i am within an hour's drive of some famous diving spots in the Pacific Northwest. but all my kit is in fair England, and with it my will to take the plunge. why?

is it because some friends here have lost a friend to diving in the last few months?
or because my wife and boys are so far away?
or because this is a business trip and to get bent or worse would be unprofessional?

no. i refuse to dive in a rented wetsuit and unknown kit.
this is drysuit diving, anyway.
what if something happens?

that last question is the killer of any action or venture. something bad might happen. hence best to sit in a hotel room and belly-ache?

to the giant squid exhibition we'll go. and to the aquarium. i'll buy books on whales and squid and diving. i'll eat sushi. smell the sea. maybe take a cruise to spot for orcas.

dive another day.