Went to Monterey to do my AOW while on vacation at...

Went to Monterey to do my AOW while on vacation at the end of March. As recommended by the owner (James), I did a 2-tank dive tour with Scott to familiarize myself with the area and equipment (read: COLD water diving). So glad I did - was able to get my rental gear set-up in shop quckly - and did my AOW the next 2 days. Rental gear gets quite $$ if you don't have your own, especially since hood/boots/gloves are essential. I got to use brand new equipment so everything was in perfect working order. The only thing I'd suggest is a better system to ensure that tanks are FULL before renting out to people (and whoever keeps putting the cap back on a used tank - STOP IT).

Tour itself was great, got to see a lot of various vertebrates and invertebrates (I think Scott has a thing for nudibranches). Kim G led the AOW class with help from other divemasters (Hannah, Denise, Michael-thanks everyone!). Safety was always a priority. Adequate time going through knowledge reviews with helpful tips/tricks during briefing and the dives. We had some rough times with the poor vis and whatnot, so the post-dive therapy talks were a nice way to de-brief what happened below.

Tips: you are responsible to get yourself and gear to the marina (<5min drive away) + day parking ($10) unless there's room to carpool. Arrive early if you need to rent gear so you can have time to set-up. Sunnier days = less vis; the area is quite silty so the vis drops further if people kick it all up. And the water is COLD - eat up, have a hot drink nearby or a thermos of warm water to throw on after, and be ready for the physical demands of the dive(s) from shore as carrying the gear and the surface swims can be tiring if you haven't gotten efficient. SO GLAD I had my dive parka to warm up afterward.