SCUBA TRAVEL News

Across the threshold
Honeymoons range from low-budget camping trips to extravagant $900 per night over-water bungalow packages in the Tahitian islands. Decide how much you want to spend, and stick to your budget. Going into debt on the honeymoon is a stressful way to begin a marriage. All inclusive packages to Mexico often start at $1,300 per person for a week, said Val Sundell from Breckenridge Travel. As of Jan. 3, charter flights offer direct service to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, said Suzi Mirus, manager of Carlson Wagonlit Travel in Frisco. All inclusive trips to these destinations range from $1,500-2,000 per person.

Northwest Indiana News: nwitimes.com - Features
Big brothers and sisters, ages 2 to 6, can attend a one-hour program that helps them understand what it will be like to have a new baby in the house. Family Affair Sibling Class will be offered at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at St. Margaret Mercy Healthcare Centers, 5454 Hohman Ave. Fee is $5 per family. To register, call (219) 933-2100 or (708) 891-9111. Families create magnets together Animal Face Magnets craft program will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Gibson Woods Nature Preserve, 6201 Parrish Ave. This program will allow participants to create a magnet using their own creative genius. Cost is $1. To register, call (219) 844-3188.

DIVERNET- Bubbling February 2004
DEEP STOPS Incorporating Bruce Wienke's RGBM modified Mares algorithm, said to make diving safer by incorporating deeper deco stops, the new Mares MI Airlab is a nitrox diving computer that integrates with your breathing-gas supply by means of a high-pressure hose to your regulator first stage. The MI RGBM was well-liked during our recent computer comparison and this M1 AirLab gives the added safety of helping you manage your air-supply properly. The Mares M1 AirLab costs 365. Blandford Sub-Aqua 01923 801572 GOT SOME GOOD PICS?

Dive, he said - and they did
Hilary Noonan, Erica Scheckel, Tyson Lybeck, instructor Matt Myers, and Jesse Vislisel practice scuba-diving techniques in the Iowa City Recreation Center pool on Feb. 29. Amanda May/The Daily Iowan With a firm belief that he should leave things better than the way he found them, UI senior Matthew Myers has transformed the once-defunct UI Scuba Diving Club into a thriving student-run organization with sponsorship from his business. In 2001, the club "dwindled and died," but today, its numbers are once again flourishing, with more than 40 active students. The club provides members with scuba lessons and diving trips to improve their skills.

TCPalm: Health & Wellness
"I'm like a completely different person," says Biek, 31, a graphic designer who is 5 foot 7 and now weighs 180 pounds. Two years ago, she weighed more than 320 pounds. Success for Gary Wheeler is as simple as sliding comfortably into a restaurant booth. It is being able to cross his legs and tie his shoes, and the look of disbelief in the eyes of old friends who haven't seen Wheeler since he dropped more than 150 pounds in less than a year. "I can tell they don't recognize me, and that's a good feeling," says the Vero Beach resident, who carries about 300 pounds on his 6-foot-5-inch frame. A year ago, he weighed more than 460 pounds.

Welcome to the Argonaut
VacationFest travel expo arrives at SM Civic Sunday, March 7th BY ROB WASSERMAN The independently-owned TravelStore is hosting the fifth annual VacationFest consumer travel show and sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 7th, at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, located at 1855 Main St. in Santa Monica. The six-hour event is free and open to the public.

Sokor advisory cites RP as 'dangerous' place
The South Korean government has classi-fied the Philippines a "dangerous" country and admonished its citizens on the possible threats of violence here. In a travel advisory updated over the weekend, the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry advised its citizens to behave cautiously and urged them to keep personal safety measures in mind while in the Philippines. South Koreans make up the most number of tourists in the Philippines next to Americans, Japanese and Chinese. The ministry posted an alert warning level 1 for tourists traveling in the country, requesting them to watch out for changes in the warning level.