Newbie questions.

[SoggyBottomBoy]

Hi, everyone.

After experiencing the thrill of diving during a recent visit to the Caribbean, I decided to return back home and get my certification. The classroom and confined water portion of training has been completed, and I’m just waiting for the season to warm before I do my open water training at Square Lake.

My question is this – what next?

For location: I won’t be going to the Caribbean again until at least next year, but would like to keep practicing my skills. I see numerous lakes mentioned here in other posts (Wazee, Ore-B-Gone, Crosby Mines, etc.), but would those be too difficult for my skill level? I’m located in Minneapolis, so would a pass at the local lakes (Calhoun, Harriet) be more appropriate?

For education: Would taking the Advance Open Water be the next logical step in certification? Or would some other specialty make more sense?

For connecting with those who want to dive: I imagine hanging out at forums such as this one, and perhaps talking to my local dive shop, are the best bets for organizing a local or nearby dive. Any other suggestions for getting together with others?

Ultimately, I want to be using my new skills and keeping active in the diving community and am looking for tips on how to do this. I apologize if this a newbie duplicate post. Any help or information is greatly appreciated.

Thanks, divers!