We travel with our entire gear, wet suit, mask, regulators, BC, fins, snorkel, booties, gloves, hoods, sometimes 2 wetsuits, video camera, still camera and housings for both, dive computers, extra camera housing battery, video camera lights. We pack our regulators, computers, masks, my still camera gear and one day's worth of clothes in my carry on. The video camera and gear with a day's clothes in honey's back pack carry on. Currently we have biggest checked luggage allowed in a nylon type material that the two wet suits, 2 sets of fins (we use big split fins) 2 BCs, gloves, booties, hoods, etc. go in. We just buy new when what we are using gets too ripped to use, we go to the store with our little portable scale and get the lightest ones we can find with wheels. We've discovered the hard way that when dragging two huge suitcases - one with heavy gear one with clothes, and 4 carry ons (2 with the above, one lap top case for downloaded video and pictures and if internet is available for honey to work) and one personal item, normally a big tote that I carry that holds other misc. stuff like passports, wallets, bathing suit, etc. that wheels and carry ons that will stack on top of those all come in handy. I think we got our current at Homegoods. We go through luggage about every 3 trips. We used to use hard side, which are by far the best for dive gear but it is just too heavy so you can't get as much in it.
As far as taking lessons in West Palm, I kind of agree with your husband. West Palm diving can be easy or pretty rough. Our first open water dives were there and the seas were at least 6 ft. high and the currents ripping. We have had 100 ft. visibility and only 20 ft. visibility there. It's drift diving there so doing a hot jump and then getting back on a boat in 6 ft. seas your first time in the ocean can be a bear. I learned on that trip, you can indeed throw up in your regulator and that I'm one of the best current divers around. We have had trips there with almost no current, which turns a drift dive into a slow reef dive. If diving wrecks, there are more challenges involved, although I'd assume they wouldn't do that on their first dives but dropping to a wreck in a ripping current with no line can be fun.
