I’m thinking about you on your birthday and what your life meant to us. You were a very special and bright kid and I knew that you would be a strong force when you grew up.

I think what I’ve learned is that you never know when will be the last time you’ll see someone you love. Therefore never turn down an opportunity to play, have fun, or give a hug and tell someone that you love them. I regret the times when you wanted to play but I didn’t have the energy.

Sometimes it’s hard when I’m working and my daughter wants to sit on my lap, but I can nearly always make room for her and still get my work done. Sometimes she’ll sit there for an hour or more. Other times when she wants to wrestle, I’ll do it even when I’m tired. Once we start wrestling, I’m not tired any more. In the end, we’re all happier.

Missing you on your birthday. Love your uncle John.

Happy Birthday today! Thinking about you on your special day. I remember what an assertive person you were. Good at arguing with me. I could barely win! I said, wow, he’s got a sharp wit! Rest in peace, my beloved nephew.

Love,

Uncle John

Please support the shop and think of them when you need instruction, travel, equipment or tank fills.  Here is a link to the web site: Santa Cruz Scuba Diving.  The new owners are Charlie and Jayme Cooper.  Stop by to say hi!

Above – Photo of the family from 2006, presumably during construction on their house in Mexico.

I remember Luke and his stories, all full of knowledge and the tone in which he would tell them.  I remember DeDe and her infectious laugh.  David had a different kind of laugh.  He would used to get the kids to eat their food by grabbing it off their plate and eating it.  I do the same thing with my daughter, and it works to an extent.

Remembering you, as always, on your birthday today. Your laugh, your smile, your humor, your compassion, and caring for others, and how I miss my dear friend, sister, comrade in mothering, growing up and growing old together. Love Cathryn

Invest in a SCUBA Shop and get paid for seeing the world!

Tired of paying for expensive vacations that are too infrequent?  Every day you work hard so that you can do the things you love, like traveling and SCUBA diving, but you don’t get to do them often enough, and you have to pay big money to do it.  Now you can get paid to see the world, above water and underwater, by owning your own dive shop!

By owning your own dive shop, you get to vacation and dive as much as you want.  Previous owners went on 7 – 8 trips per year to places like Fiji, Galapagos Islands, Bikini, Cozumel, Hawaii, Jamaica, Maldives, Tahiti, Africa (including safari), Egypt, Indonesia, Thailand, and more!

This business is great for someone who loves SCUBA and likes not only to get the write-off trip and SCUBA expenses, but likes to get paid for going to exotic places while trying out the latest dive gear.  One of the other benefits of owning a dive shop is you meet a lot of people and make a lot of friends in a hurry, so this is definitely an opportunity for someone who likes social interaction.

The advantage of buying a business versus starting your own is that it eliminates all the time and money required to get established; count on five years or more.  In that time, you don’t get to enjoy the business because you’re busy marketing and getting established; people who don’t have exceptional marketing skills frequently don’t make it.  During the time when you’re getting established, you’re also pouring a lot of money into the business and covering your own salary. Add up five years of your salary to see what that’s worth. Let’s face it, you’d rather be teaching, diving, and traveling for 5 years than marketing a new business.  When you buy a company that is already established, that initial ramp up is already done, so you can immediately enjoy benefits of a successful business in scuba diving, teaching and adventure travel.

Here is what the Scuba Center offers:

• Retail center with SCUBA inventory
• Classes: SCUBA Diver, Advanced SCUBA, Rescue Diver, Divemaster, Assistant Instructor, and Nitrox
• Dive Travel
• Services: Airfills, Equipment Repair & Maintenance, and Rentals

The company has been in business since 1987 with an excellent reputation for safety, quality, and service.  The present location is also a valuable asset with visibility from Highway 1 in Santa Cruz, California, on the way to Monterey, Carmel, and Point Lobos.  We believe so much in the company that we invested last month in a new Bauer air compressor!

-John Houghton

— Update 9/25/13 —

Passing The Torch

News travels fast, and many of you may already know that Aqua Safaris is now under new ownership!  On behalf of the Houghton Family, both past and present, I would like to extend a warm and heartfelt thanks to the dive community of Santa Cruz and the many patrons of Aqua Safaris who encouraged and supported us through the difficult period following the loss of the shop’s owners, David and DeDe Houghton, in July 2011.  Since then our primary goal has been to sustain the diving enterprise launched by David in I987 and to provide excellent service to the regional diving community.  I have very much enjoyed getting to know many of you and being a part of this community of great folks united by a passion for diving.  Among all of us, the dedicated members of our staff and loyal patrons, the continuation of Aqua Safaris has truly been a community effort and a fitting memorial to our shared vision.  We made it, Aqua Safaris will continue, and we couldn’t have come to this point without you!  Thank you!  We are happy to entrust the enterprise to the experienced leadership and hands of Charlie Cooper, who brings an ideal combination of backgrounds in business, marine biology, and most importantly, a life-long enthusiasm for diving!  He has been diving for more than forty years and draws on a broad range of experience in instruction as a PADI Master Instructor.  While he shares the Aqua Safaris commitments to competence, quality, and integrity, the new energy and changes are already visible at the shop. Be sure to stop by to check it out, say hello, and stay tuned for exciting plans, new equipment lines, and expanded programs of both instruction and travel.  In the well known words of David and DeDe,

“Let’s go Diving!”

- Cathryn Houghton

http://www.aquasafaris.com

Looking to take advantage of the new real estate boom?  Now that investors have swooped in with cash and driven up property values, most of the recession induced bargains are gone, but there are still big opportunities for savvy investors who want to benefit from the rising real-estate market.

Now it’s possible to take advantage of trends by investing in solutions whose value increase as the market goes up, specifically, solutions that help transact properties with ground water or soil problems.  A lot of commercial properties have been sitting because they have problems that were not worth fixing, but now that their value has gone up, these properties are worth remediating and selling.

As we come out of the recession into growth, there is much pent up demand, and one thing is true about the San Francisco Bay area: there is only so much land. “Throughout Silicon Valley, developers are busy constructing new buildings and renovating existing properties to meet the needs of tech companies expanding their South Bay operations.”  Oakland Tribune, March 13, 2013.  Given the employment strength of the Bay Area and subsequent population increases, the need for commercial space will only fuel the demand for soil and groundwater remediation services.

Being in the bay area, you are in the right place at the right time to purchase and grow an established company whose services are in demand as real estate values appreciate.  This investment opportunity can set you up with a profitable and well positioned environmental remediation service.  You will also feel like you’re doing something positive because you’re helping the environment.

Profitable and in business since 1992, we serve Silicon Valley, the San Francisco Bay and Southern California.  The company has customers from Roseville to Los Angeles and we have two multi-million dollar CalTrans contracts in place.  This is an excellent opportunity as the real estate market recovers; many properties can’t be sold until soil and groundwater is inspected, tested, and toxic conditions corrected.

This company is a full-service environmental sciences, engineering, and consulting company specializing in soil and groundwater investigation and remediation, above- and underground storage tank (AST, UST) removal and disposal, and in the abatement of asbestos and lead. With comprehensive interdisciplinary environmental services, this company develops advanced, cost-effective strategies. The company has 20 years of experience in environmental, engineering, and technical services, environmental assessments, regulatory strategy, and chemical remediation.

Please contact John Houghton for inquiries at 650 888-1816 or email john at johnhoughton.com.