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A Place to Relax

If you haven’t been to your favorite diving location lately, may we suggest stopping by your favorite dive store, Oceanic Ventures amd take a moment or two to relax and swap some diving storied with your fellow divers? Ann has been working hard to make our backyard a relaxing space meet your friends and enjoy some time outside.

We have had a number of impromptu cocktail hours in the backyard and an occasional cigar night too. It is amazing how relaxing it can be to talk about your next dive over a glass of wine, rum or a Topo Chico. You might even get Eric to pull out a homemade Setzer if you are lucky.

Just recently, a client donated another table and some chairs along with some lounge chairs. This latest gift along with the other table and chairs as well as a collection of umbrellas and a new fire pit make the backyard a really cool meeting place. We can comfortably seat 20-30 people and still have room for the kids to run around a play games.

Speaking of games, one of our staff donated an old fashioned corn hole game and a large jenga game. Ann found some lawn darts and we have about 6 hula-hoops and some soccer balls to boot. As you probably already know, children are always welcome at the store.

When a meeting calls for food, we are fully prepared with two gas grills, 2 charcoal grills, a column smoker and a pig roasting box. Couple that with the gas camp burners and a warmer and we are prepared for a big event.

Almost everything in the backyard has been donated by our clients. They have been instrumental in helping us create a special place in the middle of Houston and Bellaire. We really appreciate their generosity!

Gardens

Ann and a few of the staff have been working on enhancing the garden and planting in the back yard. The freeze killed the bannana trees but they are beginning to come back as is the star jasmine. This past weekend we rehabilitated the sugar kettle garden adding a beautiful new lily, some other plantings and a few goldfish. The fish are still getting used to their new home so they hide a lot but they are getting used to people being around.

During the COVID shut-down, Ann was jealous of everyone working in their gardens so she started one at the store. Now, it is time to replant the vegetable gardens. Last year we had fresh tomatoes for months as well as onions and peppers. I found some pepper seeds for some colorful exotic peppers so I am looking forward to those fruiting this season. She is also looking at planting some basil and rosemary. If you have some suggestions, please send her a note. She likes to hear what people have had success with here in the area.

Never Finished…

We still have some plans for the future. We are looking for a rolling cooler and a stock tank to make a pool/fountain to add to the ambiance. We are also looking at adding more fans for the summer months as well as some outdoor speakers. Do you have some things you need to find a home for?