It just so happens that I have been skiing since I was 5. I spent 8 years on the National Ski Patrol and I'd put my telemarking skills up against anyone that I've ever met. I started my kids skiing when they were 3 and they enjoy both downhill and cross country. I think I'd miss the snow if I moved south. It's also the only time of year where we can escape the bugs that make the tropics so not fun.
I backed out of trimix diving when my kids were born because it was so expensive and I got tired of strapping on a half dozen tanks every time I wanted to dive. This is where freediving kicks in- all the challenge without all of the money or gear. I take my kids out the summer, but the wetsuits are a bit of a limiting factor for the time being. No reason to invest in a custom wetsuit that they will outgrow in 2 months time. When they get older we'll do more.
I don't know about my own TV show, but if you look through past issues of Hawaiian Skindiver you'll see photos that I've taken and articles that some of my dive buddies have written. Having grown up in snow country I don't fine these things extreme, just how we do things up here. Oh, and I've also got dozens of shipwreck photos published in a variety of books and magazines.
I don't know what part of Illinois you were stuck in, but there's a Great Lake right next to Chicago that you might have missed. They don't call it the "Third Coast" for nothing. We have more shipwrecks per square mile than the Bermuda Triangle. The cold fresh water preserves them to the point that even the bodies on the deeper ones don't decompose- they go through a process called soaponification. I can dive down on a 150 year old wooden schooner and still see the paint on the walls- something that wouldn't last 3 years down by you.
There's a reason that they call Whitefish Point the Valhalla of wreck diving. We can pick a time period and a type of vessel and dive it. Wrecks start on the beach and go as deep as you care to dive- the Edmunds Fitzgerald is sunk here and is sitting at 535'.
In the winter time we still go out on Lake Michigan to dive on the deeper wrecks- yes, we break ice out to the wreck site and tie on to dive all winter long. On a normal winter's day we only need to break ice out to the outer break wall and then go from there. When it's really cold we wait for the coal barges to go through first and break up the thick stuff for us. There is a reason that this place is considered the best wreck diving in the world. We hold 23% of the worlds freshwater supply and ships have been getting lost here since the 1600's. From what I understand, the Baltic would come in second.
Oh, since you mentioned surfing I'll let you in on a little secret. They just so happen to have a surf contest up here in the city of Sheboygan every fall. It's held out on Lake Michigan where we get real waves and real surf. The guys use drysuits to keep warm as November is usually the best time to surf. I don't long board, but I used to boogie board out there when I lived in Milwaukee- which is about 80 miles east of where I live now.
As far as moving down by you I think I'll pass. I've dove down there in the past and it was OK, but nothing to give up our standard of living for. I've also had a few friends move down there over the years and the truth of the matter is, your education system rots. One friend got a full time teaching job even though he never graduated from college. He had no idea what he was doing, but it seemed to pay better than his job at the surf shop so he took it. No way I want that for my kids. I also see that you have a 100 mile long oil slick coming your way, courtesy of BP, so I think I'd pass on that as well. Add to that the traffic, obesity rate, crime, pollution, and lack of decent biking and I think I'll stay where I'm at.
Just teasing of course.
Jon