Giles travels around America more than just about anyone I know.  I defer to him when it comes to identifying and judging dives.  It is definitely a guy thing.  A lot of guy bonding occurs on dive outings.  I think Giles, our buddy Curt, and I have experienced an inordinate amount of guy bonding in the context of dive restaurants.  Examples:  Curt, Giles, and I made a concerted effort to visit as many dives as possible (Curt once and me twice) during Giles St. Thomas V.I. years–that included one of our most stellar guy bonding episodes at a dive close to El Condado and singing Going to Kansas City as we walked the cobblestone streets of Old San Juan.

Giles’ recent post on his visit to “The Old Place by the Graveyard” suggests an idea that I believe has legs and he is down there in El Paso, Texas, a Mecca of the kinds of dives we love to get us kicked off.  Curt, Giles and I all have a history with a little place called Lucy’s as well as the El Paso Surf Club, and Aceitunas.  Then, it goes without saying, we need to formalize our rating system, then hit the high points of Oregon, American Samoa, Nashville, and even Raleigh, though I am in no way qualified to make these judgements like both Curt and Giles.  I am hoping we can convince Curt to provide a guest dive post every now and then, too.  I think every time Giles goes on a Beaver football odyssey, the dive he visits should be required writing material, good or bad.  I will create a dive post index with a table that shows all the ratings if these guys get on board with me.

I will consult with Giles and Curt, then get back to you.