I'd agree with doing the OW check out dives in the caribbean; I'd take it one step further and just say go down to Cozumel or Roatan or Bonaire and take the whole course down there. There are MANY GREAT instructors that teach in these locations, you can get lots of good referral info from scubaboard.com. These places are world class dive destinations that attract student divers from all over the world. The local dive scene can't begin to compare with that. There are some good instructors here, and the most of the OW cert classes are pretty regimented anyhow; same books, same tests, same skills taught. But, the difference between medina lake and Bonaire is just silly to even talk about.