Ooooh I wanna take you to Bermuda...

Bahama!

2011 has been a big year for me filled with amazing new experiences and fun. Celebrating my 30th birthday was no exception. The fact that I was just able to write celebrating my 30th birthday instead of mourning my 20s is a big step for me!

About a year and a half ago, I decided that I had no desire to be in Charlotte when the big 30 hit and I would prefer somewhere tropical. I also learned to swim last year and wanted somewhere that would allow me to do that and be warm. My friends Misty, Mark and Jean joined me on the trip and we left from Charleston on the Carnival Fantasy last Wednesday, November 2.

This was my first cruise so I had no idea what to expect. There were so many new and exciting experiences, sights, sounds and motions that I don't even know where to begin.

We spent all day Thursday at sea. The most amazing thing was going to sleep in a crisp fall night and waking up to a bright, humidity free day. I went outside to watch the sunrise and it was truly one of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring sights of my three decades. Misty and I spent some quality time at the pool, then we joined Mark and Jean for a game of mini-golf on the top of the ship. I pretty much suck at mini-golf anyway and blustery winds didn't really do much to help my game, but it was still fun. Mark and I mastered two water slides.

That night was formal night and we enjoyed dressing up. If I ever have a first-born child, I think I might be willing to give him/her up for the lobster I ate that night. After dinner, we went to the lounge to check out a comedy show. The waiter dropped my martini glass on poor Jean causing glass to splatter everywhere. The comedian was funny, but considering how I've probably been to 50 comedy shows this year, I was a little over it.

Friday morning, we woke up in Nassau, Bahamas to a sunny 78 degree day. Misty went off to explore a glass-bottom boat tour while Mark, Jean and I embarked on my birthday gift from them: paddle-boarding and snorkeling. Our tour guide met us at the pier and took us to another small boat and out to sea. We ended up in a shallow area where we could snorkel or paddle board for as long as we wanted. We decided to do the paddle boarding first. Mark and Jean mastered it pretty quickly. It took me a while, but I was finally able to stand up. That, however, did not last very long as I soon came across a woman snorkeling and wasn't able to stop my paddle board. I ended up hitting her in the face and making her curse at me. To say she wasn't thrilled would be a slight understatement. That little mishap caused me to lose my confidence and my legs started shaking. I went down a couple of times before giving up and grabbing my snorkel gear.

Like most things I've done this year, snorkeling was a new experience for me and was awesome. I got to see some cool fish and coral. I can't wait to get my underwater film developed and see what I was able to capture.

After the excursion, we grabbed lunch on the ship and headed back out for a little Senor Frogs. If you've ever been to a Senor Frogs, you probably understand that not much else got accomplished that day. They serve liquor there by the yard. That's all I'll say about that. We did do a little shopping afterwards. All the ladies bought a dress and we picked up a few other small trinkets.

That evening after dinner, we picked up some drinks and headed to the adults-only Serenity deck which is the most relaxing place on the ship. It is nice and quiet with lots of deck chairs and two hot tubs. We spent about an hour in the hot tub, watching neighboring ships get further and further away from us.

Saturday morning was the big day! I woke up in Freeport. After mimosas at breakfast, we headed out to explore. Mark and Jean took a taxi to check out some shops while Misty and I boarded a bus for Unexso in Port Lucaya Marina. Our bus driver Michael was on a one-man mission to make us all move to the Bahamas, bragging about everything from how to discipline children to the lack of a Bahamian income tax. But orange juice is $9 a gallon! From the marina, we took a small boat with about 20 other passengers to Sanctuary Bay, home to 14 Atlantic Bottle Nose Dolphins. I was so excited! Our boat captain was very entertaining!

Our dolphin trainer, Patrick, lead us in small groups to sit with our feet in an enclosed water area while two dolphins, Indy and Andros, swam around us. These dolphins are SO freaking fast. They can do amazing tricks including moonwalking! They can also soak you with water in about two seconds. Misty and I went to stand in the water with Patrick to pet Indy, the smallest male dolphin at 320 pounds.

My main takeaway from this experience is how much dolphins are like dogs. Indy loved being petted. He rolled over for us to pet his belly and when we did, he kicked his little fins in glee like my dogs kick their legs during a good belly rub. Dolphins are mammals so we were told not to rub below Indy's belly button so we didn't start anything we couldn't finish before our boat had to leave! We each got to pose with Indy for a kiss.

I cannot describe how amazing this experience was. Dolphins are such incredibly creatures with amazing personalities. They are at once strong and gentle. There were times it felt like they were laughing at us silly humans and there were obvious signs that Indy loved affection and attention.

Other fun dolphin facts:

Sharks swim left to right so dolphins swim up and down

Dolphin babies are born tails first and their mommies get them up to air by the time their head comes out

Dolphins literally sleep with one eye open

After the dolphin encounter, we got to hang out with some birds: macaws and cockatoos. I even let one sit on my head! I completely and totally fell in love with Indy and it turns out you can adopt him, which I plan to do. But if you were a slacker and didn't get me a birthday present, this would be a great gift for me!

That night, we tried to go to a show on the boat but it was an amateurish tribute to the Beatles that was so bad we had to leave 30 minutes in. Jean, who is not exactly a Beatles fan club member, was relieved to say the least when I said we could go. We then headed to my birthday dinner where I had fantastic lasagna, a chocolate birthday cake and some enthusiastic multilingual birthday singing. Misty, Mark and I were forced to dance with the wait staff, which Jean got out of by offering to be our photographer.

Saturday night is when things started to get a little dicey. A low pressure system along the Carolina coast caused some rough seas for the trip back. Things, and people, were falling. We heard our cabin neighbor puking. There were 12 feet swells, which we found out later is a lot. Even the cruise director who was decked out in heels for the majority of the trip opted for flats. We made it through, albeit a little worse for the wear, and returned to Charleston at dawn on Monday.

2011 has been a year of new experiences for me. It's been a year of amazing opportunities and chances to learn more about myself and the world around me. As Natasha Bedingfield would say, the rest is still unwritten. And I look forward to seeing what this 30th year will bring me.