One of the most memorable trips I've ever taken was when I went to the Bahamas on a boat. It was also one of those times where your life flashes before you.

The trip began in October 2012, and I remember it like it was yesterday.

I left out of Mobile Bay, located off the Gulf of Mexico, early one foggy, chilly morning. I remember feeling a bit anxious at the time, feeling I wasn't ready for such a long boat trip. I wanted to just turn by butt around and go back home but my fiance, he was dead-set on going.

But I had good reason to be concerned. It was my first long trip ever, and my fiance (aka the Captain), didn't have much experience, and certainly not enough to be called "Captain". So, a word of warning... I do not recommend anyone just jump on a boat like this and travel to a long-distance island unless you have experience. Common sense, right? But some people, like me, don't always use it.

Here is a rough outline of our trip en route to the Bahamas:

• We followed the U.S. coastline around the Gulf of Mexico until we reached the Florida Gulf Coast.

• Once we reached Apalachicola, Fl, we jumped straight across to Pine Island, FL. During the jump we were about 100 miles from shore at a certain point.

• From Pine Island, we went to St. Petersburg, then to Key West, and then to Key Largo. We had been gone about 7 days at this point.

• From Key Largo, we crossed the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic Ocean to the Bahamas.

We passed by countless coastal towns, stopping at a different Marina each night to sleep. Just in case you've never experienced it... sleeping on a boat is like sleeping on a friggen waterbed, it never stops moving. It's far worse than sleeping in a tent - at least in a tent, the ground doesn't shift up and down!

Each morning, we'd wake up bright and early, untie the boat from the dock, and head out. And let me tell you, most mornings I hadn't even made a cup of coffee, let alone gotten out of my pj's before Captain declared it was time to take off. (Forget trying to look good on a boat trip, ladies). But trying to make coffee on a moving boat is near impossible, too!

Getting Stuck in Pine Island

Let's back track to Pine Island, FL - this is where I have an interesting story to tell. On this day, about 2 in the afternoon, Captain started feeling "festive". He was sipping cold beer and just enjoying the ride. By dusk, he was feeling a bit too loose and carefree, however! At one point, he decided to leave me at the wheel so he could relieve himself, and just as I swapped positions with him, we were 10 seconds away from hitting a channel marker. But Captain swore up and down he didn't see it!

Yep, that was the first sign of trouble ahead.

That night it was very late, around 11 pm or 12 am, before we were anywhere near the marina we wanted to sleep at and we still had to find it.

Besides the inability to see channel markers, I was about to discover Captain was near blind in the dark! He couldn't see a sign in the water unless he shined a flashlight on it directly. At this point, I was really confident in my Captain... I just knew we were going to run over one of those signs in the water.

The beer had started to wear off but we found ourselves in very shallow water in the pitch dark. At one point, I eyeballed the depth finder and realized we were surrounded by dangerously shallow water.

Well, things only got worse.

The hours passed by, and we still couldn't find the marina. Suddenly, we heard a loud screeching noise and the boat was suspended on some coral. "Captain", I said. "I think we're stuck." Captain said, "We ain't stuck." He managed to grind the boat a few inches forward, and then again in reverse till we couldn't move at all.

So where did we sleep that night? On a coral bed. And when I say "bed" I mean the kind that lives under the sea.

By morning, the tide had come in and we were able to get the boat free. We headed to St. Petersburg, FL for some much needed repairs to the boat. We had to order a new prop (yippee!!) so we decided to stay in a hotel there for a few nights.

But thankfully, St. Pete beach is beautiful!!

We really enjoyed our stay here, let me tell you. The beach here has shallow, clear water that's breathtaking. But after the boat was fixed, we pointed our compass to Key West. From Key West, we traveled to Key Largo. At some point between Key West and Key Largo, our AC went out on the boat due to clogged sea strainers, so we got a hotel in Key Largo for a few days while it was being fixed.

Key Largo

We took a really cool jet ski tour around the island of Key Largo. This was our tour guide:

Next, we crossed the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas, which took about 4 hours.

And that's where I will stop for for now...

Tomorrow, I'll share part 2 of My Adventure to the Bahamas