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I'm proud of several things about my spring break this year. I spent most of my time in the Bahamas without getting badly burned. I helped my mom remember to drive on the correct side of the road (by randomly shouting, "Left! Left!"). And I kissed a dolphin right smack on the mouth.
Five seconds, no tongue--thank God.
To me, this moment ranks right up there with meeting President Clinton, interning for the House of Representatives and wearing a giant sombrero during my second grade Christmas performance while my classmates danced around me and sang.
For years, I've seen commercials advertising an hour or so swimming with dolphins at Florida resorts, where you have to reserve your place months and months in advance and share your time with a ton of other people.
I should note here that we are not the type of family that plans things months in advance. We reserved a car and a room ahead of time, bought a few guidebooks and planned our vacation on the plane, en route to Grand Bahama Island.
Right after we dropped our suitcases off, I found myself following the wake of a determined maternal unit, bewildered, while she managed to find a booth where we could reserve a swim with the dolphins.
I had skipped over information about dolphin swims in the promotional material, assuming that we wouldn't be able to get in a week ahead of time. I did not factor in the current condition of the island, which was still recovering from Hurricane Wilma and trying to attract tourists again.
I had petted a baby shark before, and lived in Baltimore, where I had been dragged to the dolphin show about 80 billion times. But I had always wanted to do something like this.
The idea that it was actually going to happen slowed all brain activity for the next few hours, as I wandered around Port Lucaya turning the idea over in my brain, tripping over the wooden walkways between stores and running into people.
The morning of the swim, we were taken out on a boat to the Underwater Explorers Society facility in Sanctuary Bay.
The dolphins weren't in captivity--for the most part, the animals follow the boats in every morning, knowing they can depend on UNEXSO for food. The second our boat pulled up, a pair of dolphins (a mother and her son) began showing off and chattering, obviously excited to have company.
I expected to have to share the dolphins with at least a dozen others, but there were only seven people there, including us. We put on fins, learned a few hand signals and jumped in.
Immediately, the dolphins began to play, flitting from person to person to be petted. I latched on to this, petting each dolphin when it came near until it swam out of my reach. When I developed the underwater camera I had, half of the prints were almost identical shots of my hand as it petted the animals. (When it comes to taking photos, sometimes my impulses override my better judgement.)
One dolphin came chattering up to my right side. I decided to test one of the dolphin habits the trainers had told us about. I dove suddenly and began to swim along the bottom of the enclosure.
The dolphin stayed by my side, coming up for air at the same second I did. Delighted, I dove back down, and she kept pace with me for a few more maneuvers.
The trainers soon had us line up in the water, and told us to direct the dolphins using the signals they had shown us. I was last in line, and watched as the others got the dolphins to wave, splash and chatter.
Wanting a bit more interaction, I signaled for the dolphin to turn around with me, laughing so hard I had difficulty staying above the water. I'm not sure which the dolphins seemed to enjoy more, the attention or the fish they were rewarded with.
After 30 minutes in the water, we struggled out onto the dock, soaked and grinning, as the dolphins danced in the water behind us. We settled in the boat for a while, watching another group interact with the dolphins in the open water. As I caught my breath, I mulled over how to thank my mom for the best graduation gift imaginable.
There's a lot of criticism about keeping dolphins or other sea life in captivity. I can understand the concerns about improper care of the animals, but programs like this certainly aren't the problem. I enjoyed it so much, I'm going to do it again at some point, I'm sure. Perhaps as my kid's graduation gift.
For information on swimming with dolphins, visit unexso.com.
CASSIE KIMBERLIN is a recent graduate of Brooke Point High School.
