On May 29, 2009 15 bloggers who have made a living, and a brand name for themselves, from behind their computers, boldly turned off those computers and sacrificed connection to the outside world to set foot on the magnanimous Naval Aircraft Carrier, the USS Nimitiz.

As you may already know, I was lucky enough to be one of those 15 distinguished visitors (DVs so the Navy likes to call us).

So there I was on the morning on the 29th, nervous, frightened, intimidated, and just plain star-struck alongside Guy Kawasaki, internet god Robert Scoble, Charlene Li of Groundswell and Forrester fame, Pamela Slim published author and cubicle naysayer, Jenny Larson The Bloggess, Andy Sernovitz Mr. Word of Mouth Marketing, Andrew Nystrom the LA Times social media guy, marketing guru Jennifer Jones, travel blogger Jennifer Leo, Tech Mama and Silicon Valley Moms spear header Beth Blecherman, Jefferson Wagner the future Mayor of Malibu, Avere Group founder Dennis Hall, Venture Capitalist Bill Reichert, and milblogger Captain Carroll ‘Lex’ LeFon, USN (Ret). If you don’t know them, you should make it a point to, they’re some of the most influential bloggers and web/tech leaders around.

Let’s start at the very beginning

I think I need to rewind a bit. Let’s start with the invitation. After really connecting with Guy Kawasaki at SXSW, I was totally in awe of how genuine someone of his stature could be. A few short weeks later, he followed up to inquire if I would be interested in an invite to attend Bloggers Embark, a night aboard the USS Nimitz.

Of course I said yes, but I had no idea was to come. In fact, my outlook on the military wasn’t especially too high. I mean I live in a military town, frequently sing karaoke at a military dive bar, and sometimes see the negative side effects of young enlisted men who drink too much.

But I said yes, and my email commitment was my word. Little did I know that there would be minor hiccups to actually making my way aboard the Nimitz, but I’ll save those highlights for private discussions.

Dining with celebrities

Now fast-forward to the night of the 28th, the eve of the Nimitz trip, and our scheduled dinner with embarking bloggers. I was so nervous that I barely spoke a word. See, what many people don’t know about me is that I’m shy, and I’ve always been shy. I was a loner as a child, adolescent, and even more so as a young adult. Now I’m just a shy person masquerading in a confidant woman’s body. It’s the only way I know how to live, because I’ve learned that one must build relationships and that meeting the right people means being extroverted. So I typically put on a strong face, saunter up to anyone that will listen, and do my best to find something that can help me get acclimated to the situation. It’s usually talk of social media or web and technology news.

Okay so I’m sitting at dinner. Jennifer Leo (amazing travel writer for the LA Times) is sitting across from me, Jenny Larson is to my right dishing about sex toys and lick-able tattoos for the sailors (I learned later that she has social anxiety as well), Andy Sernovitz is to my left, and Charlene Li is to his immediate left. Did I mention that Jefferson Wagner is to be the next Mayor of Malibu? I felt trapped in a sea of really important people. And then we had to introductions, which was terribly awkward for me because my accomplishments pale in comparison to those around me.

I balked a bit, but I made it through the dinner. In fact, after a glass of wine I was able to strike up a few meaningful conversations and get to know Andy Sernovitz as Andy, and The Bloggess as Jenny. Of course, LCDR Charlie Brown was a fantastic and friendly resource who was fielding questions left and right, and definitely made me feel more at ease about the whole experience. And then there was Lex, the retired FA-18 Hornet pilot and fellow blogger, who — over the coarse of dinner — made me start to really anticipate the next day’s adventures. Maybe I could do this after all.

The morning of and minor freak outs

As the procrastinator that I am, I flaked on the packing part until 6:30am the day of departure. It’s what I do. So I packed and showered in a rush, and knew that before reporting to North Island Naval Air Station that I would need to stop by the bank, pick up missing travel toiletries (seriously how do I go through these so fast?), and stop by the Westin to grab my carpool buddy, The Bloggess.

After throwing everything in my bag haphazardly, I ran out the door and drove the two blocks to Ralphs, where I threw a few travel items in my basket and ran to the checkout counter to consolidate errands and get cash back instead of stopping by the ATM. And that’s where the anxiety set in. After a few failed attempts to enter my pin number correctly (I don’t withdraw a lot of cash), I tried to pay via credit, and that transaction was subsequently declined.

As the line grew behind me, I started to feel the tension of the situation become tangible. Not only was I now late to pick up Jenny, but I couldn’t purchase my items, withdraw the requisite cash for the trip ($50 for the stay plus meals), let alone make any purchases. I started to freak out.

After being on hold for what seemed like forever, my bank informed me that my account had been blocked due to entering an incorrect pin number multiple times. Thankfully I was able to remove the block, remember my real pin, get my cash, and pay for my toiletries. Picking up Jenny took all of 2 minutes, and after my unnecessary breakdown at Ralphs, we actually were early to the North Island meeting spot.

There we all banded together, dropped off our bags, and learned that we would have no connectivity on the ship (they do have internet access, but it’s limited to the Library and a few other computers), and that all iPhones would be fried on the Flight Deck if they were left on. Yikes. I decided to turn off my iPhone then and there. Well, only after streaming another live video to Qik…

I’m not sure when the exact moment was, but somewhere between that pre-embark dinner and the moment we boarded the COD to fly to the Nimitz, the group dynamic shifted from relative strangers to fast friends.

Maybe it was the combination of embarrassing, albeit so cool, gear we had to wear, or the fact that together we were all about to experience something remarkable, but whatever it was, I noticed a perceptible shift. A calm came over me as I realized that I was among friends and this was about to be an experience of a lifetime.

After this short commercial break

This is where the story stops for now, but rest-assured that this is just the beginning. I should state, for those of you who are wondering, this trip was not a paid vacation orchestrated to encourage us to blog only the positives regarding the US Navy and the Nimitiz. All of us had to pay our own way (most everyone flew in from out of town), and though we were encouraged to share our experiences, there was none of the you can only say this nonsense. More goodness to come, but I just had to get that piece of non-disclosure out there.

Here’s a few teasers of what’s to come next:

Flight Deck awesomeness courtesy of Guy Kawasaki

Me, a gun, and a look of determination (thanks Scoble)

Initial reactions

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