This is really happening

I'm sitting on a stone patio, on a cushion printed with a waves of green and blue and brown. Waves are lapping on the shore in front of me. There's a freakin' palm tree ten feet away. I'm wearing my trusty green and blue tankini, the one that accentuates my boobs and minimizes my hips. I'm pleased to see that the lime green of my FitBit blends in nicely.

Sous Chef is hanging up his white button up shirt - he had to wash it because I accidentally spilled my coffee on it while I was carrying the two items along the beach this morning. We love our early beach walks - Sous Chef bravely marches on, while I trail along behind him, terrified of stepping on sea urchins or having a jungle cat jump out from the succulents lining the shore to eat me.

This morning I ate fresh mango and sipped on guava juice from the breakfast buffet. Duff Goldman sat two tables away from me, and it took everything in me not to scream over to him and say "Hey, Baltimore!" and proudly shout that we're from Maryland, too.

It's still really hard to believe we're actually here. Less than a month ago, I found out about this contest the US Virgin Islands Department of Tourism was running on Twitter. "Follow us on Twitter for your chance to win a trip to the St Croix Food & Wine Experience!" Sure, I said. We'd been planning on putting together a short getaway in April anyway, why not go for this?

I didn't believe the email when I saw it - "Sweet St Croix Winner!!" - I quickly called the number in the email signature, as well as my contact at The Daily Meal, where I originally heard of the contest.

The slightly jaded New Yorker at the PR firm who had emailed me ensured me it was real. "Um, I don't know what else I can do to convince you..." she said. The fact that she sounded slightly bored was actually more convincing than an over-exuberant, I've-got-all-the-answers-so-just-trust-me-I'll-take-care-of-everything person would have been.

I still didn't quite believe it until this morning. I spent the entire first plane ride, layover in Miami, second plane ride, terrifying taxi ride to the resort, and first evening at the resort not quite believing it. 

Even after two Pain Killers - light and dark rum mixed with coconut cream and pineapple juice and garnished with nutmeg (now the official Cockatil of This Vacation) - I didn't quite believe it.

But we're really here, and this is really happening. I need to plan on making plans more often, I think.

I'm pretty sure that the overpriced spray-on sunscreen we bought at the gift shop is all over the bottom of my laptop now - but I'm also pretty sure it's worth it.