Aruba, Jamaica, Oooh I Wanna Take Ya to...

St. John?

That's right.

I'm taking my first destination vacation in over a year and I'm pretty darn excited about it. I have tropical drinks with umbrellas, orange and yellow braided sarongs, crystal blue water, sea turtles, men in surf jams and white sand on the brain. My co-workers want to strangle me. My mind hopped on an earlier flight several hours ago and is already basking in the island's rays of sunshine.

Picking vacations in a newsroom can be dicey. My co-worker and I had to duke it out over the two major summer holidays-- I picked Memorial Day and she will take off July 4. It's fine with me. Last year's Martha's Vineyard adventure with BeanieBaby would have been hard to beat.

My mission for this weekend included two elements: exotic locale and warmth of the sun. I thought of my college friend, her husband and her new baby J- all living the dream in St. John and I decided I wanted a taste of that dream. And knowing my luck, if I didn't jump on the chance now, they'd tell me they were moving back to the States in a month. The adventurous pair just opened a restaurant and I'm excited to see it firsthand, in addition to playing with the newest addition to their family in the ocean. He apparently loves the water. I hope he will like his new UVA duds.

I've been contemplating bringing my laptop with me for the past week. Bring Apple or leave Apple? Pack Apple or stow Apple? I've decided to leave Apple at home this trip. It could use a little R&R anyway. I will probably go through Apple withdrawal, but I will be sure to have my leatherbound blank book with me. It used to be my writing refuge and it's been feeling neglected over the past several years.

I have no itinerary. The plan is there is no plan. The only thing I have to do is swim in a 2.5-mile power swim on Sunday. Open water races give me the heebie jeebies -- just ask my old swim coach Murph which of his swimmers sat them out every year in Florida. When I saw pictures of the water, and when my friend told me I'd be swimming with manta rays and sea turtles in clear warm water I said sign me up. I'm doing the Mighty Montauk triathlon in a few weeks so some open water swimming practice should do me good.

In the meantime, readers, don't waste a minute. Get out there. Eat for me. Drink for me. Write me. Tell me of all the wonderful dinners and drinks you have over this holiday weekend. I plan on returning next Wednesday to stories, and hopefully warmer and sunnier May skies. Let's hope I don't like St. John too much, or Mona's Apple may just turn into Mona's Island.

Check out my friends' Waterfront Bistro. It will be my home for the next six days. Not bad, right?