To tan or not to Tan....doing Florida as a pale chick

So, I am caucasian and live in Seattle. As a consequence, my skin color is somewhere in between vampire and polar bear. When I get make-up, I do not even even need to pick a shade, I just get the lightest one available.  I have come to terms with being fair skinned and I am usually anti tanning booth(I am just not into the getting skin cancer to look a little less blindingly pale).

But a combination of conceit and a desire to not turn into a lobster has taken over as I prepare to go to the keys in Florida and experience this weird yellow ball that non-Seattlites call "The Sun".

First, the lobster. I remember this water park in Denver, called water world. Growing up, we would go there during the summer and play in the pools, slide down the slides and otherwise generally engage in water merriment. The day after the water park, without fail, I would be beet red. I would blister and and peel and be miserable for at least three days. It didn't matter if I forgot the sunscreen or used super spf 5000 magic sunscreen. Sun as a child ALWAYS was followed by painful red body parts and a giant bottle of aloe vera.

Next, the conceit.  I picture women on a beach in the Keys in the following way: All perfectly put together, wearing very small bikinis with not a pale girl or lobster in sight.  I am not super fond of going to the beach and blinding everyone with my radiant whiteness, or in the alternative, getting sympathy for the awful burn I achieve the first day of my visit.  The idea of going to a tanning booth to stave off the burn and create a little color before I go is so appealing......and a tan might make my surgery scar slightly less visible.

But then comes the downsides. I am not a girly girl. I care about how I look, but I also buy most of my make-up at the discount store and I get my hair cut at Rudy's Barbershop. I buy all of my clothes at one chain because I understand how to make the colors match(and not everyone believes that I have achieved color matching). I am afraid that the very act of walking into the tanning salon will ruin my reputation. I will have to start carrying around a purse because it was designed by a snotty person in Milan and I will have to buy my make-up at Nordstrom instead of Bartell Drugs.

Also, there is the problem of the health risks associated with tanning. All of the science-y health people keep saying that we need to protect our selves from the sun's UV rays, use good sunscreen, etc.....etc.... We need to limit our time in the sun and we need to wear hats and other gear that prevents sun related damage (like cancer, aging spots, etc....) And tanning is basically sitting in a bed of highly concentrated UV rays with no protective equipment.

And really, the health risks should make the decision a no brainer.....I should just make sure I get super expensive wonder sunscreen before I leave. I should apply it every hour and avoid too much sun....but it wouldn't be that bad to get a head start on the sun......